Only now does it occur to me... CLEOPATRA JONES (1973)

Only now does it occur to me.... that Shelley Winters' name––writ in the 'CLEOPATRA JONES font' and projected against a Tatooine-esque Turkish landscape––might have inspired the iconic STAR WARS main title.

This was 1973, a full two years before STAR WARS went into production, and while font designer Suzy Rice has explained her influences, isn't it possible that some subliminal memory of seeing Shelley Winters' name so stylishly depicted could have played a small role in one of the most recognizable movie fonts ever made? I'm gonna go ahead and say yes, because it makes me happy.

A few quick thoughts on CLEOPATRA JONES and why it's worth your time: Tamara Dobson (CHAINED HEAT, NORMAN... IS THAT YOU?) is Cleopatra Jones, a fabulous, kung fu-savvy, dirtbike enthusiast, stunt-driver, crack shot DEA Agent who is introduced to us while overseeing an air strike on poppy fields in Turkey.


 It's a special breed of film that begins with exploding flowers.

Later, we learn she has a ridiculous customized Corvette Stingray (see also: Mark Hamill's in CORVETTE SUMMER) with low-key U.S. Government vanity plates

and a specially-built hydraulic roof that automatically lifts up when she opens her door so that her afro remains unmussed.

Her boyfriend is the sensitive community organizer Bernie Casey (THE RUNNING MAN, THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH),

pictured here, as he should be, in an amazing glamour headshot that happens to be decorating Cleo's wicked bachelorette pad/lounge.

Her nemesis is Shelley Winters as the drug kingpin, "Mommy" (to whom the aforementioned Turkish poppy fields belonged), a raging, racist, lesbian who wears a different wig in every scene and delivers a high-hag horror-worthy performance, chewing not merely the scenery, but entire tableaux, co-stars and all.

And yes, on the far right, that is perennial 1970s/Charles Bronson-baddie, Paul Koslo,

whose own, humble, scenery-chewing skills cannot compete with the mistress.

Elsewhere, we have Cleopatra Jones laying down some JCVD-style, high-kicking smack 

on Bruce Glover-lookalike and DELIVERANCE rapist Bill McKinney...

...we have one of the finest comebacks in film history from character actor legend Antonio Fargas (FOXY BROWN, SHAFT) who, when asked if he is willing to cross Shelley Winters' "Mommy" responds:




...and finally, I must tip my hat to a film that not only has the balls to make Shelley Winters its lead villain in a performance that might prompt even Divine to advise "maybe you should tone it down a notch," but also is bold enough to end with a show-stopping kung fu battle/fistfight between Shelley and Tamara Dobson.

Amen.

Film Review: FOXY BROWN (1974, Jack Hill)

Stars: 4.5 of 5.
Running Time: 94 minutes.
Notable Cast or Crew: Pam Grier, Peter Brown, Terry Carter, Sid Haig, Juanita Brown, Antonio Fargas.
Tag-lines: "Don't mess aroun' with Foxy Brown Don't mess aroun' with Foxy Brown - She's the meanest chick in town!" AND "A chick with drive who don't take no jive!" AND "She's brown sugar and spice but if you don't treat her nice she'll put you on ice!"
Best one-liner: "You pink-ass corrupt honky judge, take your little wet noodle outta here and if you see a man anywhere send him in because I do need a MAN!"

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Jack Hill takes a hold of this sage advice, and picks up basically where COFFY left off. Originally, this was a sequel entitled "BURN, COFFY, BURN!," but for whatever reason, the studio changed their mind at the last minute, and FOXY BROWN was born. Pam Grier as Foxy Brown is a whole lotta woman.

Or so says her brother after Foxy shoots his ear off. (He deserved it, by the way.) Foxy (as in COFFY, with her Jamaican accents and insane wigs) is a master of disguise.

Foxy is also a master of bustin' up furniture. She even has a "black belt in barstools."

Yeah, this movie is THAT awesome.

There's psychedelic dance sequences, graft, corruption, topless women, castrations, the line "Don't pinch the fruit, faggot!" (which gets recycled for SWITCHBLADE SISTERS), and it all ends on a freeze frame. But before you can say, "A little taste of honey ain't good enough for me, I gotta have the whole beehive," FOXY BROWN turns the tables on you.

Allow me to explain. You're enjoying it as a revenge picture, and then, all of a sudden, there's depth. FOXY BROWN never lets you forget that while you're out there, enjoying yourself, the stakes are fucking high for these characters. They're having their friends and lovers murdered, they're getting raped- or, at the very least, having sex with repulsive men for money, and they might never see their kids again. And just as in THE SWINGING CHEERLEADERS or COFFY, Jack Hill is a master of snapping you back into the harsh, tear-streamed reality of it, right after entertaining the hell out of you. He creates a world not unlike our own, but ultimately, it's fantasy, because at least in FOXY BROWN, some form of justice is served. When we get to a line like "Jail is where some of the finest people I know are these days," it's far from corny- it really matters.

-Sean Gill