to finally see what many consider to be the great woman in prison film of all time and i felt like i have accomplish something as ridiculous a that sound . boy and it sure contain the element i expect and and deliver so much more . a constant i be discover in these film be the toughness and grit of the actress in the role of prisoner prepare for escape while their threshold and tolerance and and resolve ( . not to mention sanity ) be test by their superior . while most of them be hire for the way they look naked and because the nature of the genre demand such gratuitous element and something else emerges and other attribute and such a attitude and gut and that i ultimately respond to . this and a you may know all too well and be demme debut for his mentor roger corman and and he provide the target audience with exactly what they desire while put his own stamp on the proceeding . for instance and there be bizarre dream certain character have which define their current psychological state ( . there a particular number feature warden barbara steele where she remind me of alex de large of a clockwork orange ) . the film have female prisoner plan a daring escape and tire of the crazed antic of their wheel chair bound warden and her nutty prison doc and randolph ( warren miller ) . juanita brown be maggie and the tough and sassy sister who be feed up with the environment and will do whatever it take to get out . she the one all the girl fear to cross . erica gavin be jacqueline wilson and the new prisoner who be bust by police and sentence for the murder of a cop and unwilling to give up the name of those she be involve with . roberta collins be belle and a serial kleptomaniac and best pal with pandora ( ella reid ) . belle become the obsession of randolph who promise superintendent mcqueen ( steele ) that through a surgical procedure he can remove her violent tendency . drug her up and randolph take nude picture and sodomize her and whimper like a little girl due to his own mental deficiency while hug her naked body in his arm . cheryl rainbeaux smith be lavelle and in prison for life for murder a scumbag whose relative be a senator . lavelle receive work in randolph office and be the one responsible for relate his dirty antic to pandora . demme effectively build the movie to the expect finale a a plan break out and use those behind the various trauma inflict on the prisoner a hostage and with gunfire erupt . i be quite impressed with the photographic work of long time demme collaborator and cinematographer tak fujimoto and a he be able to establish some visually arresting moment within the cramped confines of the prison and cell and room and not an easy task . the prison be appropriately crummy and the girl and despite be quite attractive and look the part of desperate inmate long and yearn from the very pit of their soul and to escape such horrid entrapment . steele be superb a the warden and understand how to take the role close to the brink without go to far and candidly able to express the madness of her repressed character within a restraint . notice how she work her glass and settle herself without blow her top particularly when certain behavior she have contempt for push her teetering to the edge . cale bluesy score be incredibly depressing and while also cast a wink to the audience that the movie be still fun and game . i think cale score mirror demme handling of the material . cale and demme partnership be an uncanny alliance that present the setting a a sad and isolating and oppressive place and while and almost simultaneously and showcasing a humorous tone that permeate due to the colorful character thanks in part to the personality of the cast . my favorite scene happens outside the prison and a two of our girl ( . join force with a third ) interrupt a bank robbery already in progress . the kicker be it be a bank they be plan to rob . a you might expect and you get naked woman in shower and prisoner in solitary and a cat fight and shootout and attempt escape which go awry and and other exploitative element ( . such a a horrifying shock therapy session and not to exclude the shocking aforementioned sequence where the screwy doc take advantage of belle ) . interesting enough and demme relate the film to the audience without a whiff of pretension and understand exactly the kind of movie he be make .