IMDb RATING
6.1/10
1.7K
YOUR RATING
After being murdered by his rivals, Petey Wheatstraw is resurrected, in exchange for marrying the devil's daughter, the world's ugliest woman.After being murdered by his rivals, Petey Wheatstraw is resurrected, in exchange for marrying the devil's daughter, the world's ugliest woman.After being murdered by his rivals, Petey Wheatstraw is resurrected, in exchange for marrying the devil's daughter, the world's ugliest woman.
- Director
- Writers
- Stars
Steve Gallon
- Steve
- (as Wildman Steve)
Rose Williams
- Petey's Mother
- (as Rose "Jewell" Williams)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
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Featured reviews
This movie is a breath of slapstic fresh air. It combines a ryhming charismatic hero (the devil's son in-law) with 60's Batman-inspired supervillains, hilarious kung-fu battling, black folklore, and a pimp staff with magical powers. I can't think of a better premise. The movie's humor is complete slapstick, the bumbling leroy and skillets doing their best to impersonate the three stooges combined (and they're both fat enough to do it). The acting is terrible, with purposfully, silent-movie style over-the-top expressions and reactions. It's a little bit too long and there are some sound difficulties, but well worth checking out. I would've loved to see a tv show with by R.R. Moore and his group.
I saw rented this movie in the mid 90's as I walked through the aisle at Blockbuster. My friend and I saw the awesome cover (much funnier than what has) and saw the name and we decided we must watch this.
From the beginning, the movie is a joke. It starts on a funny and strange note and there are a handful of funny scenes, but it gets mixed with a lot of boring "meh" moments. I'd say watch it while you're doing something else and be prepared to rewind in case you walk back into it in the middle of a funny scene.
From the beginning, the movie is a joke. It starts on a funny and strange note and there are a handful of funny scenes, but it gets mixed with a lot of boring "meh" moments. I'd say watch it while you're doing something else and be prepared to rewind in case you walk back into it in the middle of a funny scene.
Years ago, I wrote a hostile review of Petey Wheatstraw for IMDb. What can I possibly say to justify that? I was young, and foolish. And the greatness of this film had not yet revealed itself to me.
Well, "greatness" is too strong a word. Petey Wheatstraw is not great, but rather "amusing" and somewhat "crazy." If you permit yourself to be drawn into the film's wacky universe, you may have a thoroughly enjoyable viewing experience.
Petey Wheatstraw, in short, is about a kung-fu fighting stand-up comedian who makes an unwise bargain with Lucifer. It's part comedy movie, part horror movie, part gangster movie, part sex movie, and part kung-fu epic with intentionally (I hope) bad choreography. The film bounces breathlessly between these genres, especially in the early scenes, which are disorienting and seem totally unconnected. But soon enough, the story settles into a kind of weird rhythm.
Needless to say, the production values are poor (Lucifer's demon minions are men in ballet tights and Halloween masks), the editing is choppy, and the acting is of highly variable quality. The script, however, has a weird poetry to it. The comedy dialog, though extremely crass, is sometimes really funny, and some of the "character" scenes when Petey and Lucifer get together are bizarrely effective.
Now I feel all weird, because I'm trying to defend what is, in essence, an extremely tacky bad movie. But it's a *witty* bad movie, and I can appreciate the effort that went into its production. And the film undeniably captures a time -- a place -- a bizarreness. It's sort of hypnotic.
Let me put it this way: I bought Petey Wheatstraw as a bargain DVD years ago, hated it on the initial viewing, and almost pawned it. But I never did get rid of that DVD. It survived several years of DVD trading-in, numerous changes of address on my part, and other seismic events in my life that might easily have caused Petey Wheatstraw's demise. But that DVD survived through it all; I still have the movie, still think about it sometimes, still smirk when I see it on my shelf. And that's the best endorsement I can give it.
Well, "greatness" is too strong a word. Petey Wheatstraw is not great, but rather "amusing" and somewhat "crazy." If you permit yourself to be drawn into the film's wacky universe, you may have a thoroughly enjoyable viewing experience.
Petey Wheatstraw, in short, is about a kung-fu fighting stand-up comedian who makes an unwise bargain with Lucifer. It's part comedy movie, part horror movie, part gangster movie, part sex movie, and part kung-fu epic with intentionally (I hope) bad choreography. The film bounces breathlessly between these genres, especially in the early scenes, which are disorienting and seem totally unconnected. But soon enough, the story settles into a kind of weird rhythm.
Needless to say, the production values are poor (Lucifer's demon minions are men in ballet tights and Halloween masks), the editing is choppy, and the acting is of highly variable quality. The script, however, has a weird poetry to it. The comedy dialog, though extremely crass, is sometimes really funny, and some of the "character" scenes when Petey and Lucifer get together are bizarrely effective.
