It all started out innocently enough at the B-Movie Message Board. I honestly can't even remember the topic, but the discussion turned to Chuck Connors and the worst thing you'd seen him in. While everyone else thought Tourist Trap was tops, I remembered an old Made for TV film about a women's penal farm starring Connors as a lecherous sheriff, so I cast my vote for Nightmare in Badham County (barely beating out The Horror at 37,000 Feet because that was really Shatner's movie.) 

No one else had heard of it, so Cliffie, our resident surly and acerbic goldfish, told me to get on the ball and review it. So here ya go...

We open as a sporty Mustang winds it's way down a country road. From the guitar picking and mouth harp on the soundtrack, we deduce that we are well below the Mason Dixon line and are entering Joe Don Baker country. Inside the Mustang, we find Kathy (Deborah Raffin) and Diane (Lynne Moody), two striking young gals from Philadelphia. Both go to college at UCLA and are currently on summer break. They've got two months until classes start up again and decide to have an outward bound adventure to see the real America that's off of the main roads (he says ominously.)

All goes well until they have a blow out, and the girls are as mechanically inept as I am, so they flag down a passing motorist who happily agrees to help. He begins to work when a patrol car roars up and skids to a stop. The Sheriff (Chuck Connors) gets out -- and adjusts his gun belt in such a fashion that we are already leery of him. He proceeds to give old George, the man who stopped to help (and I unhappily have to point out that George is black and that's the reason for most of the grief from this racist schmuck), some guff and grows belligerent when George mouths off. When George finishes putting the spare on, the Sheriff won't let the girls pay him for his trouble. But Diane, who also is black, insists. As she hands over the money, George tries to warn her about something else but is afraid to because the Sheriff is still in earshot.

The girls head on, into the nearest town, and stop at a Garage for gas and their flat fixed. While waiting on the repairs, they head over to the cafe for some lunch. The surly waitress delivers their food and gives Diane the cold treatment. While they eat, the Sheriff comes in and saunters over. Feeling they got off on the wrong foot, he proceeds to ask if the city gals are looking for a good time and if they like to dance. Diane produces her fork and tells the icky Sheriff to do the twist on the pointy end of it. (I point out that making fun of a racist Sheriff in his home town is probably not the wisest of moves.) As the girls laugh at him, he retreats outside and we spy the Sheriff, through the cafe window, as he heads to the Garage and starts conspiring with the mechanic. He points at the girls and then to their car. (This can't be good.) 

After lunch, the gals pay off the mechanic for the tire, but now, the car "mysteriously" won't start. Checking under the hood, he says the fuel pump is shot and they'll have to wait until tomorrow for parts. Not suspecting a thing, the girls leave the keys with him and gather up their sleeping bags and head back to a meadow they spotted on the way into town and camp out. And later that night, as the girls talk about their boyfriends and the trip so far, the film turns darkly sinister with a snap of a twig. The Sheriff walks into camp, tells them to gather up their stuff, and they're under arrest for trespassing. 

At the jailhouse, the girls are put in separate cells at opposite ends of the room. Sheriff Redneck walks in with the cell keys. He gives Kathy a lecherous look over, but then slides -- make that slithers -- down to Diane's cell and unlocks it. He enters and takes off his belt and undoes his pants. (And I think we all know where this is going, so I'm gonna skip this part.) The deed done, when the Sheriff leaves the cell, Kathy asks Diane if she's okay. When Diane doesn't answer, Kathy cries herself to sleep.

The next morning, the girls are brought before the judge for sentencing on the trespassing charges. Kathy wants to raise holy hell over the Sheriff's actions but Diane says, no; the Sheriff's crazy, and the sooner they're out of town the better, When the Judge (Ralph Bellamy!) orders the girls to pay a fifty dollar fine for trespassing, the Sheriff gives a nod to the mechanic who presents his bill for his work on the car -- and it totals well over $200. Smelling that they're getting railroaded, Diane accuses the Sheriff of rape. The Sheriff doesn't deny it, and accuses Diane of prostituting herself as way to get out of jail. And since Kathy was in a different cell, there were no actual witnesses. So the fix is in and the Judge sentences the girls to thirty days labor at the Badham County Prison Farm. Kathy demands to make her one phone call, but no one is listening as the two girls are herded, along with the rest of the prisoners, to the transport van. (And one of those guards looks awfully familiar.) 

Inside the courthouse, the Judge and the Sheriff watch the women being loaded into the van. The Judge yells at the Sheriff, who just happens to be his cousin, and accuses him of being a sex maniac. He also warns, that someday, the Sheriff's going to get in to too much trouble and he won't be able to get him out of it.

