The first in a series of fetishistic mid-'60s exploitation features, White Slaves of Chinatown follows the beautiful, brutal Olga (Audrey Campbell) as she bends and eventually breaks the wills of a group of young female runaways and ex-convicts. Olga procures prostitutes and pushes heroin for the syndicate, confining and torturing her pretty victims in a private dungeon located in New York City's sinister Chinatown. Diplomat's daughter Frenchy is forced to write letters to her father asking for money when she's not squirming topless in her squalid cell. Lola and Collette are subjected to a variety of ordeals including stocks, crucifixions, cigarette burns, and Chinese water torture. The film's producer, George Weiss, the man who unleashed Edward D. Wood Jr.'s debut Glen or Glenda? upon the world, makes a cameo as a disgraced doctor who bungles a prostitute's abortion ("Chalk up another one for this filthy old butcher!"). Indifferent performances from the principals rob White Slaves of Chinatown of any real intensity, though Campbell's bug-eyed attempts at conveying ecstasy during the torture scenes are amusing. Apparently the budget didn't allow for a script or dialogue, as the film is silent except for a male narrator who describes the atrocities with the elan of a weatherman, and an occasional voice-over from Olga. Despite these deficiencies, the film was popular enough to warrant a number of sequels, including Olga's Dance Hall Girls, Olga's Girls, and Olga's House of Shame.
by Fred Beldin
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