My Favorite Guilty Pleasures On DVD:MANDINGO(1975)**1/2 out of **** & DRUM(1976)*** out of ****
This time,my guilty pleasure on DVD turns out to be the last "blaxploitation films" made by a major Hollywood studios based on the very popular and controversial Falconhurst paperback novels written by Kyle Onstott that mere made in the mid 1970's
MANDINGO(1975)**1/2 out of **** Written by Norman Wexler based on the Falconhurst novels by Kyle Onslott,Directed by Richard FleischerStarring James Mason,Perry King,Susan George,Ken Norton, Lillian Hayman,Earl Maynard,Brenda Sykes, Richard Ward,J.T Cimbuka Rated R 127minutes Released by Paramount Pictures and Legend Films Home Video.
One of the most controversial "blaxploitation" films made by a major Hollywood studio in the 1970's based on a popular series of paperback books written by Kyle Onstott about the Falconhurst plantation in Virginia belonging to the aristocratic Maxwell family in the 1840's before the Civil War, whose main product was the breeding and selling of black slaves,especially Mandingo slaves.When Hammond Maxwell played by Perry King(CLASS OF 1984,LIPSTICK) buys a strong Mandingo slave named Mede played by former Heavyweight Champion boxer Ken Norton(DRUM) to bring to Falconhurst for breeding and fighting purposes to satisfy his father played by James Mason(HEAVEN CAN WAIT,THE BOYS FROM BRAZIL), things go for the worst when Hammond's oversexed and unfaithful Southern wife played by Susan George(STRAW DOGS, CRAZY MARY-DIRTY LARRY,TINTORERA) fancies Mede to be her black lover as revenge for her husband Hammond in neglecting her in the bedroom and prefering to have sex with his beautiful black female black slave played by Brenda Sykes(CLEOPATRA JONES,BLACK GUNN).By when Hammond's wife gives birth to Mede's baby, then all hell brakes loose in a violent and bloody climax when Hammond takes brutal revenge against Mede.
This Dino De Laurentis production caused quite a stir among film critics that called the film the worst blaxploitation film of it's time due to it's racial views about slavery and bold explicit interracial sex scenes for a film of it's time, but the film became a box office hit popular with both white and black audiences back in 1975 when the movie was released. Only released on VHS in a pan and scan version in the early 1980's, Paramount finally has released the film in a anamorphic widescreen version on DVD licensed to Legend Films Home Video but in a barebones video release with no special extras not even the film's trailer. Seen more that thirty years later, the film is still entertaining but no longer shocks audiences with it's material although most of the film's subject matter is still considered politically incorrect for some viewers. This version of the film is still missing a few seconds of violence and gore when the slave Mede explicitly and graphically tares out the throat of another black slave in a brutal fight scene in the film. But despite that, the film is still more or less complete despite being sort of slow moving with an episodic kind of script despite being written by Norman Wexler, writer of SERPICO & SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER and directed by Richard Fleischer(THE VIKINGS, CONAN THE DESTROYER)
DRUM(1976)*** out of **** Written by Norman Wexler based on the novel DRUM by Kyle Onslott and Directed by Burt Kennedy & Steve Carver Starring Warren Oates.Ken Norton,Isela Vega.Fiona Lewis, Yaphet Kotto,Pam Grier,Brenda Sykes,John Colicos, Paula Kelly. Rated R 101 minutes Released by United Artists and Blax Home Video
After the box office success of MANDINGO but responding to the negative critical reviews of the film,producer Dino de Laurentis decided to make as controversial film version of the sequel DRUM but thru the United Artist film studio instead of Paramount who passed on making the film.De Laurentis contracted famed Western director Burt Kennedy(HANNIE CAULDER,RETURN OF THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN) to direct the sequel but after directing about 75% of the film.there was heated contradicting arguments between the director and producer about the way the film was going and Kennedy was fired by De Laurentis who replaced him with Roger Corman protege Steve Carver(BIG BAD MAMA, LONE WOLF MCQUADE)who finished the film.The sequel takes place twenty years later after the events of the first film in 1860 before the Civil War takes place, when Hammond Maxwell now played by the great character actor Warren Oates(THE WILD BUNCH, RACE WITH THE DEVIL) gets married for the third time to a beautiful and feisty Southern belle played by Fiona Lewis(DR.PHIBES RISES AGAIN, THE FURY, TINTORERA) and brings her to Falconhurst to be the stepmother to his rebellious oversexed teenage daughter played by Cheryl "Rainbeaux" Smith(LEMORA,CAGED HEAT) who prefers to sexually molest the black bucks who work on her father's farm. Hammond also brings to Falconhurst three new slaves named Regine played by Pam Grier(COFFY, FOXY BROWN, JACKIE BROWN) as well as Drum played by Ken Norton (MANDINGO) who is the illegitimade son of a Mandingo slave Tamboura and a white woman named Mariela owner of a brothel played by Mexican actress Isela Vega(who previously co-starred with Warren Oates in Sam Peckinpaw's BRING ME THE HEAD OF ALFREDO GARCIA) and Blaise a rebellious slave played by Yaphet Kotto(LIVE AND LET DIE, ALIEN).Drum is sold to Hammond by his white owner Mariella(who is Drum's real mother, although he was raised by Mariella's slave lover and confidante Rachel played by Paula Kelly(TROUBLE MAN, SOYLENT GREEN)) because Drum attacked and refused the sexual advances of the vicious homosexual French slave owner De Marigny played bu John Colicos(TV's original BATTLESTAR GALACTICA).When Hammond's daughter maliciously accuses Blaise of sexually molesting her because he refused her advances,Hammond decides to make an example of Blaise by castrating him. But Blaise convinces his fellow slaves to violent rebel against their white masters by attacking and killing them.Therefore Drum is conflicted into protecting his master Hammond who has been good to him or join his best friend Blaise in his bloody rebellion against their white slave masters
iDRUM although it is tecnically a sequel and followup to MANDINGO,is really in my honest opinion the better movie of the two films, although it was co-directed by Kennedy and Carver but in it's end result is more cohesive and interesting than most films of it's type made by one director especially compared with the early MANDINGO. Although by viewing the film,it's obvious that De Laurentis tampered with the film's earlier sequence regarding the illicit affair of Tamboura and Mariela that results in the birth of Drum that was filmed on location in Puerto Rico and was obviously filmed by Kennedy and now appears in the film as a simple five minute prologue in order to speed up the film to it's main plotline. But the film is greatly effective mainly due to it's great cast of Warren Oates, Fiona Lewis ,Isela Vega,Pam Grier, Yaphet Kotto, Cheryl Smith,John Colicos and most especially Ken Norton whose acting as Drum is much improved from his previous non syllabic performance in MANDINGO.Unfortunately MGM/UA which currently owns the rights to DRUM hasn't released it yet officially on DVD or BluRay,but the film has been out on unofficial DVD thru Blax Home Video, a company that specializes in cult "Blaxploitation"film classics in a 2 sided DVD disc release that has both the pan and scan version as well as a widescreen but not anamorphic version of DRUM as well as film trailers on both sides of the disc.
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