TMR 060 – Dolemite

This week on Total Movie Recall, these two born-insecure honkies break down the seminal Blaxploitation movie of 1975 and do a pathetic job of trying to reconcile its progressive vision of black empowerment with the misogyny of the pimp game. It gets complicated.

Dolemite (1975)

d. D'Urville Martin

Story by: Rudy Ray Moore

Starring:
Rudy Ray Moore
D'Urville Martin
Lady Reed
Jerry Jones
Hy Pyke

Dolemite is released from jail after being wrongfully convicted to take on rival pimp Willie Green, corrupt police officers who framed him and even the mayor! With the help of his friends: Queen Bee (the madame of his brothel), Creeper (the heroin addict Hamburger Pimp), Reverend Gibbs (the gun-running preacher), and his gang of female prostitute karate experts, Dolemite takes back his turf and club through martial arts prowess and sheer oratory showmanship.

Things discussed in the show:

Blaxploitation films

The Jerk (Carl Reiner, Steve Martin, Bernadette Peters, Catlin Adams)

Black Mama White Mama (Eddie Romero, Pam Grier, Margaret Markov, Sid Haig)

Coffy (Jack Hill, Pam Grier, Booker Bradshaw, Robert DoQui)

Shaft 1971 (Gordon Parks, Richard Roundtree, Moses Gunn, Charles Cioffi)

The Last Dragon (Michael Schultz, Taimak, .css-j9qmi7{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-flex-direction:row;-ms-flex-direction:row;flex-direction:row;font-weight:700;margin-bottom:1rem;margin-top:2.8rem;width:100%;-webkit-box-pack:start;-ms-flex-pack:start;-webkit-justify-content:start;justify-content:start;padding-left:5rem;}@media only screen and (max-width: 599px){.css-j9qmi7{padding-left:0;-webkit-box-pack:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;justify-content:center;}}.css-j9qmi7 svg{fill:#27292D;}.css-j9qmi7 .eagfbvw0{-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;color:#27292D;}