Cleopatra Jones (1973)

During the 1970s, U.S. Special Agent Cleopatra Jones proves to be an invaluable asset to the local police forces in the war on drugs.

Director:

Jack Starrett

Writers:

Max Julien (screenplay), Sheldon Keller (screenplay)

Stars:

Tamara Dobson, Bernie Casey, Brenda Sykes

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tamara Dobson	...	Cleopatra Jones
Bernie Casey	...	Reuben
Brenda Sykes	...	Tiffany
Antonio Fargas	...	Doodlebug Simkins
Dan Frazer	...	Crawford
Bill McKinney	...	Purdy
Stafford Morgan	...	Sgt. Kert
Michael Warren	...	Andy (as Mike Warren)
Albert Popwell	...	Matthew Johnson
Caro Kenyatta	...	Melvin Johnson
Esther Rolle	...	Mrs. Johnson
Keith Hamilton	...	Maxwell Woodman
Jay Montgomery	...	Jimmy Beeker
Arnold Dover	...	Art
Angela Elayne Gibbs	...	Annie (as Angela Gibbs)

Storyline

Cleopatra Jones is a United States Special Agent assigned to crack down on drug-trafficking in the U.S. and abroad. After she burns a Turkish poppy field, the notorious drug-lord Mommy is furious at the loss of her supply and vows to destroy Cleopatra Jones. Mommy uses her connections with bad cops on the force to cause trouble for Cleopatra's friends and set her up for an attack. Meanwhile, Mommy is having trouble with some of her pushers, like the renegade Doodlebug.

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Plot Keywords:

woman | car | automobile | chevrolet | ford | 

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Taglines:

She's "Ten Miles of Bad Road" For Every Hood in Town!

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

Digable Planets mentioned the title in their 1992 hit "Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)": "Ax Butta how I zone (man Cleopatra Jones)"

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Goofs

During the chase scene, the red Mustang starts off with no hubcaps. Later in the shot, one flies off. In later scenes, it loses the remaining hubcaps.

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Quotes

Doodlebug: Then, Mommy go and bust the B&S House, cause all that mess at the airport, make me nervous, make The Man nervous, make this town HOTTER than a FIRECRACKER! Shoot! Well, if she can't run her business better than that, I'm gonna run my own business.

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Connections

Referenced in John Henry (2020)

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Soundtracks

Hurts So Good
Music and Lyrics by J.J. Johnson
Performed by Millie Jackson

User Reviews

My Crash Course in Race Relations

I saw this film the weekend it came out in 1973 in downtown Baltimore, Tamara Dobson's hometown. Although that was 36 years ago, I remember it very well.

1973 was about 5 years past the golden age of the beautiful but unbeatable-in-a-fight female heroine. A total fantasy, but as a middle-aged woman now, I still sometimes ask myself "What would Emma Peele do?" I found the early '70's heroines to be complete wimps compared to the late 60's heroines.

So when the ad campaign hit in 1973 for "Tamara Dobson IS Cleopatra Jones," with the poster of the tall gun-toting Ms. Dobson, I begged and begged to go.

I went downtown with an older woman friend of the family, and the two of us were literally the only white people in the entire packed theater of black people.

In the film. the villains are all white and the good guys are all black. Also, there are many many scenes in which white people are killed by black people. During these scenes, the theater cheered wildly. This is probably not something you would notice watching the film on T.V., but believe me, if you are one of two white people in the theater, it makes a big impression.

There was also a well-written and clever scene in the film in which one of Cleopatra's male assistants is lying in wait for the white villains. When they arrive, he pulls a gun on them and says "Guess what just jumped out of the woodpile?" The older woman who took me to the movie was southern. She thought this joke was hysterical and kept trying to explain it to me several times, with her extremely clear explanations catching the attention of everyone sitting around us. For those of you not blessed by an older southern friend, the phrase "Guess what just jumped out of the woodpile?" refers to the expression "N-word in the woodpile," a southern term for an unpleasant surprise.

So what did I learn in my trip to the movies?

1) The term "blaxploitation" is totally false. This "blaxploitation" movie seemed to be about blacks who were superior in every way to whites, both morally and physically.

2) It is really scary and uncomfortable being in the minority.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 July 1973 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cleopatra Jones

Filming Locations:

Watts, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$2,977,024

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., William Tennant Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1