Exploitation from the 1970s! Yes 1974's "Policewomen" has all the makings of a Ursula Andress movie. Sondra Currie's performance rivals anything Andress could have done. Before the Angie Dickinson TV show, Currie's portrayal of Lacy Bond showed a male dominated profession that a woman's "touch" was just what they needed to modernize. Clad in revealing and/or tight outfits (or swimwear) Lacy Bond was just what the department needed to nab a criminal organization made up of bikini clad criminals.
The plot: As the movie opens, a daring jail break is in progress. A dozen female prisoners are making a run for it, and tight-skirted, high-heeled, Officer Bond captures all but two (without the help of any man!). This draws the attention from the brass, and they summon her to HQ in order to recruit her for an "undercover" mission. Her Lieutenant, Frank Mitchell (the buff Tony Young) is skeptical that a woman can do any police work, so he puts her through some tests. She passes them, and in the process, disables a karate instructor (William Smith) with a good swift kick to the gonads. They then explain the mission to her, and she replies "so you need a woman, pardon the pun, to go undercover." Lacy Bond (who is better equipped than James Bond) has some great one liners, such as, "If you want your prisoners alive...don't give me an automatic rifle." Winning Mitchell's respect, Lacy is unleashed.
The criminal gang is run by the elderly, Maud, who has a compound filled with beauties. They smuggle gold from Catalina Island to the mainland. Mitchell and Lacy go to Catalina, and while the beauties do smuggling stuff, these cops go horseback riding, sailing, eat at four-star restaurants, get intimate, and fall in love (all on taxpayer dollars). Frank recognizes the gang members going out in a boat, and Lacy and him follow. The five bikini clad criminals beat up Frank, while Lacy hangs behind with a look on her face that says, "What an amateur!" She then saves Frank, and beats up the five babes. With Frank in the hospital, Lacy infiltrates the gang. She learns they are planning the ultimate heist, and is also recognized by the two beauties (now gang members) who escaped in the first scene.
Will Maud discover Lacy is really a cop? Will Frank learn to love a woman who can beat him up? Will the tight skirts worn by 1970s policewomen ever come back in style in modern day policing? If you are annoyed with the political correctness of "Law & Order," or fed-up with the arrogant and stuck-up characters of "Criminal Minds," see Sondra Currie in "Policewomen."
They did things right in the 70s, Cheek and Chong, sing a song , tappity tap tap!
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