Darktown Strutters (1975)

Director:

William Witney

Writer:

George Armitage (screenplay)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Musical

Tagline:

Super Sisters on Cycles

Plot:

Syreena must investigate the disappearance of her mother, Cinderella. A series of wild complications follow. |

Plot Keywords:

Pie Fight | Surrealism | Slapstick | Absurdism | Biker

Cast

Trina Parks	...	Syreena
Edna Richardson	...	Carmen
Bettye Sweet	...	Miranda
Shirley Washington	...	Theda
Roger E. Mosley	...	Mellow
Christopher Joy	...	Wired
Stan Shaw	...	Raunchy
Otis Day	...	V.D. (as DeWayne Jesse)
Norman Bartold	...	Commander Cross
Charles Knapp	...	Officer Tubbins
Edward Marshall	...	Officer Emmo
Dick Miller	...	Officer Hugo
Milt Kogan	...	Officer Babel
Gene Simms	...	Flash
Sam Laws	...	Philo Rasberry

Also Known As:

Get Down and Boogie (USA) (reissue title)

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:PG | UK:18 (video rating)

Filming Locations:

Culver City Studios - 9336 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

New World Pictures

Soundtrack:

Shop Around

I can't believe this movie was actually made!

Like something out of a twisted 70s nightmare, DARKTOWN STRUTTERS is 100% entertainment for all the wrong reasons. I don't know if this movie is supposed to be taken seriously or is supposed to be a farce, but it certainly is unique in a way that no other blaxploitation film is.

Trina Parks (who is great, by the way) is Syreena, a black Queen biker who leads a gang of outrageously dressed black female bikers who at first race against, then become friends with a bumbling male biker gang, led by Roger E. Mosley! Syreena is trying to find her mother Cinderella, who has disappeared. Her kung-fu fighting brother has no information about her whereabouts and Syreena must turn to some pretty far out pimps and hookers to not only find Cinderella, but to expose a plot to clone black leaders by a racist Colonel Sanders-look alike who charges a fortune for mediocre rib dinners at his restaurants. Why clone black leaders? So they can be programmed to vote for white leaders! Sound like fun? It is!

The 70s fashions are out of this world, bumbling racist cops with a sonic siren harass the girls, The Dramatics sing "What You See Is What You Get" in a jail cell, the restaurant owner puts on a black-face minstrel show on a special stage in his dining room, a clone of "Colonel Sanders" comes out in diapers, amazing bike races and chases, and the final musical number while the credits roll is great! The musical score is great, making me wish a CD release was in the works (yeah right, like that will happen!). I really do love Trina Parks and her performance in this has made me anxious to track down her other films. No other notable performances, even though Dick Miller, the ultimate cult movie star, appears as one of the racist cops.

Highly recommended, DARKTOWN STRUTTERS is just a fun, kick-back kind of movie that needs not be taken seriously. Don't question anything in this movie, just watch, laugh, and you will guaranteed remember it for the rest of your life!