Black Shampoo (1976)

John Daniels stars as Jonathan Knight, the owner of "Mr. Jonathans", the most successful hair salon for women on the Sunset Strip. Jonathan is tall, muscular, black and ballsy. His ... See full summary »

Director:

Greydon Clark

Writers:

Alvin L. Fast, Greydon Clark

Stars:

John Daniels, Tanya Boyd, Joseph Carlo

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Daniels	...	Mr. Jonathan
Tanya Boyd	...	Brenda St. John
Joseph Carlo	...	Mr. Wilson (as Joe Ortiz)
Skip E. Lowe	...	Artie
Gary Allen	...	Richard
William Bonner	...	Maddox (as Jack Mehoff)
Bruce Kerley	...	Jackson
Sheldon Lee	...	Chauffeur (as Salvator Benissimo)
Anne Gaybis	...	Mrs. Phillips
Heather Leigh	...	Mrs. Simpson (as Diana St. Clair)
Fred D. Scott	...	Freddie (as Fred Scott)
Marl Pero	...	Peg
Kelly Beau	...	Meg
Ruby Williams	...	Ruby
Helene Farber	...	Manicurist

Storyline

John Daniels stars as Jonathan Knight, the owner of "Mr. Jonathans", the most successful hair salon for women on the Sunset Strip. Jonathan is tall, muscular, black and ballsy. His reputation as a lover has become so awesome that he is sought after almost as much in that capacity as in his expertise as a hair stylist. Everything is cool for Jonathan until he messes with the mob in an effort to protect his young, attractive receptionist from her former boss. Action explodes when the "lovin' machine" becomes the "killing machine". Jonathan, equipped with chain saw in hand, gets down on the vicious mob gang.

---

Plot Keywords:

hair | mafia | grindhouse | curling iron | chainsaw | 

---

Taglines:

Mr. Jonathan is one bad mother!

---

Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama

---

Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 March 1976 (USA)

Also Known As:

Agrioi ektelestes... kaftes koukles

Company Credits

Production Co:

World Amusement Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

The towel on Mrs. Carruthers' shoulders as she gets up.

---

Connections

Referenced in Baadasssss Cinema (2002)

---

Soundtracks

"Can You Feel The Love"
Sung by The Gerald Lee Singers Featuring Stephana Loeb, Debbie James, Nancy Shanks

User Reviews

"Black Shampoo" has got its moments.

I got a fair amount of entertainment out of this diverting if forgettable blaxploitation entry, but then I approached the whole thing looking at it as tongue in cheek. If one were to take it seriously, they might well find it in the "so bad it's good" category. A stiff, not too charming John Daniels is cast as Mr. Jonathan (whether that's his first or last name doesn't matter), owner / operator of a hair salon and also irresistible stud muffin to a variety of (mostly white) women. Trouble brews when Brenda (Tanya Boyd), his secretary, is threatened by her former employer, a mob boss named Mr. Wilson (Joseph Carlo). Wilson and his thugs mean business, and among their methods used are the trashing of the salon and the sodomizing of one of the employees. This dumb but fun movie comes complete with the expected funky music score with the ever present "wacka wacka" guitar, two flagrant gay stereotypes, and what will be the most appreciated by exploitation fans, an ample serving of female nudity. This certainly is a trashy outing, as the over sexed daughters of one customer unrelentingly come on to Mr. Jonathan, and it can be a very funny one as well. Just witness the awkwardly staged and ridiculous salon trashing episode. One has to see it to believe it. Hell, there's even a Western themed costume party in which one party goer is absurdly dressed in ballet gear. Things really pick up towards the end, where Mr. Jonathan is pursued by the sadistic mob flunkies armed with a miniature chainsaw. Now, we don't get to see too much detail when he carves them up, but this is an amusing bit of business nevertheless. In fact, the climax in general is pretty violent. With the level of exploitation on display, this should entertain some viewers, and it manages to generate some hearty laughs as well; the music score is at times utterly ridiculous. All in all, this probably won't become a classic or get too many retrospectives but it's a mild hoot for people with certain tastes. Seven out of 10.