Diario segreto da un carcere femminile (1973)

Gutsy and beautiful Hilda (well played by luscious knockout Anita Strindberg) goes undercover as an inmate in a brutal and corrupt women’s penitentiary in order to talk to scared incarcerated moll Daniela (lovely Jenny Tamburi) and get the necessary information required to clear her mobster father’s name. Writer/director Rino Di Silvestro blends a gritty crime thriller with a scroungy chicks-in-chains romp for a handy dandy combo synthesis that covers all the essential satisfyingly sleazy bases: copious tasty female nudity, profane dialogue, lesbianism, seamy soft-core sex, the inevitable leering shower scenes, fierce catfights, humiliating physical examinations, an unintentionally hilarious riot in which the protesting inmates are sprayed down with fire hoses, a rough, downbeat, nihilistic tone, and a cool bluesy theme song. Better still, Di Silvestro tosses in a rousing protracted car chase for good measure and caps the whole thing off with a perfectly depressing surprise bummer ending. The characters are your standard array of endearing generic stereotypes: the irritating religious kook, the vicious head matron (a pleasingly nasty portrayal by Olga Bisera), the ruthless top con, the ineffectual warden, and the lecherous male doctor who does just what you think with the lusty lady convicts. The funky, syncopated, pulsating score by Franco Bixio and George Craig hits the groovy-rockin’ spot. Fausto Rossi’s grimy cinematography further enhances the overall squalid atmosphere. Good low-grade fun.

AKA Women in Cell Block 7