Cleopatra Jones (1973)

Cleopatra Jones is a United States Special Agent assigned to crack down on drug-trafficking in the U.S. and abroad. After she burns a Turkish poppy field, the notorious drug-lord Mommy is ... See full summary »

Director:

Jack Starrett

Writers:

Max Julien (screenplay), Sheldon Keller (screenplay),

Stars:

Tamara Dobson, Bernie Casey, Brenda Sykes

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tamara Dobson	...	Cleopatra Jones
Bernie Casey	...	Reuben
Brenda Sykes	...	Tiffany
Antonio Fargas	...	Doodlebug Simkins
Dan Frazer	...	Crawford
Bill McKinney	...	Purdy
Stafford Morgan	...	Sgt. Kert
Michael Warren	...	Andy (as Mike Warren)
Albert Popwell	...	Matthew Johnson
Caro Kenyatta	...	Melvin Johnson
Esther Rolle	...	Mrs. Johnson
Keith Hamilton	...	Maxwell Woodman
Jay Montgomery	...	Jimmy Beeker
Arnold Dover	...	Art
Angela Elayne Gibbs	...	Annie (as Angela Gibbs)

Storyline

Cleopatra Jones is a United States Special Agent assigned to crack down on drug-trafficking in the U.S. and abroad. After she burns a Turkish poppy field, the notorious drug-lord Mommy is furious at the loss of her supply and vows to destroy Cleopatra Jones. Mommy uses her connections with bad cops on the force to cause trouble for Cleopatra's friends and set her up for an attack. Meanwhile, Mommy is having trouble with some of her pushers, like the renegade Doodlebug.

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Plot Keywords:

poppy field | switchblade | camel | martial arts | drug dealing | 

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Taglines:

She's "Ten Miles of Bad Road" For Every Hood in Town!

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Genres:

Action

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 July 1973 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cleopatra Jones - karatekuningatar

Filming Locations:

Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Cleo's ride in the film is a customized black and silver 1973 Corvette Stingray. When she opens the door to get out, the T-bar panel in the roof above the driver's seat automatically opens as well so she can get out without squashing her afro.

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Goofs

During the chase scene, the red Mustang starts off having no hubcaps, but later in the shot, we see one fly off, and the remaining hubcaps in later scenes.

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Quotes

Snake: Shit! What's wrong with you woman? Why can't you just open a door like a normal person?

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Connections

Referenced in Cecil B. DeMented (2000)

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Soundtracks

"Love Doctor"
Performed by Millie Jackson

User Reviews

Who was that Bad Mamma Jamma???

Cleapatra Jones is one of those movies that you might have caught on t.v. as a little kid and thought, "Wow, that was amazing! I want to be just like her!" Then, when you are older and see it scheduled to come on t.v. again, or see it in the video store, you arrange to watch it with all sorts of anticipation and end up laughing through the entire movie-the choreographed fight scenes, the extreme villains, the jive "put downs". Either way, it is a cool movie to watch, whether you want to go "WOW" or joke it.

I think Tamara Dobson is absolutely stunning in the movie. Very glamorous and very "tough" (if you disregard the fake fight scenes)and within the context of the movie, she is very smart. Blaxploitation films had their place back in the day (and they still do).

Shelly Winters played a "surprising" role as the villain. If you need to get a handle on this, view the movie, "I'm Gonna to git You Sucka"- Towards the end of the movie, a whole list of actors/actresses, who are thought to be above playing in exploitation movies, are named in various exploitation films. Of course Cleopatra Jones is mentioned.

While the movie can be classified as "cheesy" by many, it does have action, adventure, and romance. The action is non-stop-Cleo is always kung fuing someone or driving the hell out of her Corvette to get away from the bad guys. Also, there a pretty neat scene where she rides a motorcycle up a steep hill to everyone's dismay (if you happen to catch CJ on DVD or VHS, use pause on this scene-it is clearly a Caucasian male, with brown makeup, who is actually riding the motorcycle). The adventure is during the beginning-she is in Turkey blowing up poppy fields. Also, her investigations takes her to various parts of town and she interfaces with various "interesting" supporting characters. And then there is the romantic scene with her and Bernie Casey.

If anything, CJ is a wonderful film to have going if you happen to have a 70's theme party or something.