''Chained Heat'' (alternate title: ''Das Frauenlager'' in West Germany) is a 1983 American-German

exploitation film An exploitation film is a film that tries to succeed financially by exploiting current trends, niche genres, or lurid content. Exploitation films are generally low-quality "B movies", though some set trends, attract critical attention, become hi ...

in the women-in-prison genre. It was co-written and directed by Paul Nicholas (as Paul Nicolas) for Jensen Farley Pictures.Overview, ''Chained Heat''
''The New York Times''
archived
at the Wayback Machine on April 10, 2013. Producer was Paul Fine, who had previously produced '' The Concrete Jungle''.

Plot

The film takes place in the California women's prison in which naive teenager Carol Henderson ( Linda Blair) is sentenced to serve 18 months for accidentally killing a man. Warden Backman (

John Vernon John Keith Vernon (born Adolphus Raymondus Vernon Agopsowicz; February 24, 1932 February 1, 2005) was a Canadian actor. He made a career in Hollywood after achieving initial television stardom in Canada. He was best known for playing Dean Wormer ...

) has a hot tub in his office; his assistant, Captain Taylor (

Stella Stevens Stella Stevens (born Estelle Eggleston; October 1, 1938) is a American former actress. She began her acting career in 1959 and starred in such popular films as '' Girls! Girls! Girls!'' (1962), '' The Nutty Professor'' (1963), ''The Courtship of ...

) controls the prison's prostitutes and has a lover who is also involved in a clandestine affair with Ericka (

Sybil Danning Sybil Danning (born Sybille Johanna Danninger) is an Austrian actress, model, and film producer. She is best known for her frequent appearances in B movies during the 1970s and 1980s. Biography Early years and first films Born in Austria, Dannin ...

), the leader of the white prisoners, while the black prisoners are led by Duchess (

Tamara Dobson Tamara Janice Dobson (May 14, 1947 – October 2, 2006) was an American actress and fashion model. Beginning her career in modeling during the late 1960s, Dobson became best known for her title role as government agent Cleopatra "Cleo" Jones the 1 ...

). Lesbian rapists deal drugs. Eventually the administration pushes the prisoners too far and they drop their race-based feuding to revolt against their common enemy.Review: ''Chained Heat''
''Variety'', December 31, 1982.

Cast

* Linda Blair as Carol *

as Warden Backman *

as Ericka *

as Duchess *

as Captain Taylor *

Henry Silva Henry Silva (September 23, 1926 – September 14, 2022) was an American actor. A prolific character actor, Silva was a regular staple of international genre cinema, usually playing criminals or gangsters. His notable film appearances include ...

as Lester * Sharon Hughes as Val *

Robert Miano Robert Miano (born September 25, 1942) is an American actor. Early life Robert Miano was born in New York City and raised in the Southeast Bronx neighborhood. He is of Italian descent. At the age of fifteen Robert Miano was discovered by a tale ...

as Stone * Greta Blackburn as Lulu * Nita Talbot as Kaufman *

Louisa Moritz Louisa Moritz (born Luisa Cira Castro Netto; September 25, 1936 – January 4, 2019) was a Cuban-American actress and lawyer. After arriving in New York from Cuba, she became a film and television actress, then earned a law degree. She is best k ...

as "Bubbles" *

Monique Gabrielle Katherine Gonzalez (born July 30, 1962), also known as Monique Gabrielle, is an American model and actress. Gabrielle was selected as the '' Penthouse'' Pet of the Month for December 1982, and has appeared in a variety of mainstream and adult fi ...

as Debbie *

Edy Williams Edwina Beth "Edy" Williams is an American television and film actor who is best known for her acting work in the films of Russ Meyer, to whom she was married from 1970 to 1975. Early years Williams was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, and raised in ...

as Paula * Carole Ita White as "Spider", credited as Carol White *

Michael Callan Michael Callan (born Martin Harris Calinieff; November 22, 1935 – October 10, 2022) was an American actor best known for originating the role of Riff in ''West Side Story'' on Broadway, and for his film roles for Columbia Pictures, notably ' ...

as Martin * Irwin Keyes as Lorenzo * Kate Vernon as Cellmate

Production and release

''Chained Heat'' was produced for $950,000. It opened on May 27, 1983 in 404 theaters nationwide and made $2,252,682 in its opening weekend. The film was in theaters for two and a half weeks in total. , the film's domestic gross is $6,149,983.

Reception

During its release the film came under fire from critics for its sexism and from gay rights activists for negative and stereotypical portrayals of lesbians as violent and predatory. A ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' review described it as "silly, almost campy" and judged Nicholas to have "display dlittle feel for the prison genre, emphasizing archaic sex-for-voyeurs scenes". ''Chained Heat''s rating on Rotten Tomatoes is 56% positive reviews. The film was nominated for two Razzie Awards including Worst Actress for Blair and won Worst Supporting Actress for Danning. ''Chained Heat'' (Uncut and remastered edition) was released in 2011 as a DVD Women In Prison box set with ''

Red Heat The practice of using colours to determine the temperature of a piece of (usually) ferrous metal comes from blacksmithing. Long before thermometers were widely available it was necessary to know what state the metal was in for heat treating it an ...

'' (1985) and '' Jungle Warriors'' (1984).

Sequels

In 1993 the sequel ''Chained Heat II'', starring

Brigitte Nielsen Brigitte Nielsen (; born Gitte Nielsen; 15 July 1963) is a Danish actress, model, and singer. She began her career modelling for Greg Gorman and Helmut Newton. She subsequently acted in the 1985 films ''Red Sonja'' and ''Rocky IV'', later retu ...

, Paul Koslo, Kimberley Kates and Kari Whitman was released. The film was directed by Lloyd Simandl and released in Canada. This was followed by the 1998 release of ''Chained Heat 3: Hell Mountain''. The film starred Nicole Nieth, Kate Rodgers, and Bentley Mitchum and was directed by Mike Rhol from a screenplay by Chris Hyde. Both sequels bear little to no relation to the first film.

References

External links

* * *{{Rotten Tomatoes, chained_heat 1983 films 1980s prison films American sexploitation films West German films Women in prison films American prison films English-language German films Golden Raspberry Award winning films 1980s English-language films 1980s American films