Black Snake (1973)

Story of a slave revolt on a 19th-century Caribbean island.

Director:

Russ Meyer

Writers:

Russ Meyer (screenplay), Leonard Neubauer (screenplay)

Stars:

Anouska Hempel, David Warbeck, Percy Herbert

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Anouska Hempel	...	Lady Susan Walker
David Warbeck	...	Sir Charles Walker / Ronald Sopwith
Percy Herbert	...	Joxer Tierney
Thomas Baptiste	...	Isiah
Milton McCollin	...	Joshua
Bernard Boston	...	Capt. Raymond Daladier
Vikki Richards	...	Cleone
David Prowse	...	Jonathan Walker (as Dave Prowse)
Bloke Modisane	...	Bottoms
Anthony Sharp	...	Lord Clive (as Anthony Sharpe)
Robert Lee	...	Informer
Carl Corbin	...	Stalwart
Ebbie Clark	...	Cart Driver
Sydney A. Harris	...	Village Elder
Donna Young	...	1st Running Girl

Storyline

In 1835, the San Cristobal Island located somewhere in the British West Indies is ruled by sadistic beauty, Lady Susan Walker, who forces the local men to join the black slaves on her sugar cane plantation and either work or die. She's always dressed in black and never lets go of her whip, the black snake. Her latest husband has gone missing making her a real black widow. Her right hand man, impotent, racist and violent Joxer Tierney, is in command of the slaves and he makes sure that they hate him even more than they do her. Young slave Joshua plans a revolt, but his religious father Isaiah is terrified of what might happen if the revolt fails. Sir Charles Walker, the brother of Susan's late husband, goes undercover as Ronald Sopwith to investigate what really happened to his brother. She hires him as the plantation accountant, gives him a black sex slave named Cleone and eventually tries to seduce him. Her sadistic gay assistant may no more about Charles' brother's fate.

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Plot Keywords:

grindhouse film | psychotronic film | sexploitation film | mollycoddle as epithet | african | 

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Taglines:

No man escaped her island -- or her whip!

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Genres:

Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Anouska Hempel - In 1998 she bought the UK rights to Tiffany Jones (1973) and Slaves (1973) in order to keep them out of circulation. This effectively blocks any future UK television screenings or video releases.

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Quotes

Lady Susan Walker: Wait! A snake in my tub, will you?
Joxer Tierney: What's going on here?
Lady Susan Walker: Killing him is not the answer. If you want to turn their guts to water, you're gonna have to come up with something special. Their blasted missionary's turned them into 'God-Save-Us' Christians... cramming their woolly heads with empty words like equality, justice and mercy.
Joshua: Honky whore!
Lady Susan Walker: [she slaps him] His only begotten son... Crucify the bastard!

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Alternate Versions

The original UK cinema release was cut heavily by the BBFC with edits to all the whipping scenes and shots of Joshua's hands being pierced with nails during the crucifixion scene. The 2005 Fremantle DVD is the fully uncut version.

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Connections

Featured in Trailer Trauma Part 4: Television Trauma (2017)

User Reviews

Remarkable

I had watched every Russ Meyer film I could rent in chronological order from an underground video store in preparation for a screening of "Faster Pussycat" at Film Forum, where I worked at the time. There were probably a couple titles unavailable, but I saw pretty much all of them. My feminist roommate hated them, because many of them seemed to glorify and sexualize violence against women--something I am very strongly against. My argument, however, is that all the characters in Meyer's films are awful, the men and the women, which is what makes them so campy and over-the-top melodramatic. I grew to love the rhythms of his editing, which were genius and signature, and his delicious, stylish cinematography. When I got to this film, my entire attitude toward him changed. With one film, he proved himself to be a true cinematic master and auteur. Black Snake is visually stunning, terribly disturbing, powerful, and a tour de force. I actually asked Meyer about a DVD release (he personally answers the phone at his office), which I felt was a great compliment to the quality of this film. He seemed annoyed by the question. I hope he changes his mind and offers this on DVD. It's a great work of cinematic art.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 August 1973 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

Sweet Suzy

Filming Locations:

St. Nicholas Abbey, Barbados

Box Office

Budget:

$300,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Trident Films Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1