Coffy (1973)

A black nurse takes vigilante justice against inner-city drug dealers after her sister becomes their latest victim.

Director:

Jack Hill

Writer:

Jack Hill

Stars:

Pam Grier, Booker Bradshaw, Robert DoQui

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Pam Grier	...	Coffy
Booker Bradshaw	...	Howard Brunswick
Robert DoQui	...	King George
William Elliott	...	Carter
Allan Arbus	...	Arturo Vitroni
Sid Haig	...	Omar
Barry Cahill	...	McHenry
Lee de Broux	...	Nick
Ruben Moreno	...	Ramos
Lisa Farringer	...	Jeri
Carol Locatell	...	Priscilla (as Carol Lawson)
Linda Haynes	...	Meg
John Perak	...	Aleva
Mwako Cumbuka	...	Grover
Morris Buchanan	...	Sugarman

Storyline

Nurse "Coffy" Coffin leads a double life. During the day, she's a nurse at work. At night, she's an avenging angel on a personal vendetta, tracking down the drug pushers who hooked her younger sister on drugs. Along the way, she meets a honest police detective who also is leading a double life.

---

Plot Keywords:

nude black woman | topless dancer | corrupt politician | limo driver | murderess | 

---

Taglines:

No one sleeps when they mess with Coffy!

---

Genres:

Action | Crime | Thriller

---

Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

May 1973 (USA)

Also Known As:

Coffy

Filming Locations:

Glendale Freeway, Glendale, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

American International Pictures (AIP), Papazian-Hirsch Entertainment International

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono Mono (Ryder Sound Services)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Shot in 18 days.

---

Goofs

When Harriet comes back and catches Priscilla talking to Coffy, she throws a chair at Coffy and it misses and hits the wall. After the impact, Harriet audibly says to Coffy, "Come on, bitch!" But if you look at her mouth during the impact a moment earlier, she clearly said the same line just then as well, and it was dubbed out by the foley used for the sound of the chair breaking.

---

Quotes

Coffy: Ah, yes, Mr. George, I presume.
King George: You're the lady from Jamaica who called me.
Coffy: That I am, mon, and I can see that you're not at all disappointed, of course. So I'll come straight to the point as I like to do.
[Coffy snaps her fingers at the waiter]
Coffy: Boss! Another drink for my friend here.
[to King George]
Coffy: I presume a champagne cocktail is sufficient? Good, mon.

---

Alternate Versions

The film was initially rejected for UK cinema under the title "Coffey" and then passed 6 months later with minimal BBFC cuts (to the stabbing of Omar). All later releases were fully uncut.

---

Connections

Spoofed in Undercover Brother (2002)

---

Soundtracks

Coffy Is The Color (Main Title)
Composed by Roy Ayers (Music) and Carl Clay (Lyrics)
Arranged, produced and performed by Roy Ayers
Sung by Dee Dee Bridgewater (as Denise Bridgewater)
Backing Vocals by Wayne Garfield

User Reviews

She WILL cream you!

In hindsight I should have watched this before Foxy Brown, as this was the better movie. However, it seems that Foxy is far more memorable, with it's over-the-top violence. This one's pretty violent as well, and has all the Pam Grier scenes that you'd expect. Coffy offing a drug pusher in the first few minutes, having a touching family moment, fighting a room full of women that results in everyone's top being janked off, some bad guys nuts getting blown off (literally, not figuratively), and, of course, Pam trading blows with at least 2 lesbians at once. Still, this one has a little more integrity than Foxy, being that it was made first and was a little tamer. Check out Sidney Freidman from M*A*S*H as a sleazy bad guy! This movie passes the time quite nicely.