Highly Overrated But Still Good

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

I watched the 52 minute version of CHAINED GIRLS as made available for public viewing on the Amazon Prime subscription channel. As with other genre movies of this era, all of the controversial subject matter and nudity has been excised, leaving a rather pointless viewing experience. What we have here is a dumb, black and white, narrated story with very little going on. The photography is all mondo-style documentary work and the lesbian make-out scenes, perhaps once hugely controversial, feel tame and overly staged by modern standards. Boredom soon sets in with this one.

Chained Girls (1965) ** (out of 4)This is a fake documentary from director Joseph P. Mawra and producer George Weiss (GLEN OR GLENDA?) who at the same time were releasing the Olga series. This documentary tries to protect people and inform them on the serious subject, which could lead to more lesbians taking over society. This earnest documentary tries to warn people what to look for so that they don't come down with the lesbian virus. Seem stupid? Well this documentary certainly is and it certainly falls in line with stuff like REEFER MADNESS as it's just so downright idiotic yet I'm sure some will get laughs from it. I think if any lesbian were to watch this today they're obviously going to be very offended as the word "dyke" is thrown around like it's a scientific word for lesbians. We learn that many women between 30-35 are single because they're lesbians. We're learn that a quarter of girls who go to college or lesbians. We also learn that most lesbians come from fathers who wanted boys instead. These are just some of the "facts" that we're told throughout the 61-minute running time so obviously no one should be coming to this thing expecting anything to take serious. The running time is thankfully short but even so the film runs on a bit too long and runs out of gas around the thirty-minute mark. Those expecting a lot of nudity will be disappointed as there's very little and the majority of the running time just features some silly make out scenes. Narrator Joel Holt is priceless in his job because he's able to be so straight while reading his ridiculous words. CHAINED GIRLS isn't going to appeal to very many people but I think grindhouse fans might enjoy it after a few beers.

I saw this movie out of pure interest to see how they felt about lesbianism back then. It is rather funny if you watch it with a good company and don't take it seriously, though if you really take in consideration the "results of surveys" it mentions it can be totally depressing.Is is old-fashioned, outdated conservative nonsense made up by silly psychoanalysts and others who obviously had no idea about homosexuality. It is black and white and has no sound, except the narrators voice.It is mostly dramatizations with slightly bad acting and an amateurish aesthetic. It is definitely not objective and overstates things. Although if you keep in mind the political and social reality in America during those times (cold war, beatniks & hippies movement, McCarthyism etc) it's interesting that they actually made such films. Overall I would recommend you saw it, back take your distance from it...

For what it is "chained girls" is one of the best cinematic experiences I've ever had. This is the perfect companion/foil to the film "Before Stonewall." Rarely has a movie made me laugh so hard and so deeply. It could just be that it's a girl/girl thing, but there's something about seeing these stereo-types so sloppily portrayed. Really this film is a treat if you are in the right frame of mind and/or watching it with someone who truly has a firm grasp of irony. Invite some friends over, grab a bottle of wine and enjoy. One serious note though, this flick will actually make you respect the old-timers for the horrible misconceptions they had to face on a day to day basis. So not only do you get a truly ironic delight, but you get a moral as well. Again, I can't stress enough, watch this only when you're in an appropriate frame of mind--that alone will make the difference between whether you'll laugh or weep! Girl/Girl.