User reviews

Tamara Dobson plays the title character, the best dressed United States Agent in the history of cinema. She's on a quest for justice and for burning down poppy fields.

Her rival is Mommy, played by Shelley Winters, who gives a subtle, restrained perf...naw, I'm fooling ya, she's re-defining over-the-top as she GNAWS on every single piece of scenery, all in a variety of Eva Gabor wigs. Seeing her rub the bottom of her young girlfriend, and then get her feet rubbed by the same girl...I wasn't sure if I was going to vomit or thank the movie gods that created this.

Plot is virtually unimportant as Cleo battles the fuzz, Antonio Fargas and anyone who gets in her way. Movie is vintage fun and it was nice to see Esther Rolle in a small part. 6/10.

"Cleopatra Jones" (Tamara Dobson) is a Special Agent for the United States whose primary mission concerns itself with drug interdiction. As a result she travels to Turkey and oversees the destruction of a huge poppy field which just happens to be a main source of heroin for an American mob boss by the name of "Mommy" (Shelley Winters). Needless to say the destruction of this poppy field infuriates Mommy who decides to get her revenge by closing a halfway house in Los Angeles which is near and dear to Cleopatra Jones. This news brings Cleopatra back to Los Angeles where Mommy already has plans to eliminate her one way or the other. Now rather than reveal any more of this movie and risk spoiling it for those who haven't seen it I will just say that even though this isn't the most realistic "blaxploitation movie" ever filmed it does have a few good things going for it. The first good attribute is the presence of Tamara Dobson who was both sexy and elegant at the same time. Another good aspect of this film pertained to the excellent timing of the movie during a period when quality blaxploitation films like this were in high demand but low supply. It was sort of a diamond in the rough so to speak. That's not to say that there weren't flaws of course but overall this movie was enjoyable and because of that I rate it as slightly above average.

One thing's for sure - Tamara Dobson is very very cool in the title role of Cleopatra Jones, the sexy heroine of this satirical blaxploitation flick. That being said, Cleopatra, a Special Agent who fights drug lords and other bad guys in a fire-spitting black corvette, is the only true reason to watch "Cleopatra Jones" of 1973. Apart from the cool heroine the film has not very much to offer, as it is simply not as explicit and exploitation-style as most blaxploitation-highlights of the time, such as "Coffy" and "Foxy Brown" starring the incomparable Pam Grier, for example. Sure, the film has a cool heroine, funky music, action and lots of funny moments, but when I am about to watch a film often labeled as a blaxploitation classic I expect a little more. Namely - a little more violence and sleaze.

Take "Coffy", for example - one of the greatest blaxploitation movies ever made, one of the coolest heroines ever, played by the great Pam Grier, loads of sleaze, brutal violence, and one out of two words is the F-Word. The main weakness of "Cleopatra Jones" is that it is an blaxploitation movie without most of the elements that make exploitation interesting, probably because it was intended for wider audiences. OK, there is some mild violence and some mildly crude language occasionally, but explicit violence, as well as nudity, sex and F-Words were avoided. Not that I need these elements in any movie I see, but for blaxploitation flicks from the 70s they're mandatory, in my opinion.

The film is very satirical, however, the villains are simply ridiculous (and most of them quite annoying). Funnily the main villain, a very annoying, but also somehow funny white drug-queen called "Mommy" is played by the great Shelley Winters. Blaxploitation regular Antonio Fargas and Bernie Casey, as well as some others also fit in their roles quite well. The main reason, to watch "Cleoatra Jones" is Tamara Dobson however. Dobson is certainly not nearly as unforgettable as the great Pam Grier in her many blaxploitation roles, but she still makes a great, sexy and super-cool blaxploitation heroine, and that alone makes the movie worth the time! The film is overall pretty funny, and a highly entertaining time-waster. If you're looking for truly great blaxploitation cinema, however, go for films like "Coffy" or "Foxy Brown".

'Cleopatra Jones' is one of my favourite 1970s exploitation movies. While technically blaxploitation it bears very little resemblance to the grittiness and relative realism of 'Shaft', 'Superfly' or 'Black Caesar'. It is closer to 'Black Belt Jones' meets James Bond, especially the spectacular opening sequence in Turkey. If you don't take it too seriously this is fantastic fun.

