Mandingo (1975)

Director:

Richard Fleischer

Writers:

Kyle Onstott (novel)
Jack Kirkland (play)
(more)

Release Date:

25 July 1975 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Romance

Tagline:

Expect The Savage. The Sensual. The Shocking. The Sad. The Powerful. The Shameful. Expect The Truth.

Plot:

A slave owner in the 1840s trains one of his slaves to be a bare-knuckle fighter.

Plot Keywords:

Slave | Slave Owner | 1840s | Bare Knuckle Fighting | Slave Market

Awards:

1 win

Cast

James Mason	...	Warren Maxwell
Susan George	...	Blanche Maxwell
Perry King	...	Hammond Maxwell
Richard Ward	...	Agamemnon
Brenda Sykes	...	Ellen
Ken Norton	...	Mede
Lillian Hayman	...	Lucrezia Borgia
Roy Poole	...	Doc Redfield
Ji-Tu Cumbuka	...	Cicero
Paul Benedict	...	Brownlee
Ben Masters	...	Charles
Ray Spruell	...	Wallace
Louis Turenne	...	De Veve
Duane Allen	...	Topaz
Earl Maynard	...	Babouin
Beatrice Winde	...	Lucy
Debbi Morgan	...	Dite
Irene Tedrow	...	Mrs. Redfield
Reda Wyatt	...	Big Pearl
Simone McQueen	...	Madam Caroline
Evelyn Hendrickson	...	Beatrix
Stanley J. Reyes	...	Major Woodford (as Stanley Reyes)
John Barber	...	Le Toscan
Durwyn Robinson	...	Meg
Kerwin Robinson	...	Alph
Deborah Ann Young	...	Tense
Debra Blackwell	...	Blonde Girl
Kuumba	...	Black Mother
Stocker Fontelieu	...	Wilson
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Edwin Edwards	...	Gambler (scenes deleted)
Sylvester Stallone	...	Young Man in Crowd (scenes deleted)
Warren Kenner	...	(uncredited)
Laura Misch Owens	...	Prostitute (uncredited)
Rosemary Tichenor	...	Slave-Buying Woman (uncredited)

Directed by
Richard Fleischer

Writing credits
Kyle Onstott		(novel)
Jack Kirkland		(play)
Norman Wexler		(screenplay)

Produced by
Dino De Laurentiis	....	producer
Ralph B. Serpe	....	executive producer (as Ralph Serpe)

Original Music by
Maurice Jarre

Cinematography by
Richard H. Kline		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Frank Bracht

Casting by
Lynn Stalmaster

Production Design by
Boris Leven

Set Decoration by
John P. Austin		(as John Austin)

Costume Design by
Ann Roth

Makeup Department
Sugar Blymyer	....	hair stylist (as Maryce Blymyer)
Hank Edds	....	makeup artist (as George 'Hank' Edds)

Production Management
Peter V. Herald	....	production manager
Stanley Neufeld	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Frederic W. Brost	....	first assistant director (as Fred Brost)
Gary Daigler	....	second assistant director (as Gary D. Daigler)
Albert Shepard	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Bill Wainess	....	property master (as William Wainess)

Sound Department
James Nelson	....	sound effects editor
William Randall	....	production sound
Raul A. Bruce	....	boom operator (uncredited)
Donald C. Rogers	....	technical director of sound (uncredited)
John Wilkinson	....	sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Ira Anderson Jr.	....	special effects

Stunts
Joe Canutt	....	stunt coordinator
Alan Oliney	....	stunt coordinator
Alan Oliney	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Gene Kearney	....	head grip
Ross A. Maehl	....	gaffer (as Ross Maehl)
Calvin Maehl	....	best boy electric (uncredited)

Casting Department
Hector Freeman	....	casting assistant (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Jack Martell	....	wardrobe
Joan Joseff	....	costume jeweller (uncredited)
Andrea E. Weaver	....	costumer: women (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Chris Kaeselau	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Maurice Jarre	....	conductor
Milton Lustig	....	music editor