The girls are separated because of their race. Kathy tries to console a younger prisoner, Emaline (Kim Wilson), who is a runaway being punished by her evil aunt. Diane sits next to Sarah (Della Reese) who warns her that their sentence will be longer than thirty days. It's harvest time, and the Farm needs all the help it can get until it's done. When they reach the farm, Kathy approaches Greer (Tina Louise!), the head guard, still demanding that phone call. Dulcie (Fionnula Flanagan -- I wonder if she's Irish?), the other guard, steps in and saves Kathy from a smack down. The prisoners are then lined up to meet Superintendent Dancer (Robert Reed!) who gives them a quick inspection. He's not surprised to see Sarah back on the Farm, and as he goes over the gal's records, he's intrigued by Kathy and Diane. Kathy tries to plead her case to him, saying they were framed. Dancer doesn't buy it. (Why? Because he's in on the conspiracy, too.) Dismissing the other prisoners, he orders Kathy to stay and tells her there are no phone or mail privileges at the Farm -- so she's stuck until her sentence is served out. 

While escorting Kathy through the prison gate, Dulcie goes over the ground rules and tips to survive life on the Farm: Don't make eye contact with the guards; don't associate with the black prisoners; and keep your mouth shut are tops on the list. Dulcie takes her to the bunkhouse and gives her a prison smock to wear. The bunkhouses are segregated, too. Diane settles into her bunk and talks to Sarah until another inmate spots Alma (Torea Stuart), the bull dyke prison guard, heading toward the white prisoner's bunkhouse -- and she's got a leather strap. Sarah comments that "some poor whitey's gonna get it." Sarah then reveals that the guards aren't guards at all, but prison trustees. Guards cost money. She also warns that whipping is the least of their worries because people have been known to die here on the Farm.

Alma storms into the bunkhouse and confronts a prisoner, claiming she ate some potatoes during the picking that day. Kathy and Emaline watch, horrified, as she takes malicious glee in stripping the smock off of the prisoner and proceeds to whip her bloody.

The next day, Kathy manages to talk to Diane while waiting in the lunch line. They exchange information they've gathered and grow very morose because aside from being stuck here, no one knows where they are. Then Kathy is hauled to a field where they start picking beans. Dulcie and Smitty (Lana Wood) are on guard duty and it isn't long before the inevitable catfight erupts into an all out brawl. Bitch slaps fly, smocks are torn off, and hair is pulled, with much fervor until Dulcie turns a fire hose on the crowd to pacify them. 

I'd pause to say they're in the middle of a bean field and ask Where in the hell did that fire hose come from? But who cares as long as we get some wet boob shots right?. *sigh*

The brawling stops and all fingers point to Kathy, the new girl, for starting it. (She didn't.) Smitty sees no alternative but to add another thirty days to her sentence. Dulcie tries to defend Kathy but Smitty ignores her. They have their orders. (And yes, Dulcie appears to have a "thing" for Kathy.) 

Meanwhile, Diane is stuck in the laundry room where Sarah tells her how the work they're doing is from the laundry service in town. Seems the town exploits the Farm, and it's prisoners, on many fronts. Sarah is in for a murder charge that was clearly self defense; but the parole board is in on the conspiracy, too, and won't allow any good workers to get out. 

That night, Greer watches as the prisoners shower. While they're drying, she escorts Dancer on a tour of the bunkhouse and he starts picking certain girls for something. An orgy? No, not yet. They're to serve as waitresses at his lawn party and Kathy is among those chosen. The Judge is at the party, so she approaches and asks if he'll contact her father and let him know where she is. But the Judge says he can't help her. She tries other guests, but the Sheriff, or Dancer, is always there to shoo her away. Heading into the house to refill her serving tray, Kathy spots a telephone. No one is around, so she quietly takes the receiver and asks to make a collect call to her father. Before she can get an answer, she hears someone coming, quickly returns the receiver, and starts filling up her tray just as Dulcie comes in to see what's taking her so long. But Kathy didn't place the receiver back properly and the phone starts buzzing. Dulcie warns that Greer broke the knuckles of the last gal who tried to make a phone call and herds her back outside. Smitty wants to know what's up, but Dulcie won't divulge. But Smitty sees the phone and figures it out and later that night, Smitty and Greer pull Kathy out of bed, strip her down, and whip her back raw for trying to use the phone. 

