Vintage Pulp

September 26 2024

UNDER LOCK AND KEY

When the door Slams you can't depend on anyone but yourself.

Jim Brown went from an NFL career to become one of the most popular blaxploitation screen stars of his era, and The Slams, for which you see a promo poster above, proves it. This was the second Brown movie to hit U.S. screens in a month, coming today in 1973, hot on the heels of Slaughter’s Big Rip-Off, which had premiered on August 31. Unlike that film, in The Slams Brown is on the wrong side of the law. He’s thrown in supermax after a robbery and violent doublecross. $1.5 million in cash and a shipment of heroin are missing, and the prison authorities, the police, the mafia, and Brown’s cellmates all want a piece. He actually threw the heroin in the ocean, but the money is secreted away.

Brown is facing one to five years inside, which he figures he can do easily, but the mafia—who he robbed of the cash and drugs—wants him dead. He’s attacked even before he’s placed in his cell, and the bad guys keep coming. But Brown is saying nothing about the money. It’s the only thing keeping him alive. He could potentially leverage everyone’s greed into release, protection, or anything else he wants, but his plan is to do his time, get out, recover the cash, and disappear. But his timeline changes—urgently—when he learns from the prison television that the place he hid the money is going to be demolished. Escape becomes his only choice.

Low budget ’70s action movies rarely weather well, but we thought The Slams was actually rather good. Better acting would be helpful, but on the whole Brown is about on par with everyone else in terms of thespian talent, and he brings an intangible extra to the screen—charisma. His physicality works in his favor, and his cool delivery of dialogue provides gravity. Being a vintage movie, the language is off the charts incendiary, with n-bombs and f-bombs (not fuck—the other kind) flying left and right, so viewers who might be sensitive to that should take a pass. Otherwise, we recommend The Slams for blaxploitation fans, and give it a cautious thumbs up for fans of ’70s actioners. It premiered today in 1973.

The Slams, Slaughter's Big Rip-Off, Jim Brown, Judy Pace, Roland Bob Harris, Ted Cassidy, poster art, cinema, blaxploitation, movie review

Vintage Pulp

February 8 2017

DIFFERENT BUTT FAMILIAR

Three great artists try to get the feel of an identical pose.

Today we thought we’d illustrate the imitative nature of commercial art by sharing a nice Italian poster for the comedy Tre femmine in soffitta. Originally released in the U.S. in 1968 as Three in the Attic, and starring Yvette Mimieux and Judy Pace, the movie involves a wacky love triangle, and is notable for its breezy interracial theme, as Mimieux, who is white (and hot), and Pace, who is black (and hot), both get involved with the same inordinately lucky guy.

Turning to the art, the figure at the poster’s far right, which represents Pace, is a direct copy of one of our favorite Robert McGinnis femmes fatales, the girl on Carter Brown’s 1960 novel The Bombshell, who has an unusual fascination with her own butt. Clearly, some imitation is more blatant than others. The poster was painted by Ezio Tarantelli, who had a nice career as an illustrator, particularly in the spaghetti western genre, and whose work on the poster for L’Amore Scotta a Yokohama we lavishly praised several years back. We may have to downgrade the genius label we slapped on him, but obviously he still shows great skill, copied butt grabber or not.

As if Tarantelli’s pass at a McGinnis ass wasn’t enough, we found another copy of the same pose, executed by another Italian artist, this time the great Mario de Berardinis. His piece promotes the 1975 erotic comedy La nottata, or “The Night,” which starred Sara Sperati and Susanna Javicoli. Did de Berardinis imitate Tarantelli or McGinnis? We don’t know, but he truly was a genius, so copying is officially forgiven. You can see our original write-up on The Bombshell here.

Italy, Tre femmine in soffitta, Three in the Attic, La nottata, Ezio Tarantelli, Judy Pace, Yvette Mimieux, Carter Brown, Robert McGinnis, Mario de Berardinis, cover art, poster art, cinema

Vintage Pulp

May 27 2015

EASY PICKINGS

Coffin and Gravedigger do the Harlem shake-up.

