Reviews (3)

Undiscovered Blaxploitation Gold
Fans of Blaxploitation will be more than satisfied with this DVD double feature. "The Black Gestapo" is a mean, nasty race-riot of a movie. A benevolent police group, the People's Army, attempts to aid the citizens of Watts, who are being terrorized by what appears to be a mob of bitter appliance salesmen. There's dissention in the army's ranks, however, and a splinter group made up of local criminals forms to run the white mob out of Watts (one wise guy is castrated in his bathtub, another is run off the road by a breast-baring Uschi Digart and shot up by the gang). The mob retreats, but this new People's Army takes their place, shaking down the citizens and having drunken orgies at their new compound (where Ms. Digart shows up again in the leader's bed). "Gestapo" is directed by R.L. (Lee) Frost, who directed such exploitation gems as "The Defilers," "The Pick-Up" and "Love Camp #7." This one's not as stylish as his earlier roughies, but he keeps the story moving with brisk pacing and plenty of sex n' violence (though mostly violence). There's not a single one of "The Black Gestapo"'s 88 minutes that's politically correct.

By comparison, "The Black Six" is an After School Special, focusing on a good-natured biker gang of six Viet Nam vets (all played by pro football players, including "Mean" Joe Green) who are riding across the U.S., doing odd jobs for weak-chinned farm women or terrifying bigots at a poorly constructed roadside cafe (our heroes literally bring down the clapboard restaurant while its owner--a part I'm sure was originally written for Shelley Winters--stands by the road shrieking). The beating death of one of the brother's brother takes the guys back to a hick town to avenge his murder. By this point, you'll have heard the theme song about 12 times. You'll hear it 12 more times before the final credits. Bad acting, silly dialog and extreme afros all lead to a totally incomprehensible ending. All this hilarity is brought to us by director Matt Cimber, who later went on to direct the Pia Zadora potboiler "Butterfly," which is, in view of "The Black Six," an accomplished film.

No fan of Blaxploitation can afford not to see these movies. The entertainment value is double the cost of the DVD!

Great Social Comentary
Black Gestapo is a great social commentary. I would rank it with Animal Farm. It shows the dangerous of the black militant movement. In the movie a black militant , but non-violent organization hires outside help for protection. They warant this unit unlike any other in the group to use force to push out the opperessing mafia. Unfortuneatly, they become more crooked than the mafia. I love how the movie put extreme black radicalism in the same boat as the nazis movement. It was a wake - up call to me and many others.

The Black Six was a little lighter. It was about cool bikes and football player. It was good none the less.

A Strange Little Gem
First, I'll admit that the only reason I bought this film was because Uschi Digard was creditted in it (anD, well, I found it cheap :-).

This is a strange little story about black revolutionaries, Panther styled, that split groups. One becomes very domineering and tyranical, which leads them to greater power. The other are the good guys who keep their revolution's ideals in sight. The two finally duke it out.

Look for:
The main bad guy is "Mack" from TV's "Night Court"
Uschi Digard in a few eye candy scenes. Some nudity, some action scenes. Worthwhile for Uschi Completists (am I the only one :-D) ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Makes 'Dukes of Hazzard' Look Thought-Provoking
There's just something about watching good ol' boys stick it to "the man," whether it's "Smokey and the Bandit" or TV's "Dukes of Hazzard." But before Burt Reynolds tore through the South in his Trans Am or the Duke boys flipped a metaphorical finger at Boss Hogg, exploitation partners Lee Frost and Wes Bishop gave us "Dixie Dynamite." This time, it's good ol' girls (one with blond, wig-like hair; the other brunette) who take on their town's evil patriarch. When their daddy's still is busted, and daddy is subsequently shot and killed in a high speed chase, our heroines try to lead law-abiding lives. But there ain't no work in town and when the bank forecloses on their house, well, maybe it's time to start fightin' back! The girls get ahold of a truckload of TNT and start blowing up everyone who's done them wrong--becoming folk heroines in the process! Yeeee-haw!

