Darktown Strutters (1975)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

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
Frankie Crocker	...	Stuff
Della Thomas	...	Lixie
Ed Bakey	...	Reverend S. Tilly
Fuddle Bagley	...	Casabah Volt
Frances E. Nealy	...	Cinderella (as Frances Nealy)
Barbara Morrison	...	Mrs. Parasol
Raymond Allen	...	Six Bits
Charles Woolf	...	Inspector Fallow
Alvin Childress	...	Bo
Zara Cully	...	Lorelai
Oaky Miller and Company	...	The Minstrels
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
John Gary Williams
The Dramatics	...	Jail Inmates (uncredited)
Oaky Miller	...	Minstrel (uncredited)

Directed by
William Witney

Writing credits
George Armitage		(screenplay)

Produced by
Gene Corman	....	producer

Cinematography by
João Fernandes		(director of photography) (as Joao Fernandes)

Film Editing by
Morton Tubor

Production Design by
Jack Fisk

Art Direction by
Peter Jamison

Costume Design by
Michael Nicola

Production Management
Jack Bohrer	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Frank Beetson	....	assistant director

Art Department
Michael Katz	....	carpenter (uncredited)

Sound Department
Don Lusby	....	sound
William B. Kaplan	....	sound mixer (uncredited)
Sharron Miller	....	sound editor (uncredited)

Stunts
Paul Nuckles	....	stunt coordinator
Jesse Wayne	....	stunts (uncredited)

Other crew
Barbara Pieters	....	production secretary

Production Companies

• New World Pictures

Distributors

• New World Pictures (1975) (USA) (theatrical)
• Charter Entertainment (????) (USA) (VHS)
• EastWest Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Video Screams (????) (USA) (VHS)

Other Companies

• The Stax Organization  soundtrack music

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)

Company:

New World Pictures

Soundtrack:

What You See Is What You Get

Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha!!!!!!!!!!!!

Directed by William Witney and written by George Armitage, Darktown Strutters is quite simply, the forerunner to I'M GONNA GIT YOU SUCKA! It is slapstick comedy that was seen on a bigger budget in BLAZING SADDLES, but because of the storyline it was quite ahead of its time. The Darktown Strutters, a group of female bikers, come into Watts, where Syreena(fearless leader of the quartet) is looking for her mother. In the middle of it all, a racist, fast food magnate is plotting to manipulate the Black community for his own intentions. Highly stylized, and fast-paced, what makes Darktown Strutters so silly is its contemporary take on urban America and racism. Modern issues such as abortion, fast food chains, cloning, police brutality, and racism are interwoven quite effectively. The villain of the piece, one Colonel Louisville Cross, made his millions as owner of the Sky Hog fast food chain: where the pork ribs are bonesuckin' good! It is a very amusing spin on the benevolent image of the dearly departed Colonel Sanders(of KFC fame), who walked the earth when this film was released. It's also funny how they avoided copyright infringement by replacing fried chicken with pork: the other white meat. It's also funny to see Syreena's contempt for the Colonel the minute she sees him. It's easy to see why the movie is overlooked. During that period, I really don't think Black Americans were in the mood for such comedies, especially when the Blaxploitation era was full of hardcore action flicks. I think too many viewers on the IMDB, who have seen this, just don't get some of the jokes. If you were around during that time, and/or if you are of African American descent, you will get a lot of the comedy on display. To compare this to Car Wash makes no sense. And it is not as weird as people make it out to be. As I said earlier, it was simply ahead of its time.