Female Prisoner Scorpion : Jailhouse 41 (1972) - Episode 99

The Rewind Movie Podcast

Burning, burning…burning woman’s song of vengeance. We’re delving into the heady world of 1970s Japanese exploitation cinema with the imposing Meiko Kaji as the indomitable Nami Matsushima, Sasori, the wrongly imprisoned Convict #701 in Female Prisoner Scorpion: Jailhouse 41.

Directed by Shunya Itō in 1972, mere months after releasing the first film in the series (and his debut feature) Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion, Jailhouse 41 sees Kaji do battle with the vicious, patriarchal forces of prison Warden Goda (Fumio Watanabe) and his guards after her repeated escape attempts have started to undermine his authority. A shocking punishment, a kaleidoscopic prison break, and a phantasmagorical trip through the tumultuous landscape of a Japan in upheaval follows in an incendiary, politically charged, visually startling underground cult classic.

Film picker Devlin has chosen the 50th anniversary of its release to introduce new viewers Gali, Patrick and Matt to one of his favourites, as they join him in debate on representations of gender, moral murkiness, the perils and pleasures of quick and cheap movie production, awesome theme tunes, and a whole lot more. Were the gang willing to join in the riot, or were they ready to send Devlin to solitary confinement?

For information about this film, and the era that produced it, head to rewindmoviecast.com for an introductory essay by Devlin that contains more information, article links, trailers, clips that help contextualise the movie. You’ll also find his Scorpion-inspired poster designs for all four Kaji features as high quality giclee prints on Etsy, and as a range of shirts, hoodies and sweatshirts at our Teemill store. You can also find our movie podcast merchandise, and shirts and posters based on some of the other titles we’ve discussed.

If you’d like to support the podcast, a review or a quick rating on your platform of choice is the best way you can help us get the word out and keep the conversations flowing.

Get in touch with us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, and if you'd like to submit a request, correct our constant mispronunciations, or have a chat about whatever is on your mind, you can email [e-mail]. Thanks for listening!

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