Not exactly thought-provoking entertainment, but it's entertaining nonetheless. As usual, director Lee Frost (who also has a bit part as a pathologist) keeps the action flowing, so even if the movie's quality lags behind, the pace doesn't. Acting ranges from passable to wooden (Jane Anne Johnstone, the brunette Dixie, has only two facial expressions: a furrowed brow and sternly set mouth for anger/grief/concern; a bemused smile for everything else). Producer Wes Bishop plays a trigger-happy deputy and Warren Oates is the girls' platonic pal whose primary interests are alcohol and motorcycles. Standing in, unconvincingly, for the state of Georgia is Southern California.

Given the sado-sexual bent of most of Frost's other movies ("Love Camp 7," "Hot Spur," "The Defilers" and the hardcore "Climax of Blue Power"), "Dixie Dynamite" is surprisingly lighthearted and tame. That PG rating ensures nothing goes too far. Still, Frost is generally a safe bet when you're looking for trash entertainment, and "Dixie Dynamite" is trash the whole family can enjoy. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

"Hard-hitting violence... and soft curves"
Sortin' through the stacks of second-hand bargain-priced DVDs at the local used-movies-and-music joint, I took one look at this particular platter and knew I just hadda give it at least one view. Bein' an aficionado of trash cinema, I figured this mid-70s bad@$$-chick-cop-flick would be just my can of Cheez Wiz. Fortunately, I wasn't disappointed-- from the opening jailbreak on down to the final bust, I found myself more than amused by the antics of the sassy and attitude-laden heroine Lacy Bond as she lays out a few karate moves that looked like they came straight outta the Captain Kirk School of Martial Arts. Throughout the feature, Lacy makes every effort to show that she can handle herself quite well amongst the men in the force, which is driven home with the obligatory police training ground montage about twenty minutes in. But for all her machismo, she also has a soft side, which climaxes (so to speak) with her love scene with her undercover partner at the fifty-minute mark. Heh, yes, soft... VERY soft...hee hee...

*AHEM*

Anyhoo... throw in a few low-rent James Bond-type espionage devices, a horde of bikini-clad felon babes (many of whom get naked on a few occasions) led by an annoying old hag of a gold smuggler & her henpecked gym rat of a husband, the usual "wocka-wocka-wocka-wocka" and semi-jazzy trumpety soundtrack that all 70s action flicks have, and just plain awful acting all around, and you've got yerself some pretty tasty cheese to go with your popcorn on movie night at your place!

One thing I found really annoyin' about this flick: Rhino did a horrible job of reformatting "Policewomen" from widescreen to pan-and-scan. For example: on several occasions a speaking subject who I imagine was on the outer edge of camera range in the original widescreen release has been cropped out of the p&s release. So you get to hear the subject talk, but you don't actually see him/her, or maybe just a part of him/her. Also a problem were a few action scenes that didn't look quite right in the p&s format. 'Course, it could be argued that most of the action sequences were so fake-looking and dumb that the cropping of the stuff to the left and/or right could be seen as an improvement...

BTW if you're too busy and/or lazy to watch the entire movie, the theatrical trailer that's included as an extra on this platter pretty much gives ya the whole shebang in a nutshell...

'Late

Policewomen
I bought this video as one who is a martial arts officianado. Unfortunately, I would have to say that though they may not have used many stunt doubles, all of the punches were 'pulled'. This movie certainly did not rate near as well as say a 'Cynthia Rothrock' effort. For the most part, I think the story line held together, and I think, contrary to some other reviews, the scenes we 'believable'. If you are looking for a movie that has a little action with some story, this is a good one. However, if you are looking for some hard hitting adrenaline pumping action, you might want to check out 'Tigerclaws' or another action packed movie with Cythia Rothrock. Another good female action star is Cory Everson, though she has not done near as many action films!

