Heiße Tod, Der (1969)

Director:

Jesus Franco

Writers:

Anya Corvin (German dialogue)
Milo G. Cuccia (screenplay)
(more)

Release Date:

23 April 1969 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Horror

Tagline:

99 WOMEN... behind bars -- without men!

Plot:

Plot Keywords:

Cult Movie | Grindhouse | W.i.p | Female Nudity | Sexploitation

Cast

Maria Schell	...	Leonie Caroll
Herbert Lom	...	Governor Santos
Mercedes McCambridge	...	Thelma Diaz
Maria Rohm	...	Marie
Rosalba Neri	...	Zoe
Elisa Montés	...	Helga (as Eliza Montes)
Luciana Paluzzi	...	Natalie Mendoza
Valentina Godoy	...	Rosalie
José María Blanco	...	Doctor
Mike Brendel
Elsa Zabala
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ana Lucarella
Olívia Pineschi
Juan Antonio Riquelme
María Vico
Jesus Franco	...	(uncredited)

Directed by
Jesus Franco		(as Jess Franco)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Anya Corvin		German dialogue
Milo G. Cuccia		screenplay
Milo G. Cuccia		story
Carlo Fadda		screenplay
Carlo Fadda		story
Jesus Franco		screenplay (as Jess Franco)
Jesus Franco		story (as Jess Franco)
Javier Péres Grober		screenplay
Harry Alan Towers		English dialogue (as Peter Welbeck)
Ornella Zanelli		Italian dialogue

Produced by
Luis Laso	....	producer (spanish version) (as Luis L. Moreno)
Harry Alan Towers	....	producer

Original Music by
Bruno Nicolai

Cinematography by
Manuel Merino

Film Editing by
Stanley Frazen
Bruno Mattei		(Italian version)
Gabrielle Reinecke		(German version)

Art Direction by
Santiago Ontañón

Makeup Department
Adolfo Ponte	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Luis Laso	....	general manager (as Luis Lazo)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Juan Estelrich	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Elio Pacella	....	sound engineer

Camera and Electrical Department
Riccardo Damiani	....	assistant camera
Antonio Modica	....	camera operator

Editorial Department
María Luisa Soriano	....	editor: Spanish version

Other crew
Bruno Mattei	....	director: hardcore sequences (French version)
Loredana Pagliaro	....	production secretary

Production Companies

• Cinematografica Associati (CI.AS.)
• Corona Filmproduktion
• Hesperia Films S.A.
• Towers of London

Distributors

• Commonwealth United Entertainment (1969) (USA) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• Astral Films (Canada) (as "99 Women")
• Blue Underground (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• K & C Video (Australia) (video)
• MCM Entertainment (1994) (USA) (video)
• Paramount Films de España (Spain)
• Umbrella Entertainment (2007) (Australia) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Digitmovies Alternative Entertainment  soundtrack

Also Known As:

99 Women (UK)
99 donne (Italy)
99 mujeres (Spain) (cut version)
Island of Despair (USA)
Isle of Lost Women
Prostitutes in Prison
Sex im Frauengefängnis (West Germany)
The Hot Death
Women's Penitentiary XII (USA) (video title)

Runtime:

Spain:83 min | Argentina:99 min | Australia:81 min (25 fps) (video) (cut) | Italy:90 min | Sweden:86 min (banned version) | UK:70 min | USA:86 min | West Germany:94 min

Country:

Liechtenstein | Spain | Italy | West Germany | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

France:-16 | Australia:MA (2007 re-rating) | Argentina:18 | Sweden:(Banned) | USA:Unrated | West Germany:18 | Canada:R (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Alicante, Comunidad Valenciana, Spain

Company:

Cinematografica Associati (CI.AS.)

Movie Connections:

Followed by Quartier de femmes (1974)

99 Women in Chains on the Wall; 99 Women in Chains!

Does the world really need all these 'Women in Prison' flicks? The legendary director Jess Franco apparently seemed to think so, because almost half of the titles that fall under this category are his. There's also a lot of variation in this questionable sub genre of cult-cinema - largely determined by how old they are - as most of them are really nasty and exploitative whereas some (the pioneers mainly) are more sensual and emphasizing on the drama-elements. "99 Women", at least the original non-hardcore version, got released during the earliest stage of "W.I.P" madness and thus Franco was still clearly 'exploring' how far he could go with inserting lesbian sleaze and brutal whippings. The later ones are a non-stop series of tasteless sex and raw violence, but this film actually has a remotely decent script and an above-average amount of stylish elements. A small island in the Pacific Ocean serves as a gigantic prison, with a fort for women in one corner and one for men in the other. Female prisoners n° 97, 98 and 99 arrive one morning by boat and they immediately meet the sadistic head warden Thelma and the sleazy Governor Santos. The girls are punished and put in isolation cells for no reason and lethal 'accidents' appear to be a regular routine. Just because so many prisoners die, the government sends a new female principal to the island. She makes efforts to befriend the prisoners, particularly the beautiful & innocent Marie, but the wicked old headmistress constantly boycotts her. "99 Women" isn't the most exciting movie ever, as many sequences are dreadfully slow and pointless, and there's a serious lack of continuity. The locations are very nice looking and the photography is occasionally even elegant, but sadly it's all just an empty package. If you don't purchase the X-rated version, you won't have much sleazy goodness to admire. "99 Women" is incredibly tame, with only a couple of scarcely dressed women cat-fighting and some lesbian experimenting. The cast is really good, though, with the ravishing regular Franco-nymphs Maria Rohm ("The Bloody Judge", "Eugenie") and Rosalba Neri ("Amuck!", "Lady Frankenstein") playing likable characters. Herbet Lom is awesome as the fiendish, nudity-obsessed (can you blame him?) governor. Mainly just recommended to Francophiles.