Frauen ohne Unschuld (1977) from Johnny Web (Uncle Scoopy; Greg Wroblewski)

Women Without Innocence, or Wicked Women, opens with a naked and bloody couple dead on the floor. The police arrive, and we see a naked Lina Romay running upstairs to hide. It's already pretty obvious that we have just started another of Uncle Jess Franco's films. This one is not a WIP flick, but it's close. The variation is that most of it takes place in a mental hospital for women instead of a women's prison. The doctors are trying to cure Romay of the trauma she suffered when the couple was murdered. We eventually get around to the real plot about smuggled diamonds, but this being a Jess Franco film, we will have to wade through an enormous number of naked women and people having sex. When the patients aren't exposing themselves or masturbating, the doctors and/or nurses are getting it on.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

From 1975 until 1977, Jess Franco and Erwin Dietrich were a notorious and prolific B-movie team. In that brief period, Franco directed sixteen films which Dietrich produced, including seven of them in 1977 alone! Dietrich was also credited as a writer on ten of the sixteen films, Franco on nine. The list follows:

  1. Downtown - Die nackten Puppen der Unterwelt (1975) 5.2/10 (17 votes)
    ...aka Down Town (1975) (Switzerland: German title)
  2. Frauen für Zellenblock 9 (1977) 5.2/10 (66 votes)
    ...aka Flucht von der Todesinsel (1977) (Switzerland: German title: video title)
    ...aka Tropical Inferno (1977) (USA)
    ...aka Visa pour mourir (1977)
    ...aka Women in Cellblock 9 (1977) (USA)
  3. Frauen im Liebeslager (1977) 4.8/10 (46 votes)
    ...aka Love Camp (1977) (USA)
  4. Frauen ohne Unschuld (1977)
    ...aka Women Without Innocence (1977) (International: English title)
  5. Frauengefängnis (1975) 5.2/10 (132 votes)
    ...aka Barbed Wire Dolls (1977) (USA)
    ...aka Caged Women (1975) (UK)
    ...aka Women's Penitentiary IV (1975)
  6. Frauenhaus, Das (1977) 4.9/10 (57 votes)
    ...aka Blue Rita (1977) (Europe: English title)
    ...aka Cabaret des filles perverses, Le (1977) (France)
  7. Greta - Haus ohne Männer (1977) 4.6/10 (341 votes)
    ...aka Greta the Torturer (1977)
    ...aka Greta, the Mad Butcher (1977)
    ...aka Greta, the Sadist (1977)
    ...aka Ilsa, the Wicked Warden (1977)
    ...aka Ilsa: Absolute Power (1977)
    ...aka Wanda, the Wicked Warden (1977)
  8. Jack the Ripper (1976) 5.3/10 (303 votes)
    ...aka Dirnenmörder von London, Der (1976) (West Germany: cut version)
  9. Liebesbriefe einer portugiesischen Nonne, Die (1977) 6.0/10 (157 votes)
    ...aka Love Letters from a Portuguese Nun (1977) (USA: video catalogue title)
    ...aka Love Letters of a Portuguese Nun (1977) (USA)
  10. Marquise von Sade, Die (1976)
    ...aka Doriana Grey (1976)
  11. Midnight Party (1976) 3.1/10 (27 votes)
    ...aka Lady porno (1976)
  12. Mädchen im Nachtverkehr (1976)
    ...aka Wild Desire (1976) (International: English title: X-rated version)
  13. Ruf der blonden Göttin, Der (1977) 4.4/10 (51 votes)
    ...aka Porno Shock (1977) (USA)
    ...aka Voodoo Passion (1977) (International: English title) (USA)
  14. Sklavinnen, Die (1976)
    ...aka Swedish Nympho Slaves (1976) (International: English title)
  15. Teuflischen Schwestern, Die (1976) 4.6/10 (55 votes)
    ...aka Devilish Sisters, The (1976)
    ...aka Sexy Sisters (1976) (International: English title)
  16. Weiße Haut und schwarze Schenkel (1976)

There are several positives for Frauen ohne Unschuld:

  • In between the exploitation elements, Uncle Jess actually threw in a few pretty good plot twists into a decent little story. Look for not one, but two different multi-mirror sets and a total of three scenes in them.
  • Some of the minor characters are hilarious, such as the diva, a patient who imagines herself an opera star, and the religious nut who prays constantly in some rather outrageous ways.
  • This was made before Franco became fascinated with psychedelic photography, and the photography here is wonderful, as is the transfer.
  • And, of course, the nudity is non-stop.

The only drawback: the audio is only available in German, and the woefully inadequate English sub-titles barely allow you to follow the plot.

Well worth a look for fans of 70s exploitation.

Jess Franco 8 DVD Gold Box Set

DVD INFO

Eight great transfers of rare Jess Franco films, including this one, which is unavailable elsewhere. Click on the image for details.

 

NUDITY REPORT

Fully naked women include Lina Romay, Dagmar Bürger, Esther Studer, Nanda Van Bergen, Peggy Markoff and Monica Swinn. They are spelled off by several unknowns who also like being naked.

The Critics Vote ...

  • No major reviews online

 

The People Vote ...

  • IMDB summary. IMDb has this one at 6.0, but based on only 6 votes.
The meaning of the IMDb score: 7.5 usually indicates a level of excellence equivalent to about three and a half stars from the critics. 6.0 usually indicates lukewarm watchability, comparable to approximately two and a half stars from the critics. The fives are generally not worthwhile unless they are really your kind of material, equivalent to about a two star rating from the critics, or a C- from our system. Films rated below five are generally awful even if you like that kind of film - this score is roughly equivalent to one and a half stars from the critics or a D on our scale. (Possibly even less, depending on just how far below five the rating is.

Our own guideline:

  • A means the movie is so good it will appeal to you even if you hate the genre.
  • B means the movie is not good enough to win you over if you hate the genre, but is good enough to do so if you have an open mind about this type of film. Any film rated B- or better is recommended for just about anyone. In order to rate at least a B-, a film should be both a critical and commercial success. Exceptions: (1) We will occasionally rate a film B- with good popular acceptance and bad reviews, if we believe the critics have severely underrated a film. (2) We may also assign a B- or better to a well-reviewed film which did not do well at the box office if we feel that the fault lay in the marketing of the film, and that the film might have been a hit if people had known about it. (Like, for example, The Waterdance.)
  • C+ means it has no crossover appeal, but will be considered excellent by people who enjoy this kind of movie. If this is your kind of movie, a C+ and an A are indistinguishable to you.
  • C means it is competent, but uninspired genre fare. People who like this kind of movie will think it satisfactory. Others probably will not.
  • C- indicates that it we found it to be a poor movie, but genre addicts find it watchable. Any film rated C- or better is recommended for fans of that type of film, but films with this rating should be approached with caution by mainstream audiences, who may find them incompetent or repulsive or both. If this is NOT your kind of movie, a C- and an E are indistinguishable to you.
  • D means you'll hate it even if you like the genre. We don't score films below C- that often, because we like movies and we think that most of them have at least a solid niche audience. Now that you know that, you should have serious reservations about any movie below C-. Films rated below C- generally have both bad reviews and poor popular acceptance.
  • E means that you'll hate it even if you love the genre.
  • F means that the film is not only unappealing across-the-board, but technically inept as well.

 

Based on this description, this film is a solid C on our scale. If you are not a B movie fan, this one will not change your mind, but if you're into Jess Franco, or exploitation films in general, this one is well worth seeking out.

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