Cleopatra Jones

1973 blaxploitation flick

Rating: 11/20

Plot: Cleopatra Jones is a U.S. special agent sent to Turkey to deal with a drug situation, the result of which ticks off drug lord Shelly Winters. Shelly Winters makes a call and has some crooked cops mess with her friends. She returns to get to the bottom of things.

Much better production values than the more comical Dolemite movies. Cleopatra is a cool strong African American female character. She's stylish, she can kick white guys in the head, and she's got a little James Bond in her. The poster above says she's 6'2", but she looks 7 feet tall at times. Maybe it's the hair, but it's more likely her attitude and presence. The fight scenes in this are less than stellar and a lot of the plot just involves Cleopatra asking where people are, but there is one fairly impressive car chase and Shelly Winters' goons (Doodlebug Simkins, Pickle, etc.) are interesting characters. Winters herself is a wacky villain, in a good way, the kind of outrageous, off-kilter bad gal whose hair color changes for no apparent reason and who kills off her own henchmen just because she's pissed off. It's a good role for her, one that I imagine did a lot for her career. I don't quite understand why Cleopatra has no difficulty beating up lots of white guys, sometimes simultaneously, but then seems to have problems in a one-on-one fight with Shelly Winters. A fairly entertaining product of the 1970s.