Girl karate cop against the" female mafia"
Lacy Bond (Sondra Currie) a cop with a martial arts skills, finds she is only getting boring routine duties.Then while working in a women's prison there's an attempted mass breakout. Lacy goes into action, using her fighting expertise to stop the fleeing convicts.Only two end up making a clean getaway.This finally brings Lacy to the attention of her superiors.Partnered with Lt.Frank Mitchell(Tony Young)she is assigned to stop a large gang of women who are responsible for a crime wave -robberies,drug dealing and gold smuggling being their main activities.The brains behind this "female mafia" (Lacy's phrase), is thought to be an elderly crook called Maude Anderson (Elizabeth Stuart), who is married to a big musclebound thug in his thirties called Doc(Phil Hoover).It was Maude who organized the jailbreak, and the escapees later turn up at her hideout.The movie follows Lacy and Mitchell's adventures in their fight against the gang, while they also develop a romantic relationship.In the course of events Lacy infiltrates the mob and finds an unexpected ally to help her in her attempts to destroy them from the inside.
"Policewomen" is an early "female action" movie, roughly contemporary with the likes of "The Doll Squad","Foxy Brown" and "Superchick".Director Lee Frost helmed a lot of "drive-in" fare in the 1970's including "The Thing with two heads"(1972) and "The Black Gestapo"(1975)."Policewomen"(1974),is one of his least known movies, possibly because it has a pretty mundane title!In the main role, Sondra Currie a small beautiful actress best known in tv guest spots in shows like "Knightrider" is very effective . She plays a tough determined lady cop and was given karate training for the role.Jeanie Bell also appears, playing government agent Pam Harris, but apart from one notable fight, she is under used (later she played action heroine"TNT Jackson").Tony Young as Lacys boss/lover is okay, but his part seems underwritten in the concentration on female cast members.Elizabeth Stuart and Phil Hoover as Maude and Doc are a real movie odd couple--a doddery, rasp voiced old witch and a brawny bad tempered thug about 35 years younger than his wife.The "female mafia" are all ruthless blackhearted hookers and gang molls.They are often on display in bikinis,adding to the camp unreality of the movie, but it will help keep the guys watching, as they include Jennifer Brooks- billed as "Laurie Rose" (Janette),Susan McIver (Laura) and Dorrie Thomson (Caroline).
The film has a small amount of sex and nudity and quite a bit of swearing but the emphasis is on action, with car chases, a boat chase and lots of fights. Oddly there is little gunplay.Much is made of the contrast between Lacy's demure appearance and her fierce combat skills.Sexist cops have to eat their words after they see her in action.In the films funniest scene,Lacy shows up a patronizing police fight instructor (William Smith), by beating him during training.Only one of the female villains,Kim (Eileen Saki), shows any fighting ability, and she has single combats with both Lacy and Pam.The rest of the bad girls take on more than they bargained for.It's fun seeing Lacy having to come to the rescue as Frank is viciously attacked by a whole boatload of Maude's weapon wielding bikini babes-alone the female cop takes them all on, using her karate skills against them, including boss girl Caroline, the frantic paddle swinging six foot blonde tiny Lacy kicks across the deck.
Even by todays standards the violence is sometimes pretty strong.In one scene Lacy is tied to a chair and brutally beaten by the sadistic Doc.During Lacys later bloody fight with Doc, actor Phil Hoover really looks as if he's taking some punishment.There's little evidence of stunt doubles in fight and action scenes and it seems the cast did a lot themselves.
"Policewomen" is an enjoyable example of female action movies.Unfortunately the dvd full sceen sometimes cuts off parts of the picture; however it is a good clear print and includes the original trailer.

Where else can you see an all girl bikini crime gang?
I bought this on a whim, and, while clearly a cheapie 70's exploitation movie, it was marginally better a lot of stuff in the genre. The movie is directed by Lee Frost, who helmed such schlocky grindhouse fare as House on Bare Mountain (1962), The Defilers (1965), The Scavengers (1969), Chaingang Women (1971), The Thing With Two Heads (1972), and most recently Private Obsession (1995). The main character of the movie is Lacy Bond, played by Sondra Currie, who is probably better known for her TV work appearing on such shows as The Incredible Hulk, Columbo, and the soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful. The most recognizable actor in this movie would probably be William Smith who has played in a ton of movies, usually as a bad guy, and is most remembered by me as Jack Wilson in the Clint Eastwood movie Any Which Way You Can (1980). His appearance in this movie is brief, so don't blink or you may miss it.

The movie starts out in a what appears to be a police station, but then is also a woman's prison...go figure. Lacy is a cop, or a guard, and she's instrumental in stopping a planned escape by a number of inmates. Two manage to get away, but Lacy's efforts do not go unnoticed by her superiors. They pick her for an undercover mission to infiltrate a gang of women that have been committing crimes.

