'This film is dedicated to those who are disturbed by today's lax moral codes and who eagerly await the return of corporal and capital punishment ….' Penny Irving plays Ann-Marie Di Verney, a gullible French model living in London. She is picked up by Mark E Desade (Marquis Desade?), who shows absolutely no sign of being anything other than a wrong 'un. As he drives her to meet 'his mother', she is frightened by his wayward driving and he tells her to go to sleep – which she does! Her innocence is over-played, but Irving nevertheless convinces as someone who truly does not deserve all the truly appalling, and unlikely, things that happen to her ('First we will kill your vanity, then the rest follows of its own accord,' she is told at one point).Of the Pete Walker directed 'sexploitation' films I have seen, this is my favourite. It is focused, features some great central performances (stalwart Sheila Keith is horrifyingly realistic as sadistic warder Walker) and contains a truly disturbing sense of growing hopelessness – a feeling that turns out to be mostly justified.She is taken to a private prison, a secret place run by Margaret (Barbara Markham) who was fired from her earlier job running an all-girls' school after one of her pupils - a French girl - killed herself (in truth, it was Margaret who murdered her). She and her warders are dangerously and passionately insane, and now run what they call this 'private clinic' away from the eyes of the public. As latest inmate Di Verney (guilty of flaunting her body) is also French, Margaret is intimidated by her presence and determines to have her killed.To have people imprisoned and punished for lack of morals by 'respectable' authorities who turn out to be offenders on a far greater scale is too perverse to be taken seriously as a wholehearted statement ... or is it? It did cause some offence for its 'oppressive right wing tone' on its release. As a horror film, though, it all works terrifically well and superbly played by all. Having said that, Di Verney's friends (including 'The Flesh and Blood Show's Ray Brooks) – who are desperately trying to track her down throughout – are dwarfed by the larger than life prison staff.Although the death toll is shocking, and the location throughout stiflingly austere, I maintain the most frightening thing is the sound of creaking stretched rope that accompanies each of the successive hangings.A highly recommended low-budget feature.

An elderly ex-judge and his wife set up a kangaroo court to pass 'proper' sentence on wayward young women who they consider have been treated too leniently by the law. Those convicted are forced to serve time in their private house of correction, where any misdemeanours are dealt with most severely: one strike gets a trip to solitary confinement; two strikes results in a flogging; three strikes and it's the hangman's noose!In dedicating House of Whipcord to 'those who are disturbed by today's lax moral codes and who eagerly await the return of corporal and capital punishment', director Pete Walker and writer David McGillivray take a wry swipe at the self-appointed moral guardians of the day, people whose ultra-conservative values made them more dangerous than those they seek to persecute.The undoubtedly deranged individuals who operate the prison in Whipcord are clearly intended to represent the religious right, the older generation, and the establishment—exactly the sort of people who would object to this kind of immoral entertainment; the result is a whole lot of sleazy Sadean fun, as Walker and McGillivray go out of their way to rile the easily offended, their liberal young females being stripped, degraded, tortured and killed by their crazy captors (whose number include Walker regular Sheila Keith) for the most trivial of transgressions.Unsurprisingly, the film delivers lots of female nudity (scrumptious Penny Irving as sexy French inmate Ann-Marie Di Verney regularly gets naked, and Ann Michelle goes topless), although the film is remarkably reserved when it comes to depicting the actual violence, preferring to suggest its nastier acts rather than wallow in gore. Despite the lack of graphic nastiness, the film still possesses the ability to shock and upset, delivering a cruel twist and an unexpectedly powerful emotional wallop in its closing moments.

A not-too-bright French girl called Anne-Marie is taken unwittingly by an odd man called Mark E. Dessart to a secret prison in the middle of the countryside. This place is a correctional institute for amoral women, and it's conditions are extremely harsh. Anne-Marie soon discovers to her horror that no inmate actually ever leaves this prison.This Pete Walker film is not your typical women in prison movie. While it certainly ticks a few boxes associated with WIP fare, it's an altogether more heavy and serious film than others of it's type. It does have nudity and S&M but neither are particularly explicit or detailed. House of Whipcord is much too downbeat in tone to operate as a straight sexploitation flick. On the contrary, it has some strong performances, good writing and capable direction. The setting for the prison itself is agreeably gloomy and is used to good effect. While the film is not afraid to end fairly nihilistically.Penny Irving isn't especially good in the central role of Anne-Marie, she is just a little too vacuous too much of the time. While Robert Tayman as Mark E. Dessart is at the very least incredibly creepy, although quite how someone who looks like this is a chick-magnet is best left unanswered. Much better are the personnel in the prison, with Sheila Keith a particular stand out. She was terrific in Walker's other 1974 film Frightmare, and here she is extremely impressive again as a scary and sadistic prison guard.There's no doubt that this is a very solid bit of Brit exploitation. It's very well made all things considered. It's just not quite what some might think it might be with a name like House of Whipcord. There's not much erotica here at all, so be aware of that. But if you appreciate your WIP films with a bit more downbeat grimness then this one could be the answer.

I didn't go into this film with very high expectations because I didn't like Pete Walker's Frightmare very much; but House of Whipcord is a vastly superior film and, to be honest, I'm shocked that this doesn't get mentioned more often! Pete Walker's film is both a sleazy seventies exploitation classic and a striking indictment of the justice system. The film serves as a warning against what would happen if private institutions were given the power to decide what is apt punishment for certain crimes, and the dedication of the film to all those who believe in capital punishment shows Pete Walker's love for controversy. The plot takes place in an old house, which doubles up as a private institution ran by a senile judge, his unforgiving partner; the female warden of the prison and two equally vile female orderlies. They punish girls for crimes committed that weren't, in their eyes, properly punished by the corrupt British courts. We pick the story up when a young French girl is inducted into the institution.The atmosphere of the film is brilliant; Pete Walker always ensures that the action is sleazy, and yet oddly erotic at the same time. The film is very matriarchal, and it's the female characters that are the protagonists while the men exist in background roles. However, the film isn't feminist; and, in fact, is the exact opposite; as the director ensures that none of the women are portrayed in a favourable light. The film benefits from a handful of great performances; the best of which coming from Barbara Markham, who gives a powerhouse performance in the role of the head of the institution. Frightmare star Sheila Keith, and Dorothy Gordon are the orderlies, while Patrick Barr is brilliantly understated in his role as the ineffective Justice of the prison. Penny Irving is the young French victim at the centre of the story; but her performance is brought down by her ridiculous French accent! The story is another major strong point for this film, as Pete Walker ensures that it always moves well and although you wouldn't expect it from a Euroshock movie like this - he also makes it easy to care about the characters and what happens to them. On the whole, this is a vastly underrated and under seen seventies gem that must be seen by anyone who gets the chance to see it!