Tamara Dobson is beautiful, sassy and kick ass as Special Government Agent Cleopatra Jones, enemy to drug pushers everywhere. Her lover's (Bernie Casey - 'Never Say Never Again') half-way house is under threat of closure after a dubious drug bust. Cleo suspects the involvement of a crooked cop (the always menacing Bill McKinney - 'Deliverance'), and local drug big wig Mommy (Shelley Winters as a larger than life lesbian leather queen!). Mommy and her henchmen (one of which is the legendary Paul Koslo - 'The Omega Man') try everything in their power to stop Cleopatra, but hell, look at her moves! her clothes! her Afro! Who do you think is gonna win here?!

A stylish, silly and wonderfully entertaining trash classic. Directed by Jack Starrett ('Slaughter', 'Race With The Devil') and co-written and produced by actor Max Julien ('Psych-Out', 'The Mack'). 'Cleopatra Jones' is a must see for 70s buffs.

Needless to say, my favourite Quentin Tarantino film is 'Jackie Brown'. I enjoyed the action, and Tamara Dobson was gorgeous (I can't believe she was 6'2"! Wow!). I wish she had done more movies, and hadn't died so young (at age 59, of pneumonia and multiple sclerosis). Though director Starrett (who died even younger, of kidney failure) mainly did TV work, I loved his 'Race with the Devil', which was from around this time. He was very good at these kind of films, at both presenting action set-pieces and building suspense.

I would like to see ALL of these 'urban action' films. Though from my movie-watching experience, I find that I tend to prefer films from before 1970, these films from the 70's are great too, and are a lot more enjoyable to me than most films I see today.

I sincerely hope that, like in 'Cleopatra Jones', the filmmakers of today could concentrate on actors' presence and stunts, rather than simply go with CGI. I for one would be a lot happier as a cinephile.

It deserves to be seen because it features the incredible Antonio Fargas, as a mob little boss, with cool clothes and hilarious jive talking. In my opinion Antonio is a great actor, each time i saw him i was stunned by his rhythmic talking and the way he moves. It deserves to be seen because it features Shelley Winters as Mommy, a lesbian red-head old mob chieftain whose angriness and sadism are really funny to see (in my European DVD, there is no scene in which she receives a feet massage!). Plot, kung-fuish fight scenes are not fantastic, Tamara Dobson who plays the leading role is a nice-looking tall woman who does not play very well and does not do really sexy stuff (she does not match with Pam Grier), but i nevertheless had a good moment seeing this movie, and i hope you will too. Cleopatra drives an awesome car, the car chase scene is good, and she wears a majestic afro haircut, and like Pam Grier in Foxy Brown she changes clothes before each scene, it's like a fashion review, it is cool.

Fun blaxploitation flick about a karate-kicking special agent named Cleopatra Jones (Tamara Dobson) taking on a vicious lesbian drug lord named Mommy (Shelley Winters). Statuesque Tamara Dobson is quite an imposing heroine. Not the strongest actress but she can kick ass and look good doing it. Shelley Winters hams it up with glee as the villain ("I'm tired of being a pussycat!"). She doesn't have a single scene where she dials it down a notch. She's at 20 on a 10 scale the whole time. She's a hoot to watch. Bernie Casey plays Dobson's love interest. Bill McKinney plays a racist cop. Others in the cast include Antonio Fargas, Esther Rolle, Brenda Sykes, and Michael Warren. Less gritty and realistic than most blaxploitation films with more of a focus on comedy and cheesiness. That isn't to say this is something you'd let your kids watch, as evidenced by Shelley Winters screaming profanities and racial slurs within the first ten minutes. But it is an enjoyable time-passer for blaxploitation fans.

This film sure has a lot of familiar faces--Bernie Casey, Antonio Fargas, Shelly Winters (as "Mommy"), Esther Role and even Don Cornelius (from "Soul Train") are all here to support Tamara Dobson as Cleopatra Jones. Cleopatra is an extra-special narcotics agent--practically James Bond and a DEA officer combined! She knows martial arts, carries a machine gun, drives like a NASCAR driver AND manages to look hot on top of everything else! It seems that Cleo's efforts have begun to hurt Mommy's businesses and those of her associates--especially Fargas' drug dealing. So, it's the mob against Cleopatra. Considering it's only 682 to 1, it's reasonably certain that Cleo will be victorious by the end of the film.

