When we saw the promo materials for Sweet Sugar we had to watch the movie, because women-in-prison flicks are one of the most reliable forms of guilty fun out there. This one premiered in January 1972, and stars the majestic Phyllis Davis as the archetypal uppity American woman laid low in a tropical hellhole prison. How she got there doesn’t really matter. It’s what goes on there that the film is built around—medical experiments, a cruel warden, sadistic guards, and not nearly enough clothing to go around. Davis wins over the other inmates and eventually leads them in a chaotic escape attempt. As a women-in-prison entry Sweet Sugar
is pretty well regarded, but of course utterly ridiculous and impossibly cheap—the entire budget could probably fit in the rear pockets of Davis’s short-shorts. She actually appeared in another tropical prison flick, by the way—1973’s Terminal Island, which we talked about a few months ago. In that one she was part of the scenery. In this earlier effort she’s asked to carry the film and manages to lug it for ninety steaming minutes without once breaking down in tears and placing a furious call to her agent. Now that you know what you’re going to get with Sweet Sugar don’t place a furious call to us. We warned you.
is pretty well regarded, but of course utterly ridiculous and impossibly cheap—the entire budget could probably fit in the rear pockets of Davis’s short-shorts. She actually appeared in another tropical prison flick, by the way—1973’s Terminal Island, which we talked about a few months ago. In that one she was part of the scenery. In this earlier effort she’s asked to carry the film and manages to lug it for ninety steaming minutes without once breaking down in tears and placing a furious call to her agent. Now that you know what you’re going to get with Sweet Sugar don’t place a furious call to us. We warned you.
