High Yellow

"High Yellow" is an early Larry Buchanan effort and it really showcases his usual film standards of good intentions and high ideals crippled by low budgets. The entire movie plays like a mid-century "black and white" daytime soap opera (literally). It's not terrible but it is talky and does get boring after awhile because you keep waiting for something to happen.

Cynthia Hull is the films saving grace. She's actually really good in her role as Judy the mulatto servant. She's youthful and attractive, plus her vulnerability inside the house full of crazy drunk rich racists creates genuine sympathy. And I really liked how they opened and closed the film using her exact same statement.

Although the film is supposed to take place in Los Angeles it was very clearly filmed in Dallas. The opening scene takes place near White Rock Lake at the old train station that used to run between Dallas and Denton. Larry filmed many of his movies in and around White Rock Lake. After Judy is picked up at the train station they drive all the way up to Frisco, Texas, to the old Cloyce Box / Brinkmann Ranch. Viewers of the TV show "Dallas" will recognize the mansion as the original "Southfork Ranch" for the first few episodes before the location was relocated to Parker, Texas, east of Plano, for the remainder of the series.