Before her mission starts, they put her through some training exercises, where the misogynist male cops laugh and guffaw at her, because she's just a woman, and she continually makes them look like jerks when she excels in these exercises. The scene with William Smith, who plays a police martial arts expert, is not too bad, except maybe the end. The martial arts work and stunts are marginally better than you might expect, and some of the fight scenes, especially between the women are downright brutal looking.

Anyway, Lacy manages to infiltrate the gang, which is run by a fairly whithered and crotchety old woman who I believe was called Ma. Now Ma has a young boy toy (ewwwwwwwww) who also doubles as her bodyguard. (I made the ewwwww noise as I just remembered a scene where the muscled boy toy made sexual advances towards his sugar mama and she subsequently turned him down because she had a 'headache', for which I was eternally thankful, but it just the thought of the two of them made me shudder.)

After learning about their operation, Lacy is recognized by another gang member as a cop, but she manages to shut that woman up, if you know what I mean. Also, we learn another female member of the gang is an undercover FBI agent. This may account for the plural form of woman used in the title, as it didn't seem to make sense, as there was only one policewoman up until that point. Or maybe the title Policewoman had already been used...who knows.

So now both law enforcement undercover agents have been exposed, and are now being used as hostages while Ma and her gang perform their big score, involving a shipment of gold or something or other...the plot got a little messy after awhile, but this leads to a big final confrontation at the end of the movie.

Not a bad movie for what it's worth, and there are copious bits of nudity in a few scenes. Sondra Currie is, or at least was, very easy on the eyes. The movie is in a full screen format, and little or no extras, except maybe a trailer. If schlocky 70's movies are your bag, then this is right up your alley. If cinematic verite' is your cup of tea, avoid this movie. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

The best bad movie of all time?
I've seen lots of old B movies,for unitended comedy this movie is the king.You really get the feeling That Max (Ray Milland) genuinely hates Jack (Rosey Grier)Ray Milland plays a bigoted transplant surgeon who could give Archie Bunker a run for his money.Max Kirshner learns he's dying and figures he'll just attach his brilliant head to another mans body,unfortunately,his only suitable donor is a black convict,needless to say they're less then thrilled with this situation, look for the long-haired stuntman during the classic motorcycle chase scene,who looks nothing like Milland or Grier.Great movie not as bad as you might think.

Pull your self together
Long unavailable except on late night TV and now on DVD, Ray Milland and Roosevelt Grier put their heads together to come up this politically correct movie before the term "politically correct".

Looks like director Lee Frost is challenging Rodger Corman for best director of a cultural movie. He may have a ways to go.

Roosevelt Grier wakes up face to face with Ray Milland who had his head grafted on to Rosey's body. Naturally one is a bigot and the other is a criminal. This looks so real that you would thing that Ray has a plastic head. They must explain this to friends and there is the obligatory chase scene. A must for motorcycle enthusiasts.

"Do you have two of anything else?"
Have you ever wondered how cool it would be to have a second head grafted on your body, right next to yours? I have, and so has Hollywood, the land of candy cane dreams and pennywhistle fantasies. Now I know some will say, 'Why do we need another two headed freak type movie? We've already got two entries in the 'two-headed man' genre with The Manster (1962) and The Incredible 2-Headed Transplant (1971).' And I might agree, if not for the fact that neither of those two films really deals with the social ramifications that the AIP release of The Thing with Two Heads (1972) touches on, specifically what happens when you graft the head of a white bigot's head on a soul brother's body, the consequences being pure cinematic gold (well, okay, maybe not, but it's sure fun to watch).

The Thing with Two Heads was directed by Lee Frost, who also gave us such lurid exploitation pictures as The House on Bare Mountain (1962), The Defilers (1965), and Policewomen (1974) and stars Oscar winning actor Ray Milland (no, he didn't win the award for this film, but for the 1945 film The Lost Weekend) and former L.A. Rams football player Roosevelt 'Rosey' Grier. With respect to Milland, it certainly is interesting, even a bit sad, to see a once great star wallow uncomfortably in number of trashy 70's B pics like this or Frogs (1972), just to name a few.

