The Candy Tangerine Man

You got to see it to believe it. Shot in Hollywood on the strip in the middle of the sleazy, anything goes 70s, this cheaply made flick must of really packed the inner city theatres back in the day. Then again, I bet it had a one week run. Actually, its pretty hilarious. The acting is dreadful, the direction non existent, but the hair, clothes, rotten pre disco music and the general out and out sleaziness of the story are mind boggling. Sleazy, its very sleazy. Highly recomended (if you can find it)

John Daniels was one of the near-misses of blaxploitation cinema; the handsome amateur actor had the screen presence, yet his brief resume is clogged with C-minus material like "The Candy Tangerine Man". Hollywood pimp The Baron ushers his girls around the city streets at night in his candy-colored 1952 Bentley (complete with automatic shotguns underneath the parking lights). Business is tough, even for this ultra laid-back, casual guy: his "family" appears to continually hold out on him financially; one of his ladies is being harassed by blood-thirsty goons; and his competition (in league with Italian Mafiosos) is trying to have him rubbed out. The twist to the "plot" (given away in the lyrics to the opening song) is that The Baron is really a suburban husband and father to an unsuspecting wife and kids. Produced and directed by Matt Cimber, this disposable low-budgeter is actually better than expected, with full attention given to Daniels' performance (it's a non-performance, really, but Daniels holds the screen with such blithe nonchalance he stands out simply by underplaying). The actor, who would go on to star in "Black Shampoo" and produce the female R&B act the Love Machine, has the strong physique of a Fred Williamson and the low-key charm of a Richard Roundtree, but bigger-and-better offerings were not in the cards. This one is outrageous enough to garner some laughs, and Smoke delivers a groovy soundtrack, but all of the women (and most of the men) look used-up, giving the picture a crummy feel. *1/2 from ****

The plot is not bad, and to some degree, imaginative. It was funny at times, and when there was action, it wasn't badly executed at all (stunts, explosions, etc.). The main actors did a good job too (not all the side actors did, but hey, even in big money blockbusters you don't always get great acting). You also get a good dose of boobage, which, hey, I'm not going to complain.

In general though, the pacing was bad. Some dialogues were too lengthy - not badly written, it just killed the rhythm of the movie. Some of the going-ons didn't always seem like they made a whole lot of sense when they happened, etc. The camera work was also DULL (in capital letters), maybe due to budget restrictions, maybe due to the directing, maybe both. In either case - the visual part could have used some work.

In general it's a good movie if you aim to cook or clean while watching it, but if you'd have to sit down and watch it from start to finish, you'd get bored despite its qualities. Would be worth a remake with clearer action, better pacing, more imaginative camera work, etc.

Mack daddy by night. Suburban grass-cutter, pipe-smoker, and front-porch-newspaper-picker-upper by day. THE CANDY TANGERINE MAN is, among other things, a turning of ghetto romanticization on its ear: this King Player really likes the quiet of the suburbs more than the yowls of his stable. This movie is no one-liner, however: it doesn't just dabble in outrageous situations, it bats them out of the park. This movie cost about nineteen cents and is known only to diehards. Spread the cult.

A FILM NOT TO BE MISSED! This is a bigger than bizarre (poor directing on a shoe-string) style of a movie. Totally and most wholeheartedly WELL WORTH WATCHING for all the wrong dum-ass reasons. Gangster hot heads and stiff pimping galore. Staring John Daniels as super-hero style pimp, 'THE BARRON.' A respected, well known family man by day and by night becomes a money making slap ma "HOSE" dood, with attitude. This film has it all. Jokes in all the wright places and jokes in all the wrong places. Classic ahead of its time, obscene language. Witty lines like, 'Mr B is gona run the 1-2-3....' or 'You xxxxxxxx xxxx xxxxxx xxxx xxxx you were gona xxxx xx xxx xxxx, I did it...' The movie concludes with a pure GUNSMOKE ending. THE BARON finally reveals he to has more moves than ever expected. (SEE POSTER)