2 reviews
Can you believe that a deadbeat company called Bingo marketed this rare blaxploiter as an "action" film, and gave a dreadful sounding re-title called BLACK GAUNTLET? Wherever you can find it, don't set your expectations too high. It isn't a movie about damsels in distress, it's about a lady who struggles hard and helpless up the ladder to press garments and become a Hollywood success story in making filthy films. Our "starlet" knocks the movie producer dead by reciting a seductive line from the script, and upsettingly ditches him for good. This wouldn't be such a drag if this weren't about a chick taking her clothes off down to the undies, or a bunch of topless gals who would love to see you stare. I can stand the lady wanting to be a serious movie star, but enough sex and nudity steals the show. Rare movies are worth a look, but only if you can withstand the faulty packaging companies make to lure customers into their trap full of false promises. Noteworthy in a list of "where are they now?" directors is Chris Munger, known for the creepy-crawly classic chiller KISS OF THE TARANTULA.
Not content with her current situation, an attractive black woman named "Clara" (Juanita Brown) leaves her job and her boyfriend "Skully" (Damu King) behind in Gary, Indiana and heads out to Hollywood to fulfil her dreams of being a movie star. Unfortunately, things don't work out too well at first as she soon loses all of her money and has to make ends meet working as a dry cleaner in a laundry. It's there that she meets another aspiring actress by the name of "Joyce" (Diane Holden) who does her best to help guide her through the alluring--but highly deceptive--world of Hollywood. The problem, however, is that Clara is extremely strong-willed and her refusal to sometimes listen to Joyce creates all kinds of difficulties for her in certain situations. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that I liked the overall plot and I figured that, with such a beautiful actress like Juanita Brown, the film would be relatively easy to make as all of the pieces would fall into place rather easily. Unfortunately, this wasn't the case as the low-budget nature of the film was quite evident throughout the course of the movie--with poor editing and overall weak direction being the end result. In short, what should have been a good picture turned out to be rather boring and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly below average.