The Concrete Jungle (1982) Reviews

• A Slammer Spectacular!

  phillindholm2005-10-10

  Women's prison films have always had an appreciative audience. Perhaps the first noteworthy one was "Caged" which starred Eleanor Parker. Released in 1950, it garnered good reviews and great box office. It also led to numerous inferior imitations, such as "Women's Prison" (1955) which at least featured a scenery-chewing performance from Ida Lupino as the wicked warden--(a role she would repeat, more or less, in the 1972 TV movie "Women In Chains".) There was also 1962's "House Of Women" which starred Shirley Knight. The seventies ushered in such examples as the Roger Corman/New World productions of "Women in Cages" and "The Big Doll House". Then came Jonathan Demme's take on the subject "Caged Heat", after which the genre was pretty much left to porno producers. But in 1982, one of the best films on the subject was released. "The Concrete Jungle" was produced on a low budget and a quick shooting schedule (but, then, weren't most films in this genre?) and managed to deliver a gritty and tense story of one relatively innocent girl's battle to survive a hellish female penitentiary. When her slimy boyfriend Danny (Peter Brown) uses his unsuspecting girlfriend Elizabeth (Tracy Bregman) to carry a stash of cocaine in her skis, she is nabbed by airport security. After a speedy trial, she is sent to the Correctional Institution for Women in California. There she learns quickly that she must toughen up if she hopes to leave there in one piece. She also eventually finds that the warden (Jill St John) is not only cruel and unsympathetic, but in cahoots with an inmate Cat (Barbara Luna) the prison's Queen Bee, who is her partner in a prison drug and prostitution racket. When Elizabeth witnesses a murder committed by Cat and her henchwomen, she spurns her attentions and becomes her enemy. Meanwhile, Deputy Director Shelly Meyers (Nita Talbot), aware of the drug and prostitution business run by the warden and Cat, also suspects that Elizabeth has knowledge that could help her convict the villains, and she begins to press her for information. This does not bode well for Elizabeth, for by now, the warden is also suspicious and seeks to destroy the girl before she can talk. Lurid, (and undeniably sleazy at times), "The Concrete Jungle" is nevertheless a fully satisfying melodrama, and one which tells a convincing story. The supporting cast is full of exploitation-film regulars, each of whom does a good job. Bregman is fine as the heroine, St John is a chilling warden, and Luna gets the role of her life as the vicious Cat who makes life hell for those who oppose her. Especially noteworthy is Talbot as the crusading penal official. "Jungle's" Producer, Billy Fine, would try to top the box office success of this one with "Chained Heat" the following year, but that film (and most of those that followed it) were really unintentional parodies of the genre.

• Concrete Jungle

  sheila-hall602006-07-12

  I liked the film Concrete Jungle it reminded me of the Australian TV series shown here in the UK Prisoner Cell Block H. Concrete Jungle had a good storyline, perhaps too much swearing in it, but in this day and age this is nothing to crow about. The swearing in the film would not stop me from watching it again and again The acting was very good from everyone in the film and I was routed to the spot watching the film, I just had to see how the film ended and if everyone got their just deserts. I am a great admirer of the actor Peter Brown and it was great to see him in the part of Mr Bad Guy for a change, although I still prefer him in westerns and Mr Nice Guy.

• A grim, straightforward WIP drama

  gridoon2007-02-17

  "The Concrete Jungle" doesn't offer anything you haven't seen before, but it's still an absorbing, fairly well-made & acted little Women-In-Prison drama. What the fans of this sub-genre need to know is that the filmmakers have taken a mostly serious-minded approach here, at least until the last 10 minutes when a massive fight that breaks out in the prison yard turns into a mudbath! Most of the time, though, the film simply chronicles, in a straightforward manner, the daily struggle for survival of a 100% innocent woman who tries to adapt to the harsh prison life. Tracey Bregman's sweet, innocent-looking face is perfect for the part, and she is surrounded by actresses who mostly manage, in a short amount of time, to build their own characters. The standout for me was June Barret as the bad girl Icy, who is both strong and insecure. (**)