Sunday is visitor's day, and while the other prisoners meet with family, Kathy and Diane meet in secret. Neither can stand much more of the Farm life and Diane already has an idea for a breakout. Kathy begs her not to try anything but Diane is determined. So Kathy watches as Diane sneaks on to the bus used to bring the visitors in. Visiting hours are over, so the families pile back into the bus. A couple spy Diane in the back, but say nothing, and warn her to keep her head down because they count heads at the gate. As the buses pull away, hopeful Kathy watches the departure a little too long, tipping Smitty off that something is up. The bus Diane is on manages to get past the gate, but the alarm is sounded and the bus is forced to stop. As Greer drags the girl off the bus, she makes a plea to the others on the bus, telling them her father's name, where he lives, and to please get in touch with him because he doesn't even know she's here. But Greer warns the visitors to forget what they heard or their own family members will pay for it.

One week passes and Diane is still in the box -- standard punishment for the attempted escape, while Kathy is on a work detail delivering a load of laundry into town. Delivering a load of tablecloths into the cafe, she takes a chance and asks the waitress if she remembers her. She does, so Kathy asks if she'll get in touch with her father and writes his name and address down. Back outside, Kathy is loaded up on the truck where she spots her Mustang pulling into the Garage. The mechanic jumps out and appears to be really enjoying his new set of wheels. They arrive back at the prison just in time to see Diane pulled out of the box. Sarah and several others carry her to the bunkhouse. When Kathy asks if she's okay, Sarah isn't sure.

That evening, Greer and Smitty are in the guardhouse, down to their underwear, drunk, and watching wrestling. (I do believe that could be somebody's wet dream.) Then Dancer calls and orders them to bring Emaline up to the main house. Rousting Emaline out of bed, Kathy watches as the guards claim her aunt has come to take her home. As they leave, Smitty happily throws a crumpled piece of paper at Kathy. It's the note she left with the waitress; the entire town is in collusion with the Farm. Delivering Emaline to Dancer, whose just finished a moonlight swim at the pool, the guards leave them alone. Dancer asks if she realizes why he brought her up to the mansion. Emaline is young, but she's not stupid. She protests that she's never been with a man before, but he tells her to relax and things will go easier. 

Okay -- Mike Brady is now basically raping Jan Brady. Wow. ...Where's the fast forward button on the damn remote!!!

Slowly recovering from her ordeal in the box, Diane is still hell bent on a jail break. The other inmates warn that getting out is easy, it's staying out that's hard. There's no where to go and no where to turn since the entire town is in cahoots with the authorities. It doesn't matter; Diane is still determined, but won't leave without Kathy. Sarah thinks she's crazy, but Diane says somebody's got to get out and let people know what's really going on in Badham county. Diane also thinks she can help Sarah once she's out. Touched by this, the older woman tells her to wait until it's time to pick Dancer's personal bean crop. Segregation or no segregation, everybody works to get the boss's beans picked and that'll be the best chance for both of them to escape. Sarah then spies some workers out in a field, beyond the fence, burying something. She knows what it is: they're burying Emaline. But Kathy told Diane that Emaline got out. Sarah says, no; she was scrubbing the floor of the infirmary when they brought Emaline in after her "session" with Dancer. Diane asks if he killed her. Not directly: Emaline committed suicide by slitting her wrists. Old Sarah also bemoans that Emaline isn't the only person secretly buried out in that field. 

The next morning, Kathy and Diane compare notes and start working on their escape plan. Kathy tells her about spying her car at the garage and there's a spare set of keys attached to the bumper. So all they have to do is sneak into town, steal the car back, and burn rubber for the county line.

Soon enough, they're both in Dancer's bean field slaving away. During the lunch break, Diane tells Kathy that when the sun starts to go down, to drop down and crawl toward the trees along the creek that runs along the field as nonchalantly as possible. Meanwhile, back at the prison compound, we haven't had our lesbian rape scene yet. Luckily, Alma plucks a new prisoner and hauls her into the guardhouse and happily fulfils are sleaze quota. The guard strips naked and watches the prisoner eat all her food. And then it's Alma's turn to eat. (You figure it out.) 

As the sun starts to set, Kathy and Diane both manage to make it to the cover of the creek undetected and head toward town. But it isn't long before Dulcie notices that her favorite prisoner is missing. The alarm is sounded and Dulcie, Smitty, Greer, and Alma soon have the bloodhounds after the escapees. Using the creek to their advantage, the dogs lose the prisoners scent. Greer then calls off the hunt, deciding to let the Sheriff handle the fugitives -- who perks up noticeably when told whose escaped. The car is at the garage but the mechanic is about to take it when the Sheriff pulls up and orders him to leave it, wanting to keep an eye on it. He then goes in to the cafe, orders a cup of coffee and watches. The girls overhear all of this as they crawl up to the car and find the keys. Kathy thinks they should just make a run for it, but Diane says, no; she'll take the car, as a decoy, and lead the Sheriff out of town, then Kathy can use the Garage's pay phone to call her father and get help. And she stresses to make sure to have her father call the prison -- and tell them he knows the girls are there and nothing had better happen to them. 