This movie has some similarities to COFFY and FOXY BROWN, as all three films are about an angry woman's attack on the drug trade. One major difference was that in these two Pam Greer films, the title character wasn't a special agent--just a vigilante wanting to rid the world of dope fiends. Dobson, unlike most other blaxploitation heroes works for "the Man"! Another difference is that Ms. Dobson manages to keep her clothes on throughout the film! The final difference is that, believe it or not, Greer's films were a lot more believable, as Dobson can do ANYTHING and is practically Wonderwoman--whereas, Greer is just really, really mad!! Heck, one of the victims even calls Dobson "Wonderwoman"!

Overall, this film is far less gritty blaxploitation and more like an episode of "Get Christie Love" or "Charlie's Angels"--the music, the plot, the acting--the whole package. I wonder if Aaron Spelling had anything to do with this project!!

One of the best blaxploitation flicks out there with lots of awesome action scenes.

I suppose that as a conservative, I should give this movie points for avoiding the normal anti-establishment "blaxploitation" theme (you can't get much more establishment than being a federal agent during the Nixon Administration) and showing blacks working within the system to effect change.

But I can't.

The only thing that makes John Shaft the cultural icon that he is, is the fact that he was meant to frighten middle-class white people. Without the whole "black man standing up to whitey's system" aspect, *Shaft* is just another dime-a-dozen, derivative private-eye flick (and the sex scenes, effective in the 70s as a play on the "oversexed black man" stereotype, seem pretty sleazy now).

And *Cleopatra Jones* is just another dime-a-dozen, derivative supercop flick. Here, the "black thing" is merely a gimmick. It could have been made with an all-white cast with very few changes.

Even considered purely as an action movie, it fails. Even the cool car chase has some editing problems, and Tamara Dobson, though a stunningly beautiful woman, simply doesn't have the moves for the fight scenes.

About the only really enjoyable scenes are those involving Doodlebug (Antonio "Huggy Bear" Fargas) and his henchmen.

"Cleopatra Jones" was one of the first "blaxploitation" movies that I ever saw back in the '70s. Tamara Dobson plays Cleopatra Jones, a government agent that must crack a drug ring run by Mommy, Shelley Winters. This movie has a nice pace, and looks like it had a fairly big budget for this genre. Tamara plays the role flawlessly and with style. Some of those fashions! I am surprised she could do some kung-fu fighting with those killer platform shoes on. The other thing that stands out in my mind about this movie is Cleo's sexy corvette, complete with a cassette deck! This was state of the art back in '73 for most cars came with the standard AM radio, or if you wanted to, you could upgrade to 8-track! Shelley Winters is funny and over-the-top with her role as Mommy, the Queen of drug trade. Her performance just adds to the campy appeal of this movie. The supporting cast do well too, and round out this made-for-drive-in classic! The DVD is very basic with no extras, however, it is presented in it's original "cinemascope" aspect ratio. The print looks good, and clear. I am glad that this movie is available on DVD, for it's an enjoyable taste of the '70s!

After the one and only Pam Grier, Tamara Dobson was the second most celebrated female star of blaxploitation. Her character was Cleopatra Jones, a special agent who principally fought drug pushers. The character was partially styled as a sort of black female version of James Bond - similar to that character, despite being undercover, everyone seems to know her name! Also, like Bond, she does a bit of globe hopping, starting out in the middle east dealing with a heroin farm but once the prologue is done, its more like business-as-usual blaxploitation style, and Jones spends the rest of the movie strutting the streets of L. A.

When Cleopatra organises the obliteration of a poppy field owned by a lesbian drug dealer called Mommy, the latter goes ballistic and seeks revenge for the rest of the movie. This results in various goons haplessly trying to take Cleopatra out. Its definitely a more restrained example of blaxploitation than was typical, with little in the way of sex and a limited supply of violence - it relies more on the unique appeal of its central character and its action set-pieces. Of the latter, there includes a well-orchestrated car chase which goes through that trusty cinema landmark of the 70's, the Los Angeles River. Tamara Dobson is also a welcome change of pace, given the paucity of female leads in most blaxploitation - and at six foot plus, she is a pretty imposing presence and definitely looks the part. In terms of acting, the awards here go to Shelley Winters and Antonio Fargas, with the former chewing up the scenery at every given turn as the manic Mommy, while Fargas is once again very entertaining as a shady but, somewhat amusing, small-time crook. Any blaxploitation worth its salt also has to sport a memorable theme tune, and this one does not disappoint on that score either, with a cool title number by Joe Simon. All-in-all, an above average example of this type of film.