• Arguably The Best Women in Prison Film Ever Made

  Nglas2012-10-04

  Before 1983's Chained Heat, there was The Concrete Jungle. TCJ does what Chained Heat attempts to do, yet fails, despite its cast of beloved cult stars. What TCJ has that Chain Heat does not is a solid script, solid acting, and characters that you actually want to see prevail. In fact, it is the characters of TCJ that make the movie such a treat. From the innocent Cherry (played by daytime legend Tracey Bregman) to the sexy, but compelling top dog Cat (played by Star Trek and another daytime vet Barbara Luna), these characters take the viewer on a journey of life inside a women's prison. From her harsh arrival to her ultimate release, Cherry guides the viewers on the story of an innocent girl set up by her boyfriend to carry drugs into the county and end up in a prison where the guards are just as bad as the cons. And speaking of authority, Jill St. John portrays Warden Fletcher and what a fantastic character! Brutal rapes, a charming friendship, an obsessed lesbian who happens to be the prison top dog, and a corrupt warden who is running a lucrative drug business with the help of the prisoners, TCJ is a great film and one you will enjoy watching. And what makes it so special is that you will remember watching it and want to watch it again.

• Yet another exploitation flick focusing on women's prisons...

  Aussie Stud2001-02-03

  Regardless of what anyone says, I still feel this movie should be classified as "comedy". Just about everything that goes on in this women's prison is hilarious. The title of the film, "The Concrete Jungle" refers to the women's prison where the main character, Elizabeth Demming, is sent to after she is found guilty of smuggling cocaine that was planted in her snow skis (thanks to her scumbag of a husband). Of course, her character being written as 'naive', her husband conjoles her through the prison glass windows via the conversation phone that he is doing his best to get her out of there, but she has to "remain strong" while he sorts this mess out. It doesn't take a genius to see through his guise that he's gonna let her take the fall and then let her rot in the slammer. Needless to say, we cut to scene 2 and she's in the slammer whereupon she meets a variety of stereotyped characters. There's the jittery crackhead mean sistah, "Icy", the gone-cold-turkey-yet-sweet chick, "Sweets". The evil head honcho, "Cat", the ex-evil-head-honcho, "Margo", and then there's the prison warden Fletcher who knows all the evil going-ons within the concrete jungle yet doesn't care and is as corrupt as about every other prison warden in film history. There's a bunch of other hilarious characters with stupid names such as "Eyes" and "Breaker". They just add to the backdrop. When our heroine, Elizabeth Demming, moves into the concrete jungle, Cat immediately takes a shine to her and brands her with the name, "Cherry". From thereon in, Cherry learns the horrors of rape, drugs and lesbianism from within the walls of the prison. Cat is running a drug operation within the prison and uses her lapdogs, Sweets and Icy, to make sure everything runs smoothly. Apparently, in this prison, drugs will get you anything, if not everything. We never get to find out where Cat gets these drug contacts in the outside world from, but hey, this movie stopped making sense from the opening credits! In the meantime, we see the obligatory lesbian sex scenes in the dormitory, chicks getting high on crack and rape scenes committed by the sadistic prison guard. Scooting forward, Cherry learns the ropes and in a final showdown between her and Cat for the crown of the prison, she pushes her onto an electrical fuse box where she does a happy dance and dies. Warden Fletcher's schemes are exposed and there are no points for guessing what happens to her (oh the irony of the situation!). Cherry's boyfriend is busted by the FEDS for drug smuggling and Cherry is finally released from prison, a much brighter and smarter girl (one would hope). Some hilarious things to look out for in the movie:- Anyway, that's my review of The Concrete Jungle. This is a pretty obscure run-of-the-mill early 80's women's prison exploitation flick. You'd be lucky if you found it at your local video store. Thank God I own a copy of this! Enjoy!