I caught this little biscuit over winter break from school. I've been a huge fan of 70's exploitation fare, and decided that my film diet needed a good injection of cheese, so I sat down to watch it. The plot is pretty basic, three very different women (an Asian revolutionary, a black bad-ass, and a rich white girl) team up to track down a desperado (an over the top performance by Sid Haig) who has one million dollars stolen from a corrupt third world dictatorship. The Asian girl and white girl are involved in a revolution (for very different reasons) and the black girl was a torture expert used by the government, but she switched sides to get the cash. Along the way, they meet up with a scumbag wheeler-dealer (John Ashley) who wants the cash for himself and are chased by an incompetent army captain trying to make a name for himself.

The plot is pretty standard cookie cutter exploitation fare, and it obviously was made on a budget, but it isn't without its charm. The jokes that they pull off, although extremely campy, actually are kind of amusing. The girls give solid performances and John Ashley seems to be having a good time playing the used car salesman type, but the real winner here is Sid Haig. I wouldn't say Sid is the only thing this picture has going for it, but he's obviously enjoying his role and gives a fantastic performance.

Recommended for anyone who likes the women in prison genre (even though there is no nudity in this one).

A corrupt general plans on smuggling one million American dollars out of the banana republic he rules with an iron fist. A band of local revolutionaries plan on stealing the loot, but are doubled crossed by scuzzy and treacherous bandito gang leader Malavasi (a deliciously hammy Sid Haig). Tough cop Lynn Jackson (tartly played with winning spunk by Gloria Hendry) and slick'n'shifty con artist W.P. Willingsley (a nicely smarmy portrayal by John Ashley) help two revolutionaries -- brash Jo Turner (a splendidly sassy Cheri Caffaro) and feisty Mei Ling (a suitably steely Rosanna Ortiz) -- bust out of jail in order to get their hands on the cash. Director Eddie Romero, working from a perfectly lowbrow, yet still fairly sharp and witty script by Harry Corner Jr. and H. Franco Moon, relates the enjoyable story at a brisk pace, maintains an amusing tongue-in-cheek mood throughout, and stages the rousing action with aplomb. While Romero surprisingly (and disappointingly) skimps on the T&A, he delivers more than enough goofy humor and bloody'n'brutal violence to compensate for this. The ubiquitous Vic Diaz has a juicy part as Malavasi's wormy toady One-Eye. In addition, Eddie Garcia provides plenty of laughs with his hilarious turn as the slimy and sadomasochistic Captain Morales. Justo Paulino's competent cinematography does the trick. Les Baxter's funky syncopated score hits the get-down groovy spot. A fun little grindhouse flick.

An exciting not totally serious film. Gloria Hendry is excellent as Lynn Jackson. She is a totally underrated actress and should have received the fame and acclaim of Pam Grier.

'Savage Sisters' is a valuable addition to the blaxploitation/women in prison genre, and is a must for all those into this stuff. It is actually, in my opinion, one of the better examples of the genre.

I saw it when it came out in 1974. It was then available on VHS for a while.

However, as far as I know, it is NOT available on DVD, although there is a boxed set with the same title it doesn't include the movie!

The boxed set of DVDs available entitled 'Savage Sisters'consists of blaxploitation/women in prison movies but DOESN'T include the movie 'Savage Sisters'! Very strange.