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 | Interracial Sex | Interracial Relationship

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
Ben Masters	...	Charles
Paul Benedict	...	Brownlee
Ray Spruell	...	Wallace
Louis Turenne	...	De Veve
Duane Allen	...	Topaz
Beatrice Winde	...	Lucy
Earl Maynard	...	Babouin
Debbi Morgan	...	Dite
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
John Barber	...	Le Toscan
Debra Blackwell	...	Blonde Girl
Edwin Edwards	...	Gambler (scenes deleted)
Stocker Fontelieu	...	Wilson
Evelyn Hendrickson	...	Beatrix
Warren Kenner
Kuumba	...	Black Mother
Simone McQueen	...	Madam Caroline
Laura Misch Owens	...	Prostitute
Stanley J. Reyes	...	Major Woodford
Durwyn Robinson	...	Meg
Kerwin Robinson	...	Alph
Sylvester Stallone	...	Young Man in Crowd (scenes deleted)
Irene Tedrow	...	Mrs. Redfield
Rosemary Tichenor	...	Slave buying woman
Reda Wyatt	...	Big Pearl
Deborah Ann Young	...	Tense

Directed by
Richard Fleischer

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

Produced by
Dino De Laurentiis	....	producer

Original Music by
Maurice Jarre

Cinematography by
Richard H. Kline

Film Editing by
Frank Bracht

Casting by
Lynn Stalmaster

Production Design by
Boris Leven

Set Decoration by
John P. Austin

Costume Design by
Ann Roth

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Frederic W. Brost	....	assistant director (as Fred Brost)

Sound Department
Raul A. Bruce	....	boom operator
Donald C. Rogers	....	technical director of sound (uncredited)

Stunts
Alan Oliney	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Ross A. Maehl	....	gaffer

Casting Department
Hector Freeman	....	casting assistant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Andrea E. Weaver	....	women's costumer

Music Department
Milton Lustig	....	music editor

Production Companies

• Dino De Laurentiis Company
• Paramount Pictures

Distributors

• Hafbo (1975) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2004) (Germany) (DVD)
• Legend Films (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (video)
• Paramount Pictures
• Roadshow Entertainment
• Video Classics

Runtime:

127 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono | 4-Track Stereo

Certification:

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

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Dino De Laurentiis Company

Trivia:

Edwin W. Edwards (Governor of Louisiana at the time) was cast as a gambler and several scenes were filmed but excised before release. Upon the advice of public relations staff, Edwards decided the potential damage to his public image when the salacious content of the film was revealed would be too great.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: During Mede's first fight in the city, he and his opponent are wrestling on the grass. When they roll over the floor, the grass is moving like a slipping carpet would, revealing it to be a sheet of artificial green, probably lying on the floor of a sound stage.

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 Harlem Aria (1999)

Shamefully underrated film.

This unflinching, hard-hitting look at slavery is a severely underrated and misjudged film. That's probably because it sheds light onto a tough, painful subject that many people would prefer to ignore or forget; if you're expecting a "slaves-and-masters-are-all-a-big-happy-family" depiction of the life in the mid-19th-century Southern plantations, then this simply isn't your movie.

"Mandingo" was followed, one year later, by "Drum". They are both far better films than their reputations might make you believe, and they are also handsome, almost sumptuous productions with a far lower "sleaze" quotient than many reviews seem to indicate. They are both worth seeing - preferably as a double bill. (***)