Kathy doesn't like the idea, but Diane says they have no other choice -- and there's an outside chance she can outrun the Sheriff and get away. Kathy finally gives in and hands the keys over. Diane crawls inside the car, starts the engine and floors it. The plan works as the Mustang roars out of town with the Sheriff in hot pursuit. After things quiet down, Kathy sneaks into the phone booth. The operator places her collect call and she prays her father is home. Thankfully, he is, and between sobs, she manages to tell him where she is, what happened to her, and what he needs to do. Dad's on the case and Kathy finishes the call -- just in time, as Greer catches her just as she hangs up. 

Meanwhile, the race is on. And Diane does pretty well, but the Sheriff eventually forces her off the road. Crawling out of the wreck, Diane flees into an alfalfa field as the Sheriff pulls out a rifle and takes deadly aim. 

Later that night, Dulcie rousts Kathy out of her bunk with a fresh change of clothes. Her father is on the way and will pick her up in the morning. She asks Dulcie what happened to Diane. Dulcie is quiet for a moment, and then says Diane made a clean getaway. Kathy doesn't believe her.

Early the next morning, Dancer calls an emergency meeting with the town's mayor and the Judge. They decide to send the Sheriff away on a long vacation so he won't be around to answer any questions. If they're careful, they can cover this up -- just like all the others. When Kathy is reunited with her father, Dancer says that the court has reconsidered the case and the charges against Kathy have been dropped. Demanding to know what really happened to Diane, Dancer insists she got away -- but Kathy doesn't believe him, either. Regardless, Dancer thinks Kathy should be grateful and to go home while she has the chance. With that, Kathy goes berserk and runs out of his office and spots Sarah working in the field. She calls to her, but Greer has spotted them and warns Sarah to get back to work. Kathy pleads with Sarah and wants to talk to her about Diane and blowing the whistle on Badham Farm. Sarah thinks about it for a second, and then approaches Kathy at the fence. Greer finds her whip and orders Sarah to back away. Greer rears back to strike, but Sarah dodges the blow and puts the sleeper hold on Greer and drops her like a sack of potatoes. 

Sarah then tells Kathy and her father that Diane is dead -- buried in the field with all the others. And as the movie ends, we pan over the field where all the bodies are buried, and a message comes up on screen saying this kind of corruption is still going on and the Penal Farm system and is currently under investigation. 

The End

Praise God and pass the Lava! Excuse me while I go take a shower to get the stench of this movie off of me. Be back in a bit...

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Nightmare in Badham County was originally a Made for TV movie for the American Broadcasting Company. In fact, ABC produced it. While filming it, however, the filmmakers shot several additional scenes of gratuitous nudity and lesbian brutality and released it on video in Europe and, eventually, here in the states. Now, I clearly remember seeing the film when it first came out, many a moon ago, on TV and I always thought it was a made for TV movie; so you can imagine my surprise when I watched the rental tape and the first boob shot showed up (An obvious insert body-double for Moody to punch up the initial rape scene -- and my god, did I just type that? Note to self: Take another shower.)

Like I said, I remembered Chuck Connors being in it, and Robert Reed as the warden. I couldn't believe Lucas McCain, or Mike Brady, could be that evil, either, and to both actors credit, they do evil pretty well. But I didn't remember Ralph Bellamy and Della Reese (whose a long way from Touched by an Angel) being in it, or Tina Louise (whose even further away from her days on Gilligan's Island) who does a nice job against type, too.

So I was surprised (and a little depressed) to see all of these name actors and actresses slumming in this kind of film. (This movie alone could constitute an entire chapter of Reel Shame.) And I also wonder if they knew about the "extra scenes" that were to be added to the film, would they still be in it? Who knows for sure. (I'm sure they all cashed their checks.) 

For some reason, Nightmare in Badham County oozed that vibe to me: A couple of uppity college kids from Philly mouth off, are thrown in jail for it, brutalized, degraded, and one of them is even killed for it. The downbeat tone of the original film, when combined with the WIP staples, somehow adds a lecherous tone to what's happening to our heroines that wasn't there before making this one hard film to watch.

Posted: 04/26/02. Copy and paste at your own legal risk.

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