Der Sohn des Mandingo

Somehow, this film burrowed it's way into the soft spot of my heart. Don't ask me how it happened, but I suppose having the film feature Ed "I'll Sponsor Anything" McMahon as a tail-chasing crack hustler had a bit to do with it.

Frankly, I was disappointed with Slaughter's first outing in 1972. Nothing more than a quick throw-together to follow Shaft-mania. How does the sequel get away from this? Big Jim Brown seems stronger as Slaughter here than in the first. Perhaps this is due to the fact that one year later he had something to work from, instead of his simple "Be like Shaft" motivation before.

The most outstanding part about the film is the soundtrack provided by pimp-daddy number one, James Brown. Almost every scene is graced with a touch of funk by the Godfather. An excellent period film, for the music, wardrobe, vehicles, lingo, and hair. I should also point out this film is also an excellent period film to represent a time in motion picture history when Jim Brown and Ed McMahon could actually GROW hair.

Double the chicks, double the blow, triple the body count, and factor in Ed McMahon and James Brown. You'll be in for one hell of a 70s action flick, and one that outshines it's predecessor no less. For my money, Slaughter's Big Rip-Off can play ball with any Blaxploitation film ever made. Even Shaft. Chances are you'll disagree, but Slaughter's Big Rip-Off has it's own distinct feel. Something the original was lacking.

Stella Stevens is off on the Poseidon Adventure, so Slaughter has to find a new girlfriend in this sequel in his battle with the mob. Judith M. Brown's audition was certainly a nice start, but she's no Stella. Of course, Gloria Hendry is working hard to keep him on a leash.

It was a treat to see Ed McMahon and Don Stroud, and Scatman Crothers, along with Brock Peters. They definitely made the sequel more interesting.

Dick Anthony Williams plays a classic pimp with the jive talk and flashy threads who joins Slaughter in a rip off scheme. Unfortunately, Stroud takes him for a ride. Stroud makes a classic mistake, however, and Slaughter is ready for action.

The cool dude just does the job.

As blaxploitation movies go, this fares o.k, but isn't anything remarkable. Big Jim Brown, if you don't know, is one of this famous black stars of the 70's, who's big set build, makes a viable commodity in these pics. Playing a famous, ever so cool character, in this so called sequel (the original I liked less), he finds himself in quite a pickle, as he becomes a marked man, by some dudes he ripped off, where at the start, his best friend, and a very familiar Police Academy face, buy the farm instead. Slaughter intends to find out who's responsible, and find them, before he becomes a memory. Not many surprises, the main one, being near the end, stretching reality some, but in light of it's faults, SBRO doesn't come off, as not a badly made pic, where Slaughter still has time to make love, especially to one hottie, who bares and gives herself completely to him. Another one, a blonde bombshell, who this pimp soughts out, will stay in your mind, Some nice blood shed too, as well as some good performances, notably, or surprisingly, ex t.v. show host, Mcmahon as a drug baron, and Don Stroud, as a great nasty, of a hitman. Hendry as Slaughter's girl isn't bad either. Brown is so perfect for Slaughter, it's just in the voice, but on the surface, this movie, I felt was more a let down, or limited to be more precise. Metaphorically a let down, like Stroud, letting the air out of that time. Great soundtrack.

While enjoying a cookout on a ranch with several friends, a biplane appears out of nowhere and begins spraying the area with bullets. Although the former Green Beret soldier by the name of "Slaughter" (Jim Brown) is not killed, several of his friends lie dead and dying all around him, and he immediately vows to kill those responsible. But first, he has to find out who issued the contract on him and why. But before he can initiate an investigation, he has to find a safe place for his girlfriend, "Marcia" (Gloria Hendry), and somehow get the police off his back as well. Unfortunately, this process becomes more problematic the closer he gets. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this turned out to be a fairly decent "Blaxploitation" film with good action and solid acting all around. Likewise, the addition of Judith Brown (as "Norja") and the aforementioned Gloria Hendry certainly didn't hurt the scenery in any way either. On the other hand, I have to admit that it loses points on the "realism scale" due to a couple of scenes that defied reality. Even so, I thought that this sequel was a slight improvement over the 1972 film "Slaughter" and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

The movie itself is pretty good - but only the ORIGINAL version with the awesome soundtrack by James Brown. For the dvd release, the studio was too cheap to buy the rights to original music, so they replaced it with new, generic sounding funk music! And they didn't even change the credits or the packaging to reflect that! That's a pretty big slap in the face to the father of funk himself, so that's why I say avoid this DVD at all costs.