Other crew
Dino De Laurentiis	....	presenter
Federico De Laurentiis	....	assistant to producer
Alvin Greenman	....	script supervisor
Robert F. Kocourek	....	location auditor (as Robert Kocourek)
Albert J. Salzer	....	location contact

Production Companies

• Dino De Laurentiis Company
• Paramount Pictures

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1975) (USA) (theatrical)
• Hafbo (1975) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (1979) (USA) (VHS)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2004) (Germany) (DVD)
• Legend Films (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Legend Films (2010) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Paramount Home Video (video)
• Roadshow Entertainment
• Video Classics

Other Companies

• Pacific Title  titles and optical effects
• Technicolor  color

Also Known As:

Runtime:

127 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono | 4-Track Stereo

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 (video rating) | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 (video rating) (cut) | UK:X (original rating) (cut) | USA:R | Iceland:16 | Netherlands:16 | France:-16 | West Germany:18

Filming Locations:

Ashland-Belle Helene Plantation - State Highway 75, Geismer, Louisiana, USA

Company:

Dino De Laurentiis Company

Trivia:

Paul Benedict, who plays the trader Brownlee, must have really shocked people who recognized him from his television role at the time of the film's release, that of Harry Bentley, the neighbor in "The Jeffersons" (1975). In fact, Benedict's first sentence in Mandingo, and also the film, was him asking how much a female slave and her infant was.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the movie's first scene, as Brownlee inspects a row of slaves he smokes a cigar which is obviously lit (smoke, ash, etc). But when he clenches the cigar in his mouth and leans in to inspect a slave's teeth, the cigar changes to one that has never been lit. (Maybe a precaution against burning the other actor's face?)

Quotes:

Hammond Maxwell:Cousin Charles, What the hell you doing, kissin on the mouth?
[Charles throws Katie to bed, removes his belt, and whips her with it]
Hammond Maxwell:What you doin that fer?
Charles:Makes a man feel good. She likes it too. Don't you pretty wench?
Katie:[Crying] Yes, master.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Wings: The Spark and How to Get It (#6.4)" (1994)

Soundtrack:

Born in This Time

Incredible, love or hate it

"Mandingo" is truly an amazing movie. One would think that this is as close you can get to actually seeing the slave-owning south on film.

"Mandingo" is probably lumped into the "cult/camp classic" category because this is a film no one would dare make today, unless the slaves got a major comeuppance at the end. They do not here. This film is a brutal look at slave owners and their slaves which will leave the audience gasping. Some of the lines are so daring by today's politically-correct standards, there's no doubt they'd get a lot of laughs. Kind of how 1977's "Fight For Your Life" gets laughs with all it's over-the-top racism, only not in such abundance. Sure to get some laughs is hearing the English actor who played "Bently" on "The Jeffersons" talk all nasty.

Perry King is Hammond, the slave owner's son, and he actually has a bit of a heart where the slaves are concerned. He and "Mandingo" (actually his name is "Mede," evidently a "Mandingo" is a name for a "breed" of strong/fighting slave) become friendly. Hammond also has a favorite female slave "wench" who he falls for. And he marries cousin Susan George, who is very bitchy and shows the slaves no respect. Mede is played by Ken Norton who is obviously not an actor but who looks the part.

The film has a sleazy realism to it. Even the plantation looks like a mess - the outside is all ragged and the inside isn't much better, and this is a rich man's plantation. This is definitely not "Tara."

Not to repeat the plot, but many amazing things happen, and there are plenty of incredible scenes. The big fight scene between Mede and another slave is especially bloody and brutal. The ending certainly won't anyone feel all nice and cozy. There are many familiar 70's movie faces all over the place.

This is a film that has kind of disappeared in the realm of today's political correctness. But seeking it out isn't tough, as it has to be seen by anyone with an interest in non-PC cinema, or any kind of "forbidden" movies.