“I’m gonna let ‘em know that Dolemite is back on the scene! I’m gonna let ‘em know that Dolemite is my name, and fuckin’ up motherfuckers is my game!”
And with that, I introduce you to one of Blaxploitation’s most famous characters:
Dolemite!
“Man, move over and let me pass ‘fore they have be to pullin’ these Hush Puppies out your motherfuckin’ ass!”
Rudy Ray Moore created Dolemite in a 1975 blaxploitation film, and also co-wrote the film and its soundtrack.
Moore, who started his career as a stand-up comedian in the late 1960s, heard around that time a rhymed toast by a local homeless man about an urban hero named Dolemite, and decided to adopt the persona of Dolemite as an alter-ego in his act.
“That rat-soup-eatin’, insecure honky motherfucker!”
Dolemite is a pimp who was set up by Willie Greene and the cops, who have planted drugs, stolen furs, and guns in his trunk and got him sentenced to 20 years in jail. One day, Queen B and a warden planned to get him out of Jail and get Willie Green and Mitchell busted for what they did to him.
However, Dolemite is not stupid – oh, and he has a lot of warriors on his team as well, such as his call girls, who are Karate Experts! Let the ass-kicking begin!
“I’m gonna let ‘em know that Dolemite is back on the scene! I’m gonna let ‘em know that Dolemite is my name, and fuckin’ up motherfuckers is my game!”
A sequel, “The Human Tornado”, was released in 1976. A second sequel “The Return of Dolemite” was released in 2002 and was later renamed “The Dolemite Explosion” for DVD release.
A quasi-sequel “Shaolin Dolemite” starring Rudy Ray Moore as Monk Ru-Dee was released in 1999.
AS you can see, Rudy Ray Moore tapped into an explosive idea: a character who wasn’t going to let the man keep him down with a foot in his back…some of the best blaxploitation characters were created out of a sense of rage and injustice….
Click below to read more about the blaxploitation genre – including my writeup of the great blaxploitation film EVER:
http://johnrieber.com/2012/04/25/the-mack-sweet-sweetback-blacula-blaxploitation-lives/
Shaft!
Not all of the blaxploitation movies featured characters who were criminals and pimps: the classic film “Shaft” starred Richard Roundtree as a tough NYC Cop who played by his own rules:
More on John Shaft in a second – but at that point in cinema, the huge success of “Shaft” led to a whole slew of action thrillers starring black leading men – and one of the best is this one – with a most unlikely star:
Hit Man!
The plot is a homage to the classic british thriller “Get Carter.” In “Hit Man”, a lawyer takes the law into his own hands as he goes after the men who killed his brother. During the course of his quest for revenge, he must slither through the grimy, underground pornography scene.
“Hit Man” featured two very distinctive elements of “blaxploitation” movies of the time: a HUGE afro, and a fancy hat!
Check out the trailer:
An Unlikely Action Star!
“Hit Man” stars the NFL pro wide receiver Bernie Casey – who played for the San Francisco 49′ers as well as the LA Rams! That’s right, this “Hit Man” was a pro football player, so I guess he knew all about kicking ass! In fact, Casey had an extensive acting career after he finished playing pro ball…
As I said, “Hit Man” is an Americanized version of the British crime thriller “Get Carter” starring Michael Caine. Casey plays a very tough character here – bending the rules and breaking the law to get answers – and nothing will stop him from finding out what happened to his brother…
“Hit Man” features many of the elements of a great blaxploitation film – and also includes many iconic locations around an early 70′s Los Angeles…
Oh, and one other thing to note: “Hit Man” is also well known for featuring the “very nude” Pam Grier!
Hello Pam!
This was early in Pam Grier’s career – she would, of course, go on to star in many blaxploitation films of her own – and I will have a report on that soon – and of course, Quentin Tarantino made a movie just for her – “Jackie Brown.”
But Pam Grier is showing off a lot of her self in “Hit Man.” She has a couple of extended nude scenes in the film, and then is involved in one of the strangest action sequences EVER – which I won’t give away here, but it is certainly unique!
And now, back to the classic – the greatest blaxploitation film ever:
Shaft!
“Who’s the cat that won’t cop out, when there’s danger all about?”
John Shaft of course! This blaxploitation classic is a hard-charging action thriller about Detective John Shaft, played to perfection by Richard Roundtree.
Bumpy Jonas: Wrong number.
John Shaft: Cut the crap, man, this is Shaft.
“You see this cat Shaft is a bad motherf-”
“Watch Your Mouth!”
“But I’m talking about Shaft!”
“Then we can dig it!”
Check out this movie and also buy the soundtrack on iTunes, it’s a classic as well from Isaac Hayes!
Here is that iconic song, and remember, the entire soundtrack is available from iTunes, and it’s a great album of funk, blues and jazz…
Celebrate This Great Genre Of Film!
“Dolemite”, “Shaft” and “Hit Man” are great examples of a classic genre of exploitation film, and you can read more about the genre at this great website:
http://www.blaxploitationpride.org/
RIP Jim Kelly!
And of course, one of Blaxploitation’s best died recently. Click HERE to read all about the legendary Jim Kelly:
http://johnrieber.com/2013/06/30/rip-jim-kelly-bruce-lees-kung-fu-partner-blaxploitation-master/
“Black Samurai” Indeed!
