Caught up in a prostitution raid, Joanne is quickly introduced to the cruel realities of the penal system. Her first lesson comes courtesy of a transport van driver before she even arrives at the prison. Annoyed by the repeated protestations of her innocence, driver Jack stops the van, and while his female partner takes a smoke break in the cab, he rapes the shackled Joanne in front of three other constrained female prisoners who voice no objections. Upon arrival at the prison the warden tells her she must learn to "play the game" if she ever expects to be released.
The WIP (women in prison) genre having already crossed over into adult territory in several Jess Franco flicks and Oswaldo de Oliveira's Bare Behind Bars, it's not surprising that the US market also got in on the action with Jailhouse Girls. Director Henri Pachard doesn't do a particularly great job, though, with his film lacking the nastiness and sleaze that such material really demands.
