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“Olga knew how to degrade her prisoners, and knew every trick of her degenerate trade.”
So yeah, you can bet your black bustier that she does, and then some.
A major touchstone in the burgeoning S&M cinema scene in the early ‘60s, Olga’s Girls is the second of a trilogy of films starring Campbell as the sadistic Olga, including White Slaves of Chinatown and Olga’s House of Shame (there’s a fourth Olga picture, Olga’s Dance Hall Girls, but it’s related to the others by name only), all directed by Cuban-born sexploitation vet Joseph Mawra (Shanty Tramp) and produced by the venerable George Weiss, who also shepherded Ed Wood’s Glen or Glenda. By the standards of today’s current S&M films, Olga’s Girls is fairly harmless – the “action” is all clearly faked, and the technical crudeness (no synch sound, stiff acting, heavy-handed narrator) and creaky editorializing about drugs and Communists lend it a corny “bad-movie” air that blunts the impact of the sado scenes. But even with these limitations, it’s hard to deny the doomy atmosphere that clings to every scene in Olga’s Girls, as well as Campbell’s seductive presence as Olga. The stark black and white photography suggests a state of permanent twilight, and the paltry sets – basically a suite in the New Yorker Hotel – give the proceedings an airless, claustrophobic feeling, as if the entire world has been stripped down to just these four indistinguishable walls. The blandness and ugliness of these scenes contrast sharply with the degree of detail given to Olga’s dungeon, which with its deep shadows, cold stone façade, and formidable array of torture devices, is as serious as a heart attack and cannot be dismissed as a camp inadequacy, and is clearly one of the main reasons for the enduring popularity of Olga’s Girls.
The other main attraction for the film is Campbell herself (who sadly passed away in early 2006). Tall and model attractive, Campbell’s features have a sharp edge to them that the producers wisely play up by pulling back her hair into a severe ponytail and tricking her out in austere blacks and whites. But it’s more than just looks that have endeared Campbell to S&M and exploitation fans over the years – she tackles the role with something approaching real savagery, especially in the torture scenes, during which she appears to hold nothing back. The combination of physical beauty and heartless violence has been tapped many times since the Olga movies, from Ilsa to the Lady Terminator, but Campbell is the only one who really looks like she might actually do harm to her co-stars at any moment.
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It’s
been said many times before that pimpin’ ain’t easy, and there’s no better
testament to the day-to-day problems inherent to the prostitution and
white slavery trade than Olga’s Girls. All Madame Olga Saglo (the
late, great Audrey Campbell) wants to do is make a buck from her stable of
smacked-out hookers and keep the local mob happy by peddling coke and
pills around New York City (which in turn aids the Communists, but Olga’s
cool with that too). But do her girls cooperate? Not in the least. So
Olga’s got to do what any whoremaster has to do in a situation like this:
don her rubber “cape of persuasion” and beat the living shit out of her
girls until they come around to her way of thinking. And for a while, the
whipping electroshock torture and branding by blowtorch seems to work (and
the complete dismemberment and disposal of one troublesome gal in a
basement furnace also goes a long way towards restoring company morale),
but then junkie skag Colette gets the idea that she can make it on her
own, so she and a couple of other girls give our gal Olga a taste of her
own bitter medicine before setting up their own shop. But listen: if
Olga’s not above ripping out tongues to keep the peace, do you honestly
think that a simple beatdown is going to prevent her from exacting
terrible, agonizing revenge on Colette and the others? I’ll let Olga
answer that question for you: “I’ll teach them! Every last one!”