Numerous web scribes have written about Cotton Comes to Harlem, so another amateur review is not needed, but we decided to post a little something anyway because we found some nice promo images that perhaps haven’t been widely seen. Those appear below (and the poster above is the work of Robert McGinnis). If you haven’t watched Cotton Comes to Harlem and you appreciate blaxploitation movies check this one out. It was directed by Ossie Davis and hits all the requisite buttons—action, comedy, social commentary, and as a bonus it has two cops nicknamed Coffin Ed and Gravedigger Jones, who come from Chester Himes’ source novel. It premiered in the U.S. today in 1970.

Cotton Comes to Harlem, Godfrey Cambridge, Raymond St. Jacques, Calvin Lockhart, Judy Pace, Ossie Davis, Robert McGinnis, Chester Himes, poster art, cinema, blaxploitation

Vintage Pulp

July 1 2014

MEDIUM COOL

Is there a Breeze in here?

A little while ago we shared an image of American actress Judy Pace, and that got us thinking about some of her blaxploitation flicks. One we hadn’t seen was Cool Breeze, a reworking of the classic 1950s crime drama The Asphalt Jungle, which was in turn based on W.R. Burnett’s novel. We watched it last night and enjoyed it, though like many movies of the genre it’s the grittiness and other intangibles that make it good, as opposed to the acting and directing, which aren’t great.

But one bonus was the brief appearance of Pam Grier, who you see below in a totally nude still image you won’t find on any other website (at least not yet). We found it interesting that the scene in question did not actually show Grier nude. Instead, her entire torso was blocked by a character in the foreground. But obviously there was another camera and the still was taken from the alternate angle cinemagoers never got to see. You’re welcome internetgoers. Grier was once described by fellow actress Margaret Markov as fearless, basically up for anything, and here’s proof.

Moving on to the poster, it was made for the movie’s Italian run as I diamanti sono pericolosi, which means “diamonds are dangerous.” This piece of art is rare not just in the real world, but on the internet, which means that, like the Grier photo, you probably won’t find it on any other website (at least not an unwatermarked version). Cool Breeze premiered in the U.S. in 1972. No info on when it debuted in Italy.

Italy, I diamanti sono pericolosi, Asphalt Jungle, Cool Breeze, W.R. Burnett, Judy Pace, Pam Grier, poster art, cinema, blaxploitation, movie review

Femmes Fatales

April 27 2014

PACE HERSELF

To dance, to sing, to laugh, or to just be.

Above, American actress Judy Pace, who appeared in such films as Cool Breeze and Cotton Comes to Harlem, and on television shows like Kung Fu, Mod Squad, and Shaft, seen here expressing herself circa 1968.

Cool Breeze, Cotton Comes to Harlem, Kung Fu, Mod Squad, Shaft, Judy Pace, blaxploitation, cinema, television

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HISTORY REWIND

The headlines that mattered yesteryear.

October 8

1918—Sgt. York Becomes a Hero

During World War I, in the Argonne Forest in France, America Corporal Alvin C. York leads an attack on a German machine gun nest that kills 25 and captures 132. He is a corporal during the event, but is promoted to sergeant as a result. He also earns Medal of Honor from the U.S., the Croix de Guerre from the French Republic, and the Croce di Guerra from Italy and Montenegro. Stateside, he is celebrated as a hero, and Hollywood even makes a movie entitled Sergeant York, starring Gary Cooper.

October 8

1956—Larsen Pitches Perfect Game

The New York Yankees’ Don Larsen pitches a perfect game in the World Series against hated rivals the Brooklyn Dodgers. It is the only perfect game in World Series history, as well as the only no-hitter.

October 7

1959—Dark Side of Moon Revealed

The Soviet space probe Luna 3 transmits the first photographs of the far side of the moon. The photos generate great interest, and scientists are surprised to see mountainous terrain, very different from the near side, and only two seas, which the Soviets name Mare Moscovrae (Sea of Moscow) and Mare Desiderii (Sea of Desire).

October 6

1966—LSD Declared Illegal in U.S.

LSD, which was originally synthesized by a Swiss doctor and was later secretly used by the CIA on military personnel, prostitutes, the mentally ill, and members of the general public in a project code named MKULTRA, is designated a controlled substance in the United States.

October 5

1945—Hollywood Black Friday

A six month strike by Hollywood set decorators becomes a riot at the gates of Warner Brothers Studios when strikers and replacement workers clash. The event helps bring about the passage of the Taft-Hartley Act, which, among other things, prohibits unions from contributing to political campaigns and requires union leaders to affirm they are not supporters of the Communist Party.