Black Shampoo (1976)
March 5, 1976Release Date
Plot.
Where to Watch.
Currently Black Shampoo is available for streaming online, rent, buy or watch for free on: Amazon Video, Tubi TV, FlixFling
Streaming in:🇺🇸 United States
This Movie Is About.
Cast & Crew.
John Daniels
Mr. Jonathan
Tanya Boyd
Brenda St. John
Joseph Carlo
Mr. Wilson
Gary Allen
Richard
Skip E. Lowe
Artie
Gary Allen
Richard
William Bonner
Maddox
Bruce Kerley
Jackson
Sheldon Lee
Chauffeur
Sheldon Lee
Chauffeur
Anne Gaybis
Mrs. Phillips
Fred D. Scott
Freddie
Heather Leigh
Mrs. Simpson
Marl Pero
Peg
Greydon Clark
Director
Kelly Beau
Meg
Media.
Details.
Release DateMarch 5, 1976
StatusReleased
Running Time1h 22m
Content RatingR
Genres
Last updated:
Wiki.
Black Shampoo is an American exploitation film directed by Greydon Clark. Released in 1976, the comedy film is considered an example of the blaxploitation and sexploitation subgenres of exploitation film. Produced on a budget of $50,000, the film stars John Daniels as Jonathan Knight, an African American businessman and hairdresser who frequently has sex with his predominantly white female clients, and Tanya Boyd as Brenda, Jonathan's secretary and girlfriend, who was previously in a relationship with a white mob boss, who, out of jealousy towards his ex's new lover, begins to regularly send goons to trash Jonathan's hair salon. The violence escalates as the film progresses.
Clark purposely did not want to make a film that featured character archetypes that typically led blaxploitation films, such as pimps, private detectives or drug dealers, and set out to make a film in which an African American businessman was the lead, instead of more stereotypical blaxploitation characters. The screenplay, written by Clark and Alvin Fast, was described by Clark as a mix of comedy, sex and violence. Clark drew inspiration from the 1975 film Shampoo; the film is observed to be an example of a common form of blaxploitation filmmaking in which a previous popular film starring a predominantly white cast is imitated with a predominantly African American cast. The characters of Jonathan and Brenda have been analyzed as examples of black characters whose blackness is perceived as a commodity by their white lovers, while Jonathan is seen as a Mandingo archetype.