Vintage Pulp

August 13 2021

TO LAUGH OR DIE IN L.A.

Blaxploitation flick goes slapstick and the result is bold but bad.

This poster for the blaxploitation flick Darktown Strutters, aka Get Down and Boogie, was painted by top talent John Solie and is a high quality piece of art. The movie it promotes, conversely, is a low quality piece of art, one of those efforts any rational assessment concludes is an utter disaster, but which has advocates, among them Quentin Tarantino. The advocates are wrong. Tarantino—and it pains us to say this—is wrong.

This musical-alleged-comedy about a female motorcycle gang in L.A. battling the owner of a fried chicken franchise is about as entertaining as watching a circus clown punch himself repeatedly in the nose. If you watch it with your Vaudevillian cortex activated you might get a few bemused laughs. And if you dig into it with a pickaxe and mining helmet you might find commentary upon cultural appropriation, feminism, capitalism, and law enforcement.

But if you examine it from a technical point of view you’ll simply cringe, even factoring in its highly limiting three-day shooting schedule. Since when does lofty intent stand in for basic execution? We missed that memo. But we do love the poster, and we like the promo image below. It shows Edna Richardson, Bettye Sweet, Shirley Washington and, front and center, Trina Parks, who thankfully had other opportunities to show her actual talent. Darktown Strutters premiered in the U.S. today in 1975.

Darktown Strutters, Get Down and Boogie, Trina Parks, Edna Richardson, Bettye Sweet, Shirley Washington, Roger E. Mosley, John Solie, poster art, cinema, blaxploitation, movie review

Intl. Notebook

March 5 2021

AFRO CENTRIC

You probably can't pull this look off but there's no harm in dreaming.

Above you see a photo of U.S. actress Rosalind Cash modeling what we like to think of as the classic afro, an image we’ve posted today because recently we ran across a story on Simone Williams, official Guinness World Record holder for largest afro in existence. We don’t know if hers is actually the largest, regardless of what Guinness says, but it’s a majestic ‘do, beyond doubt. It got us thinking about the hairstyle, which in our book is the coolest of all time.

There are different types of afros beside just the classic. We wanted to feature all styles, and we also bent the definition a little to include what might be categorized more accurately as large perms. We’ve labeled all the variations below, which will help when you start on the long, winding, and ultimately fruitless road toward your own blowout. We’re aware, of course, that there were many male celebs who had afros, but we’re sticking with women today. Your journey begins below.

The pure joy afro, as modeled by Gloria Hendry, who appeared in such films as Live and Let Die and Savage Sisters.

The regal, by Diahann Carroll, crown not included

The bohemian, by Esther Anderson, who appeared in flims like Genghis Khan and A Warm December.

The aquatic, by Camella Donner, who’s a true water sprit, as we’ve shown you before.

The iconic, by Pam Grier, who did as much to popularize the afro as any film star in history.

The tall and proud afro, worn by trans b-movie actress Ajita Wilson.

The wild child, seen here atop Italian actress Iris Peynado.

The supreme afro, seen here on Diana Ross.

The lovely innocence afro, by Brenda Sykes.

The you-could-be-bald-and-still-be-smokin’-hot, demonstrated by Get Christie Love star Teresa Graves.

The afro-warrior by Cleopatra Jones star Tamara Dobson. Definitely more in the category of a large perm, but she pioneered the high fashion afro, so she’s earned some latitude.

The too-cool-for-you afro/perm by Vonetta McGee.

The action afro, seen here on Jeannie Bell. This barely qualifies, but she had one of the largest afros in the history of cinema, so we can cut her some slack. Check her screen shot in this post to be amazed.

The bright-eyed and bushy, by Carol Speed.

The action afro again, this time by Trina Parks, who sported this look in Diamonds Are Forever. Is it technically an afro? Tell her it isn’t and see what happens.

And lastly, the too-big-to-be-real afro, worn by Azizi Johari, whose actual hair you can see here.

There are numerous other afro shots in our website, but we can’t possibly remember where they all are, so you’ll just have to find them yourself, maybe by clicking the blaxploitation link below. Besides those, we do recall one more afro you can check out. It’s on Desirée West, and you’ll need to gird yourself for probably the hottest shot in Pulp Intl. history. Ready? Look here.

Vintage Pulp

November 13 2019

BAD MUTHERS

Teach, nurture, encourage, love. That all comes later. Right now, they're mainly focused on killing.

Yes, there are two movies called The Muthers. We covered the one from 1968 yesterday. Today we turn our attention to the unrelated blaxploitation flick, which premiered this month in 1976. Yesterday’s Muthers was a simple nudie romp, rather innocent. Here eight years later we have a full blown savage adventure epic about a clan of female pirates who get themselves deliberately thrown in a coffee plantation/prison camp called Sal Si Puedes—Get Out If You Can—as part of a rescue mission. So what you basically have here is a women-in-prison movie, replete with sweat, cruelty, and a desperate plan to make a break for freedom.

Two of the pirates are portrayed by Playboy centerfolds Jeannie Bell and Rosanne Katon, while model Jayne Kennedy is a sort of privileged prisoner. Without getting too pervy about it, these are three of the more beautiful women from ’70s b-cinema. Another pirate is played by Trina Parks, who while she isn’t otherworldly like the goddesses previously mentioned, is certainly plenty hot by any normal measure. We bring up their physical characteristics because it’s exactly why director/writer/producer Cirio Santiago cast them. He was an exploitation producer/director nonpareil, and his milieu was putting beautiful women—among them Pam Grier, Judith Brown, Roberta Collins, Margaret Markov, and Colleen Camp—in roles where they drove the action.

The Muthers takes place in what is supposed to be Central America, but it was really produced in the good old Philippines by Santiago and the same people who gave the world movies like She Devils in Chains and Savage! The women Santiago has assembled here karate kick, rabbit punch, and machine gun a series of anonymous bad guys, finally working their way up the prison camp’s commandant, played by Tony Carreon. Who comes out on top? You never know in these jungle epics, but you can count on the end being pyrotechnic. Do we recommend this? Well… in terms of sheer quality maybe not, but in terms of watching Bell, Katon, and Kennedy? For sure. Those girls are poison!

Philippines, The Muthers, Playboy, Jeannie Bell, Jeanne Bell, Jean Bell, Rosanne Katon, Trina Parks, Jayne Kennedy, Cirio Santiago, poster art, cinema, blaxploitation, women in prison, movie review

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HISTORY REWIND

The headlines that mattered yesteryear.

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.

October 4

1957—Sputnik Circles Earth

The Soviet Union launches the satellite Sputnik I, which becomes the first artificial object to orbit the Earth. It orbits for two months and provides valuable information about the density of the upper atmosphere. It also panics the United States into a space race that eventually culminates in the U.S. moon landing.

October 4

1970—Janis Joplin Overdoses

American blues singer Janis Joplin is found dead on the floor of her motel room in Los Angeles. The cause of death is determined to be an overdose of heroin, possibly combined with the effects of alcohol.