As the film starts, we are introduced to Dr. Maxwell Kirshner (Milland), a highly successful surgeon who runs a number of clinics specializing in human transplants. We also learn that Maxwell is terminally ill, and is conducting a secret experiment in his basement, one designed specifically in mind with the possibility of saving his life. If you guess it has something to do with transplanting his head onto another body, you'd be right. The experiment involves grafting a second head onto a gorilla (played by Oscar winning special effects makeup artist Rick Baker), and then removing the original head, seeing if the newly grafted head survives. The process takes about a month, allowing for the second head to grow strong enough assuming control of the host body. There's a pretty funny scene when the gorilla escapes, and terrorizes a convenience store before being recaptured.

Anyway, the gorilla experiment is a success, opening the door for a human head transplant, but Maxwell's condition is deteriorating rapidly, and he soon goes into a coma, but not before instructing his subordinates to follow through with his plans. Only problem is a compatible host/donor body is extremely difficult to come by...until inquires are made with the prison board, and a likely candidate is found in a supposedly wrongfully convicted black man on death row, Jack Moss (Grier), scheduled to be executed. Jack, seeing a chance to prolong his existence for another month, allowing for him to try and find the only man, who went missing at the time of his trial, and could clear him by supplying a credible alibi, accepts the deal. Thing is, Jack has no idea what's in store for him. So what happens when both men realize what has happened? And who gets to keep the body in the end?

The concept here is surely interesting, albeit deeply entrenched in the realm of fantasyland. I know not if this film was meant to be a serious science fiction picture or not, but given the smattering of comedy throughout, I am assuming the latter. Most of the truly funny scenes come from the situations arising after the surgical procedure, and Milland's character's expounding of bigoted statements. Racism in and of itself certainly isn't funny, but the level stupidity within Milland's character and his lack of control over the situation sure is...okay, the scenes where Grier is running around with a plastic head attached to his should did look fake, but I didn't focus on that too much. The scene that really sort of derailed the film from being better than it was, for me, was the extended chase scene on the motorbike. It was funny for like a few minutes, but then, probably due to the skimpiness of the plot, runs for much longer than it should have, lasted well over 15 minutes. My favorite scene was when Jack and Maxwell, on the lamb as Jack is still a convicted criminal, go to Jack's girlfriend's apartment (I love her absolute lack of shock at seeing this strange creature, and her utterance, 'You get into more sh$t...'), and Jack tries to initiate intimacy with her, to which she expresses uneasiness with Maxwell's head right there. Jack then turns to Maxwell and states, 'Now you know you got to go...'

The print used on this release looks really good, and is in wide screen format. The only special feature available is a theatrical trailer for the film, which is almost as funny as the film. Sure, this cheese may stink, but at least it goes easy, not taking itself too seriously. One thing I did learn from this film is that when one head of a two-headed man smokes a cigarette, the smoke will actually expel from the mouth of the head not smoking...seems logical to me...and pretty funny...

Cookieman108

BODY AND SOUL
The MGM Midnite Movies serie allows us to discover or rediscover a certain category of films one usually doesn't find in stores nor watch on television during decent hours. THE THING WITH TWO HEADS belongs to the sub-sub-sub genre of the exploitation/horror/sci-fi/car crash movies of the beginning of the seventies. And I've watched it until the end.

The picture is funny at times but an overlong track race destroys the indulgence created in the viewer's mind by the original idea presented. What remains is the pleasure to admire Ray Milland and a few scenes deserving to stay in the annals of the most improbable plots ever invented.

Only a trailer and subtitles as bonus features.

A DVD zone nostalgia.

