Black Shampoo (1976)

User Rating:

2.7/10   

Director:

Greydon Clark

Writers:

Greydon Clark (writer)
Alvin L. Fast (writer)

Release Date:

5 March 1976 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama

Tagline:

HE'S BAD...HE'S MEAN...HE'S A LOVIN' MACHINE! WHEN HE'S MAD...HE'S MEAN...HE'S A KILLING MACHINE!

Plot:

John Daniels stars as Jonathan Knight, the owner of "Mr. Jonathans", the most successful hair salon for women on the Sunset Strip...

Plot Keywords:

Hair | African American | Blaxploitation | Pool Cue | Mafia

Cast

Gary Allen	...	Richard
Kelly Beau	...	Meg
William Bonner	...	Maddox (as Jack Meoff)
Tanya Boyd	...	Brenda St. John
Joseph Carlo	...	Mr. Wilson (as Joe Ortiz)
Jacqueline Cole	...	Darlene, the new receptionist (as Edith Wheeler)
John Daniels	...	Mr. Jonathan
Helene Farber	...	Manicurist
Anne Gaybis	...	Mrs. Phillips
Bruce Kerley	...	Jackson
Sheldon Lee	...	Chauffer (as Salvator Benissimo)
Heather Leigh	...	Mrs. Simpson (as Diana St. Clair)
Skip E. Lowe	...	Artie
Marl Pero	...	Peg
Fred D. Scott	...	Freddie (as Fred Scott)
Ruby Williams	...	Ruby

Directed by
Greydon Clark

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Greydon Clark		writer
Alvin L. Fast		writer

Produced by
Alvin L. Fast	....	producer

Original Music by
Gerald Lee

Cinematography by
Dean Cundey
Michael Mileham		(as Michael J. Mileham)

Film Editing by
Earl Watson		(as Earl Watson Jr.)

Makeup Department
Tino Zacchia	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Sheldon Lee	....	production manager

Art Department
Michael Bockman	....	props

Sound Department
Bob Dietz	....	sound mixer
Ted Gomillion	....	sound re-recordist
Peggy Ann Waggoner	....	boom operator (as Peggy Waggoner)
Earl Watson	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Hedy Dietz	....	still photographer
Michael O'Donnell	....	gaffer

Editorial Department
Robert Quinn	....	assistant editor

Other crew
G.W. Clymer	....	assistant to director
Cassius Weathersby	....	production assistant

Production Companies

• World Amusement Company

Distributors

• Dimension Pictures (1976) (USA) (theatrical)
• Liberty Home Video (video)
• VCI Home Video (1992) (USA) (VHS)
• VCI Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)

Runtime:

USA:82 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:16+ (Quebec) | USA:R | Iceland:16 | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Company:

World Amusement Company

Goofs:

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

Movie Connections:

Featured in Dusk to Dawn Drive-In Trash-o-Rama Show Vol. 3 (1996) (V)

Soundtrack:

Mr. Jonathan

Mr Johnathan is a real ladies man

Hmmmmm.......whilst often cited as a blaxploitation version of the 1975 Warren Beatty hit, Shampoo, the only real similarity between the two films is that the main protagonists are hairdressers...and of course the titles are ever so slightly similar of course....um....anyway, in this offering, our hero, Mr Johnathan is a man as much in demand for his man tool as for his curling tongs. And in a nutshell there is the intrinsic plot of the film. Well, OK there is a bit more to it then, involving one of our heroes conquests being the 'property' of a mob boss and the said slimebag's subsequently ever more violent methods of trying to get her back, however, it has to be said that the film itself is sadly, for the most part so mundane that it is hard to pay much attention to the unfolding 'events'. Thankfully, the final twenty or so minutes do kick into overdrive with a particularly gory climax but such a bizarrely violent finale ultimately seems strangely, completely juxtaposed with all that precedes it.

Certainly I've seen far worse flicks in my time but in all honesty I can't recommend this for either Blaxploitation nor bad movie fans; Note: Tedium doth not a good film make.