In the early to mid-1970s, a lot of films were made by American film companies working in the Philippines. Why? Because it was CHEAP! President Marcos gave these cheapo filmmakers lots of incentives to come to his country--even if most of the movies they made were pure schlock! So, when I saw this film was made in the Philippines and was directed by Eddie Romero (famous for schlocky Filipino productions), I thought I needed to see it. After all, the films are usually pretty funny--albeit unintentionally so! One thing you should know about the movie, however, is that despite the DVD title "Ebony, Ivory and Jade", it isn't exactly a blacksploitation film. The title "Savage Sisters" seems much more appropriate.A group of female American athletes are taken prisoner and held for ransom. Some of his associates are idealistic rebels--but they don't know that their leader has no intention of honoring any of him promises. He plans on taking the random money and either killing the ladies or selling them into slavery.Now you'd think this would be a great recipe for schlock film, but you would be wrong. Because it's a PG-rated film* and appears to be less sensationalistic than most films of this genre, it has to rely more on acting--and that's a problem since no one in the film appears to be able to act. In addition, the music is among the worst I've ever heard in a film--so very repetitive that you are about ready to plunge an ice pick into your ears to make it stop! Overall, a rather stupid and poorly made film without even exploitation value. So, essentially, you are left with nothing.*Although IMDb lists this as rated R, the DVD says PG and it has no nudity or extreme violence.

I was warned that this would not be a typical women-in prison film. Cheri Caffaro may have tempted us with clothing that she was about to burst out of, but the key words are "about to." Even the shower scene with Caffaro and Rosanna Ortiz was a bust. Even Gloria Hendry in a bathtub was covered in soap. Even the matron (Rita Gomez), who jumps into bed with all the officers, hides herself well.It's all about some crazy General, who has 10 stars and wears medals on his T shirt, who is after a million dollars the rebels stole. He enlists Capt. Morales (Eddie Garcia) with the promise of a star. Hendry takes Caffaro and Ortiz and they make a plan of their own with a shifty John Ashley, who plans to double-cross them. Funny, but a big disappointment for WIP fans.

You have to give credit to this Filipino actioner for at least trying something different, and that's with making the movie more or less a comedy. However, the comedy is so lazy, so uninspired, and so utterly unfunny that sitting through the movie is more painful than had it kept the comedy out! (Also, the comedy sometimes has a mean-streak in it, giving some scenes a bitter taste.)It's not that the movie is just bad with its comedy, it's also badly made. The "action" is poorly choreographed, and the mayhem has the intensity of seeing a group of people running by you. As well, there is some unbelievably slipshod editing; characters suddenly appear (or disappear) with no explanation as to how they got there or where they went. Added with a prologue that suspiciously looks like it was filmed and added in at the last minute, there seems to have been some problems during the shooting, or that they were frantically trying to save the movie in the editing room.Oh yeah, don't let the "R" rating fool you. The rating seems to be more for several utterances of the "ultimate" four-letter words. The action isn't graphic, the sex happens off-screen or just out of camera range, and I don't think there's one instance of actual nudity by the ladies. You have to ask yourself why if they were headed for an "R" rating with the language, why they didn't use the opportunity to spice things up.

I have been a fan of the Eddie Romero-John Ashely potboilers since they first aired on WNEW-TV and Wor-TV in NEW York during the late 70's. I was akid then, and far less descriminating. But now I can appreciate their films for the hip,knowing, winking humor, and technical expertise. One of the last in the cycle, SAVAGE SISTERS is an easy-going entry with all involved having a pretty good time playing dress-up. The always reliable Sid Haig is fun as a middle-eastern terrorist - in the south Pacific!!!