This is a thoroughly routine blaxploitation feature, with clumsily edited and often unconvincing fight scenes, an imposing but unsexy female lead, a hammy and nearly ludicrous villainess (played by Shelley Winters), and generally a very dated "feel" about it. About the only thing that keeps it going is some colorful "jive talk", on behalf of some supporting characters. (**)

Cleapatra Jones is one of those movies that you might have caught on t.v. as a little kid and thought, "Wow, that was amazing! I want to be just like her!" Then, when you are older and see it scheduled to come on t.v. again, or see it in the video store, you arrange to watch it with all sorts of anticipation and end up laughing through the entire movie-the choreographed fight scenes, the extreme villains, the jive "put downs". Either way, it is a cool movie to watch, whether you want to go "WOW" or joke it.

I think Tamara Dobson is absolutely stunning in the movie. Very glamorous and very "tough" (if you disregard the fake fight scenes)and within the context of the movie, she is very smart. Blaxploitation films had their place back in the day (and they still do).

Shelly Winters played a "surprising" role as the villain. If you need to get a handle on this, view the movie, "I'm Gonna to git You Sucka"- Towards the end of the movie, a whole list of actors/actresses, who are thought to be above playing in exploitation movies, are named in various exploitation films. Of course Cleopatra Jones is mentioned.

While the movie can be classified as "cheesy" by many, it does have action, adventure, and romance. The action is non-stop-Cleo is always kung fuing someone or driving the hell out of her Corvette to get away from the bad guys. Also, there a pretty neat scene where she rides a motorcycle up a steep hill to everyone's dismay (if you happen to catch CJ on DVD or VHS, use pause on this scene-it is clearly a Caucasian male, with brown makeup, who is actually riding the motorcycle). The adventure is during the beginning-she is in Turkey blowing up poppy fields. Also, her investigations takes her to various parts of town and she interfaces with various "interesting" supporting characters. And then there is the romantic scene with her and Bernie Casey.

If anything, CJ is a wonderful film to have going if you happen to have a 70's theme party or something.

Sympathetic film belonging to a genre in full boom as was the Blaxplotation in the 70s, in this case trying to make a film similar to those of 007, with a woman in this case, the model Tamara Dobson.

What we have here is not a marginal, dark or ultraviolent film like many Blaxplotation, but in this case we find a film oriented to a wider audience, more sweetened than similar films like Foxy Brown or Coffy.

It is an action and adventure film with a beautiful hard and skilled woman as protagonist, but with an elegant and sotisficada tone and not as hard, violent and badass as Pam Grier, which may or may not like according to those who expect stronger emotions.

In any case Cleopatra Jones, is a worthy, fun and curious film that will surely pass a good time to anyone who contemplates it.

Thank you.

Cleopatra Jones features Tamara Dobson, whole 6 feet 2 inches of her as a sassy government Special Agent burning down poppy fields in Turkey and going after drug traffickers like Mommy (Shelley Winters.)

When her boyfriend's (Bernie Casey) halfway house for recovering drug addicts is under threat from crooked cops, Cleopatra suspects Mommy is behind it all and decides to kick ass with her kung fu moves and driving her fast Corvette Stingray.

Tamara Dobson is certainly statuesque and glamorous as a blaxploitation female version of James Bond but Dobson lacks the screen sensuality and charisma of Pam Grier. However Shelley Winters more than compensates with a scenery chewing performance as the lesbian Mommy appearing with several different types of wigs and in one point clad in leather.

The plot is rather so-so but Warner Brothers certainly put some money in this movie as it benefits from better production values and has good pacing.

