Black Gestapo
Directed by Lee Frost. Starring Charles Robinson (1975).
There’s
a moment towards the end of the film where Mack from Night Court has Uschi Digart; the naziploitation bitch hooked onto
his arm while lounging by the pool. He has gone too far and becomes corrupt. This is one of the novelties of Black Gestapo, nice casting and not much else is in
between. Lee Frost directed one of the campiest, funniest Blaxploitation films
with The Thing With Two Heads, but here he
poorly misses the mark. Frost has delved into Nazi territory
before with Love Camp 7 and by
combining the two different genres of Nazi and blaxploitation you’d think it would’ve added up to a powder keg of an epic, however you’d be wrong.
There is
never a turning point where the militant people’s armies of Watts decide to
become Nazis and it’s severely disappointing! There’s ominous Hitler footage
during the credit sequence but nothing fascist is ever delivered, just the fact
that they are a Black Panther style militant group doesn’t necessarily make
them Nazis. Gestapo is tame even by blaxploitation standards and there are some
scenes of violence against the mob (even a castration), but nothing registers as
shocking. As far as vigilante groups attacking the mob goes it seems that it
should be more exciting, but it comes off all watered down and wimpy. The harsh
subject matter and brilliant poster are not enough since the actual film never deliver the groceries, it is
very hollow and not memorable. Another film that came along in the same league,
later on dealing with the same type of racist subject matter also missed the
mark was called Brotherhood of Death.
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