Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion (女囚701号/さそり, Joshū Nana-maru-ichi Gō / Sasori) is a 1972 Japanese women in prison film produced by Toei Company and directed by Shunya Itō in his directorial debut. Based on a manga by Tōru Shinohara, the film stars Meiko Kaji as Nami Matsushima, a woman who is sent to prison after being betrayed by her detective lover, against whom she seeks revenge.
The film was followed by several sequels: Female Prisoner Scorpion: Jailhouse 41 (also released in 1972), Female Prisoner Scorpion: Beast Stable, and Female Prisoner Scorpion: 701's Grudge Song (both 1973).
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Plot
Nami Matsushima is used as a spy by her first real boyfriend, a police detective named Sugimi, to investigate a drug smuggling ring. However, her role is discovered and she is raped by several drug dealers. It emerges that Sugimi was simply using Matsushima as a pretext to obtain a bribe from the yakuza. Seeking revenge, Matsushima makes a failed attempt to stab Sugimi on the steps of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police headquarters. She is sentenced to do hard time in a women's prison, where her prisoner number is 701.
The prison is run by sadistic and lecherous male guards. Prisoners are forced to walk up and down metal scaffolding naked with male guards watching from below. While incarcerated, Matsushima meets inmates like Yuki Kida, who was convicted for fraud and theft; Otsuka, jailed for burglary and extortion; and Katagiri, who was imprisoned for arson and illegally disposing of a body. Outside the prison, Sugimi and the yakuza orchestrate a plan in which Matsushima will succumb to an "accidental" death in prison.
