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originally published on Network Awesome Magazine's Trailer Trash *
During the psychedelic seventies, blaxploitation, also spelled as
blacksploitation, reigned in the film industry. Specifically and
originally intended for black audience, blaxploitation expanded its
popularity and appealed to interracial viewers, too. Oftentimes,
blaxploitation films are characterized by ethnic slurs, soul music,
black characters, and all that jazz. In this installment of
Trailer Trash, we dissected six sweet, swinging film titles that will surely get you in a soulful mood!
The Thing with Two Heads (1972)
The Thing with Two Heads is a hetero-genius mixture of
science fiction, comedy, and of course, blaxploitation. Ray Milland
plays the role of Dr. Maxwell Kirshner, a cancer-stricken wealthy
racist and a transplant surgeon who’s nearing death. He demands to
perform his own experiment to himself so he could graft his head onto
another human being’s body, just so he could continue his medical
endeavours. Post-surgery, Dr. Kirshner becomes horridly horrified when
he finds out that his head was paired to the body of Jack Moss, a huge
black man who is sentenced for death penalty, played by Roosevelt Grier.
A series of mishaps ensue as the titular Thing with Two Heads runs
about. This film was directed by Lee Frost and special effects were done
by Rick Baker.
Disco Godfather (1979)
Rudy Ray Moore was one of the hailed kings of blaxploitation. He starred in and produced 4 epic blaxploitation films, such as
Dolemite (1975),
The Human Tornado (1976),
Petey Wheatstraw (1977), and, his most brain-melting ouvre and one of our featured trailers,
Disco Godfather
(1979). In this Blaxploitation/martial arts crossover, Moore played the
role of Tucker Williams, a former police officer and the operator-owner
of of the Blueberry Hill Disco nightclub. His nephew gets caught up
with PCP and Tucker gets motivated to avenge and haunt for the drug
lords and dealers.
Disco Godfather, fuelled by hallucinogenic Angel Dust and disco lights, was directed by J. Robert Wagoner. Alternately known as
The Avenging Disco Godfather, one of its most mesmerizing catch phrases was “
Put your weight on it!”
The Black Gestapo (1975)
Starring Rod Perry as General Ahmed,
The Black Gestapo is a
radical and violent rendition of the blaxploitation genre. In this
crime film’s beginning, its vigilante protagonist forms his personal
army to end the misery of the black citizens of Watts – by eradicating
the white hooligans who roamed and ruled the place. The succeeding
events are a hodgepodge of Caucasian gangsters being tortured and
barenaked ladies strutting everywhere. The blacks are having a
ballin’ blast until they abuse their authority; they begin dressing up
as Nazis and they even mock their slogans. The fun doesn’t last long
when the Watts community decides to revolt against them.
The Black Gestapo
was directed by Lee Frost and was released in 1975. Pin-up queen of
the cult genre, Uschi Digard, cameo-ed in this film, too.
Savage! (1973)
Another blaxploitation classic in the 1970s,
Savage!, was
directed by Cirio H. Santiago. It starred James Iglehart Jim Haygood,
who becomes the black and brilliant leader of a rebel army and was
later given the vicious moniker, Savage. After his victorious ambush of
Moncada at the beach, Savage celebrates and meets two dazzling
chicks who perform in a nightcub: Lada Edmund Jr. as Vicky the Knife
Thrower and Carol Speed as Amanda of the High Wire. Savage gets
accused of the murder and arrested, but manages to escape out of prison.
A series of action-packed exploits in the jungle stirs the entirety
of this ultra-violent film reel that is
Savage!.
Sugar Hill (1974)
Here is a different twist on blaxploitation – the one with flesh-devouring zombies!
Sugar Hill
is a horror hokum film, directed by Paul Maslansky, which centers
on a young black lady nicknamed Sugar, played by Marki Bey, who seeks
the help of a voodoo priestess, Mama Maitresse, so she could get her
cold revenge against the hoodlums that killed her lover. Several chants
and incantations later, the soul of Baron Samedi, portrayed by Don
Pedro Colley, is summoned from the underworld, Sugar exchanges her soul
for the power, and a famished army of zombie slaves arise.
Sugar Hill
was released in the theatres in 1976 and later on, it was shortened
into 83 minutes running time and was shown on television, with the
alternate title,
The Zombies of Sugar Hill.
Trouble Man (1972)
In spite of being included in
The Fifty Worst Films of All Time (And How They Got That Way), a 1978 book by Harry Medved, Michael Medved, and Randy Dreyfuss,
Trouble Man is, nevertheless, worth watching. More famously known for the war film
Hogan’s Heroes
(1965), Ivan Dixon directed this classic. This blaxploitation crossover
between streetwise action and drama stars Robert Hooks as Mr. T, a
private detective who owns a billiards bar in Los Angeles. Since he
has a good connection between with the cops and the thugs, he knows how
to differentiate good guys from the bad. Through the course of the
movie, Mr. T tries to take justice into his own hands and also becomes
romantically involved with Cleo, played by Paula Kelly.
Additionally, Marvin Gaye was responsible for
Trouble Man’s score.