I'd expected a female hero with tight sex clothes, something alike Coffy and Foxy Brown, instead I saw something totally opposite, fancy clothes, stylized hair with long feathers and a prudish behavior, egocentric with a flamboyant black car, the movie has many strengths, the black jargon exposes on black characters is a trademark on Blaxploitation genre, Cleopatra Jones (Tamara Dobson) works as special agent of government against drugs, a sort of female James Bond, but doesn't seduces anyone apart his private affair, she struggles against the powerful drugs smuggler lead by the white Baroness Mommy (Shelley Winters), the highlight certainly was the cars chase at a paved channel drain rains waters, the most colorful character is Doodlebug (Antonio Fargas), a hyper ugly small black guy with big mouth who wants leaving the Momma's Gang, a well-dressed and stylized guy and the racist rogue cop Purdy (the great Bill McKinney), the final sequence on a scrap yard is contrived and unconvincing, with a lousy acting by momma, let it see!!

Resume:

First watch: 2020 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 6.25

Cleopatra Jones (Tamara Dobson) is a super special agent working for the American government. She coordinates a bombing of a poppy field in Turkey. Ruthless crime lord Mommy (Shelley Winters) is pissed that she lost her poppies. Cleo's man Reuben Masters (Bernie Casey) is a black community leader who has to deal with racist cops.

It's blaxploitation with a side of a feminist heroine. It is better made than most but it's still not good. It has some value as a step in the progression of Hollywood. It also has some cheese value. It tries to take advantage of the success of Shaft but it falls short. It doesn't have the iconic song. It's important to break through the clutter and that song's greatness does that. This movie doesn't have the same thing. It simply doesn't have the same energy. Part of that has to be the acting or the lack of acting from Tamara Dobson. Her karate fighting is not so good either. I can only imagine Pam Grier being a so much better Cleo. It does have its fun moments like shooting the fake old couple and a pretty good car chase with some stunt work. They have some great black actors and Shelley Winters is overacting her villain as much as possible. It's an interesting cinematic moment but the movie is not actually good.

I saw this film the weekend it came out in 1973 in downtown Baltimore, Tamara Dobson's hometown. Although that was 36 years ago, I remember it very well.

1973 was about 5 years past the golden age of the beautiful but unbeatable-in-a-fight female heroine. A total fantasy, but as a middle-aged woman now, I still sometimes ask myself "What would Emma Peele do?" I found the early '70's heroines to be complete wimps compared to the late 60's heroines.

So when the ad campaign hit in 1973 for "Tamara Dobson IS Cleopatra Jones," with the poster of the tall gun-toting Ms. Dobson, I begged and begged to go.

I went downtown with an older woman friend of the family, and the two of us were literally the only white people in the entire packed theater of black people.

In the film. the villains are all white and the good guys are all black. Also, there are many many scenes in which white people are killed by black people. During these scenes, the theater cheered wildly. This is probably not something you would notice watching the film on T.V., but believe me, if you are one of two white people in the theater, it makes a big impression.

There was also a well-written and clever scene in the film in which one of Cleopatra's male assistants is lying in wait for the white villains. When they arrive, he pulls a gun on them and says "Guess what just jumped out of the woodpile?" The older woman who took me to the movie was southern. She thought this joke was hysterical and kept trying to explain it to me several times, with her extremely clear explanations catching the attention of everyone sitting around us. For those of you not blessed by an older southern friend, the phrase "Guess what just jumped out of the woodpile?" refers to the expression "N-word in the woodpile," a southern term for an unpleasant surprise.

So what did I learn in my trip to the movies?

1) The term "blaxploitation" is totally false. This "blaxploitation" movie seemed to be about blacks who were superior in every way to whites, both morally and physically.

2) It is really scary and uncomfortable being in the minority.

"Cleopatra Jones" is a big yawn of a movie. The Blaxploitation films of the 1970's are an acquired taste. I enjoy a lot of them but I will not argue with anyone who is not comfortable with these movies. The stereotypes turn a lot of people off and I understand that. That said, a lot of Blaxploitation movies are fun to watch. "Cleopatra Jones" is not one of them. The biggest problem with this movie is the star herself. Tamara Dobson is a weak lead. Her acting is not so hot. It's not nearly as good as her supporting cast. Dobson is not attractive enough to keep my attention. Another demerit, shame on me, is that she keeps her clothes on. Many Blaxploitation movies like to show skin. "Cleopatra Jones" would have been a little better is they went for some cheap thrills. Dishonorable mention: Shelley Winters.