99 Mujeres (1969)
Genre: Action / Erotic
Duration: 99 minuten
Alternative titles: 99 Women / Island of Despair / Prostitutes in Prison / Isle of Lost Women / The Hot Death / Women's Penitentiary XII
Country:
Spain / Italy / West Germany / United Kingdom
Directed by: Jesús Franco
Stars: Herbert Lom, Maria Schell and Mercedes McCambridge
IMDb score:
4,6 (1.831)
Releasedate: 5 March 1969
99 Mujeres plot
"99 WOMEN... behind bars -- without men!"
Three women are convicted and taken to a prison on an island off the coast of Panama. There, horrors await them, committed by the lesbian and sadistic director. When she is replaced there is hope for a while, but when things get worse they decide to escape.
Actors and actresses
Leonie Caroll
Governor Santos
Thelma Diaz
Natalie Mendoza
Marie
Zoe
Helga
Rosalie
Doctor
Reviews & comments
Theunissen
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- 12328 messages
- 5536 votes
The precursor to the Ilsa films, and it likely inspired Jesus Franco to make even more women's prison films (the later Ilsa films). The opening of the film can be described as quite spontaneous, as there was essentially no introduction. The story isn't great, of course, but it was actually put together reasonably well and managed to captivate me (naturally, mainly due to the women). The music is also quite beautiful. The cast consists mainly of women, and quite attractive ones at that (I certainly thought Rosalba Neri looked very beautiful with her lovely eyes and lovely body). As is usual with a Franco film, a number of women naturally take off some clothes, but the level of nudity is actually quite low (very occasionally a breast or buttock). Also, the forms of subservience the women have to endure don't amount to much compared to Franco's later prison films. Regarding the latter two (nudity and violence), this film is actually quite disappointing. In that regard, I agree with "DonLeone" that "Ilsa, She-Wolf of the SS" is much better.
PS I did see the regular version (90 minutes) and not the longer version (99 minutes).
Translated from Dutch · View original
Film Pegasus (moderator films)
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- 31401 messages
- 5580 votes
A cross between Orange is the New Black and a Spaghetti Western. A cult film from the late 60s with a low budget and still intended for an adult audience. Little plot, and yet it has a certain charm. The prisoners all walk around without pants and with their hair always beautifully styled.
Among the actors, there are a few (relatively) well-known faces: Herbert Lom (Pink Panther series), Mercedes McCambridge (Giant and Johnny Guitar), Maria Schell (Superman), and Luciana Paluzzi (Thunderball). Their acting is somewhat theatrical (due to the bad acting), which is precisely what makes it so enjoyable. That director with the iron fist (played by Mercedes McCambridge) could have stepped right out of an old Bond film. Quite tacky, but fun to watch.
You can obviously see that it is poorly made and that it is nothing more than a group of beautiful women on an island. And yet, it has something. The music is atmospheric, and despite the lack of quality, you become somewhat fascinated by this film.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Bobbejaantje
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- 2365 messages
- 2119 votes
I watched this one because I acquired Bruno Nicolai's soundtrack on vinyl. Apparently, this is also a key film in the development of the Women in Prison genre. I have seen a few Ilsas of that genre in the past. This 99 Donne is still at the beginning of this sleazy genre. It is actually more of a drama, though you can already see all the sleazy potential with typical lesbian scenes from a male gaze perspective. It is all presented very tamely, admittedly – although I did fast-forward through the (later added) hardcore porn scenes. These were intended to make the film presentable again as adult cinema in later years. But they don't fit into the story at all and completely ruin the atmosphere of the film, which doesn't have many qualities to begin with.
The narrative is trivial. The fun is mainly about the caminessp, which is facilitated by Franco’s semi-artistic approach: blurred zooming, blurry images at times… and then there is the beautiful music by Nicolai (also a friend and collaborator of Morricone). That makes it watchable for me.
As is often the case with this type of film, the music is better than the film.
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