Now I feel all weird, because I'm trying to defend what is, in essence, an extremely tacky bad movie. But it's a *witty* bad movie, and I can appreciate the effort that went into its production. And the film undeniably captures a time -- a place -- a bizarreness. It's sort of hypnotic.
Let me put it this way: I bought Petey Wheatstraw as a bargain DVD years ago, hated it on the initial viewing, and almost pawned it. But I never did get rid of that DVD. It survived several years of DVD trading-in, numerous changes of address on my part, and other seismic events in my life that might easily have caused Petey Wheatstraw's demise. But that DVD survived through it all; I still have the movie, still think about it sometimes, still smirk when I see it on my shelf. And that's the best endorsement I can give it.
I had trouble watching Dolemite (horrible acting) one month ago and Disco Godfather (crazy-a** halucination scenes, going on very long!) today!!! BUT!!! - Petey Wheatstraw had me laughing pretty much through the entire thing - watermelons, Petey's magical gift he recieved from the Devil, and Leroy & Skillet - hahahaha!!! Great actors, funny as hell! If you want to check out a Rudy Ray Moore film, check out this one! It's got a GREAT soundtrack, and the acting is better than his others (although I haven't seen Human Tornado in a while, very funny Kung-Fu moves by Rudy).
Petey Wheatstraw (1977)
** (out of 4)
Rudy Ray Moore is back, this time playing the title character, a comedian who is doubled crossed by a couple jerks. Petey is shot dead in the streets and his spirit is visited by Lucifer who offers him a deal. If Petey agrees to marry his daughter and have a son, Petey can continue life and be given a magical pimp stick. Petey takes the deal and enjoys the powers that the stick gives him but when it comes time to pay he wants no part of Lucifer's daughter.
After DOLEMITE and its sequel THE HUMAN TORPEDO, Moore found himself playing a new character and while it's not nearly as entertaining as the earlier movies, if you're a fan of the comic then there's plenty to enjoy here. If you're coming to this film expecting to see anything like THE HUMAN TORPEDO then you had better check yourself because this film is something completely different. As wild as the story sounds, the film is actually pretty straight-forward without too many campy or over-the-top moments.
The direction they took this film is somewhat shocking because it barely registers a R-rating until the final fifteen-minutes when we finally get some exploitation moments including a weird orgy sequence and some nudity. Everything before that is pretty much a straight but bizarre drama dealing with Petey being murdered but then given a chance to seek revenge on the men behind it. All of this is played rather straight and it is entertaining but I'm just not sure the blaxploitation crowd are going to enjoy something straight when it comes to Moore.
The film finally reaches some high marks at the end when Lucifer and his servants come for revenge. The make up on the devils is quite generic but it makes for some fun. As usual Moore doesn't give a great performance but he's certainly quite the character and he manages to make the role fun and keep the viewer interested in what's going on. The supporting cast is nice and for the most part fans of Moore should enjoy this one.
** (out of 4)
Rudy Ray Moore is back, this time playing the title character, a comedian who is doubled crossed by a couple jerks. Petey is shot dead in the streets and his spirit is visited by Lucifer who offers him a deal. If Petey agrees to marry his daughter and have a son, Petey can continue life and be given a magical pimp stick. Petey takes the deal and enjoys the powers that the stick gives him but when it comes time to pay he wants no part of Lucifer's daughter.
After DOLEMITE and its sequel THE HUMAN TORPEDO, Moore found himself playing a new character and while it's not nearly as entertaining as the earlier movies, if you're a fan of the comic then there's plenty to enjoy here. If you're coming to this film expecting to see anything like THE HUMAN TORPEDO then you had better check yourself because this film is something completely different. As wild as the story sounds, the film is actually pretty straight-forward without too many campy or over-the-top moments.
The direction they took this film is somewhat shocking because it barely registers a R-rating until the final fifteen-minutes when we finally get some exploitation moments including a weird orgy sequence and some nudity. Everything before that is pretty much a straight but bizarre drama dealing with Petey being murdered but then given a chance to seek revenge on the men behind it. All of this is played rather straight and it is entertaining but I'm just not sure the blaxploitation crowd are going to enjoy something straight when it comes to Moore.
The film finally reaches some high marks at the end when Lucifer and his servants come for revenge. The make up on the devils is quite generic but it makes for some fun. As usual Moore doesn't give a great performance but he's certainly quite the character and he manages to make the role fun and keep the viewer interested in what's going on. The supporting cast is nice and for the most part fans of Moore should enjoy this one.
Did you know
- TriviaPeetie (sic) Wheatstraw was a St. Louis blues singer who was quite popular in the thirties, known as "The High Sheriff from Hell" and "The Devil's Son-In-Law".
- GoofsIn the closing credits, the martial arts performers are listed as "marshall arts performers".
- Crazy creditsCliff Roquemore's directing credit says that he's a Libra.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Legend of Dolemite (1994)
- How long is Petey Wheatstraw?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $750,000 (estimated)
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