Uneven, but still worth a look
This film's starting point is bizarre enough to draw in cinephiles with a liking for cult films: Max Kirshner (Milland), a brilliant but racist transplant surgeon, defies death by having his head transplanted in the body of Jack Moss (Grier), a black convict who donates his body to science while hoping to prove his innocence during the 30-day 'life-extension' he's being given; to say that Kirscher didn't expect his head to be united with a black man's body is an understatement. Although more has been written about the scenes involving 'the thing with two heads' than about the rest of the film, the first half is clearly the strongest: scenes that involve Kirshner being dragged in his basement or meeting with various colleagues especially come to mind. After the operation has taken place, the film predictably shifts its attention to the Kirshner-Moss relationship. It is initially intriguing, and the final ten minutes are almost as effective as the first half, but repetitions are numerous until the film gets there (a far too long chase sequence is mainly at fault). The interaction between Kirshner, Moss and Williams, a black doctor played by Don Marshall, is quite interesting, though: the first two blackmail the latter, both for different reasons, and Williams finds himself in the middle of options which could all benefit him in one way or another. In spite of the movie's shortcomings, this good DVD transfer of a rare film should be seen. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Awful movie.
Amazing, but the name is the most redeeming quality of this movie. The "chain gang" is comprised of MEN, and only men. Men escape from a chain gang with a little help from two women. Acting is okay to bad, quality is okay to bad, story is okay to bad.

Chains are Good
What can you say. Just a bunch of chains and women. dont expect any story here. just sit back and watch. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Its Ghetto, Its Ridiculous, Its the Black Gestapo!
This movie is a classic. The fight scenes are great too. They are so loud and amplified, but the gutbuster is so great. Another great fight scene is the collar belt buckle through a window. One word sums up this movie, WILD. You should check this movie out, the acting is awful and their is too much unnecessary nudity in it. Madd ghetto budget too, but all around worth checking out. Ok, buy this movie and you won't regret it, know I didn't.

This Movie is halairious!
Black Gestapo was made in 1975, and it was very low budget. Honestly, I think that the camera work is terrible, but I give it 4 stars stil- for a reason. The movie is about a group of black people who become angry at the racist views of these idiodic white cops. So they form a group, and at first it kind of sounds like they want to promote peace a equal rights, but it turns out they are really just causing violence. This movie is fun to watch though because the fighting scenes are very humorous, I really am not sure if they are supposed to be or not though. It is not supposed to be funny, but you will laugh at the very fake and very amplified punch sounds in the fight scenes, and the 70s funk music while they fight. This movie is very violent, very low budget, there are a lot of mistakes, and has a lot of unnecisary nudity in it, but it is worth a laugh! ... Read more

Reviews (2)

GREAT LOOK BACK!!!
Not very "BIZZARE" by today's standards but it's a great look back at the free-wheeling culture that was the 60s and 70s. A generation that was just starting to come out of the shadow of it's parents wholesome 50's idealizms.

Boring!
I love "different" stuff. But, this is just lame. May have been racing in '66, But, it is a too tame nowadays. Don't waste your money! ... Read more

Description

Emanuelle Griffith (Shannon Whirry), the world-class fashion model, is missing, and only her abductor knows where she is. Obsessed with hiding Emanuelle until she becomes his, Richard (Michael Christian) has locked the gorgeous model in a specially prepared and monitored room. But Emanuelle is slowly turning the tables, and the captivated is becoming the captive. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

One of Shannon Whirry's best perfomances!
This is an exceptional example of Shannon Whirry's full range of acting ability. She gives a very, very sensuous perfomance! END

Fantastic!
Shannon exhibits fine acting in addition to her always fantastic body. Though some aspects of the movie could have been better, Shannon makes it all worth while.

shannon
i liked it it seamed to capture all of shannonns beauty.

Shannon Whirry is worth seeing
This is a fair B-movie. Nothing spectacular and the theme has been done to death: Obsessed stalker captures target and subjects her to his fantasies. It's been done better in the gripping Tattoo, starring Maud Adams and the quirky Spanish flick Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down, starring Victoria Abril.
But Shannon Whirry is stunning, even before she removes her clothes and reveals her marvelous assets. And she can act, with dramatic flair and wit. She is at first scared, then angry, and finally turns the tables on her captor through the power of her beauty and sensuality.
I watched the unrated VHS release, so the R-rated version might have disappointing cuts.

Not Whirry at her best...
...but her bust is at its best, as always. Not a top-of-the-line evil nude kinkfest from Shannon Whirry, but it might turn the crank of some of you. The best scene is when Whirry tries to escape and jams her huge funbags in a doggy door... They end up greasing her up, which I have always wanted to see. ... Read more