Gwendoline (1984) on Netflix

Plot summary

The story starts at a Far East port where a ship from Europe is unloading its cargo. Thieves move among the recently unloaded crates looking for something valuable to steal. In one large crate they are surprised to find Gwendoline (Tawny Kitaen), a beautiful, naive, young French girl who, lacking the money for a proper passenger cabin, had herself and her companion, Beth (Zabou Breitman), shipped by freight to this city. Beth, slightly older than Gwendoline and more experienced, is not in the crate, but is currently out trying to steal some food for the girls to eat.

The thieves kidnap Gwendoline and take her to a local gangster chief's office above his casino/bordello. They sell Gwendoline to him and leave. Gwendoline is then accidentally saved by Willard (Brent Huff), a local riverboat captain to whom the gangster owes $800, when Willard crashes into the gangster's office and demands his money. Gwendoline is impressed with Willard, being both handsome and capable, as he quickly incapacitates the gangster's two bodyguard and extracts his money from the gangster chief (but also mortally wounding him in the process). She begs him for further assistance, but he ignores her and heads down to the casino below.

The thieves return at this point, having captured Beth and hoping to also sell her. When they enter the office and see the gangster and his body guards incapacitated, they assume Gwendoline has bested them and the thieves flee in terror, leaving Beth behind.