Women-in-Prison Movies

Women in Cages, 1971
The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) proclaims that Gerardo de Leon is "the most-awarded director in the history of the Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences." Women in Cages, his 64th film, earned no prizes except the eternal affection of WIP fans. In this Roger Corman–produced epic, Pam Grier — she of the noble scowl and gravity-defying physique — plays Alabama, an American woman (from Harlem; go figure) who's railroaded into a Filipino jail, whence she plans her escape into the devouring jungle. Quentin Tarantino, who cast Grier a quarter-century later as the lead in his Jackie Brown, has rhapsodically described Women in Cages as "harsh, harsh, harsh."

• Top 10 Actor-Director Pairings
• TIME's Movie Covers