This delightful action comedy can be watched over and over and enjoyed every time because it is just a delightful crowd pleaser, filled with action, terrific sequences, a campy villainess and a heroine you really root for. Tamara Dobson is gorgeous in every single way with a smile that charms and a kick that kills. She's a federal agent who wants to kick out organized drug cartels, starting with the ruthless momma (Shelley Winters) who has a way with wigs and the young ladies, robbing the cradle with her choice of blonde girlfriends.
Watch Winters explode when she learns that her prize poppy field has been blown up and blasted off of her profit margin by Cleopatra Jones, seeking revenge by having a police raid on a Synonyn branch close to Jones' heart, giving Cleopatra a motivation for being so militant on organized drug leaders. In fact, as Cleopatra orders it to be burnt to bits, she indicates that by doing so it will remain out of the systems of the young people that momma will end up having it sold to.
Two other strong performances by Bernie Casey as Jones' sidekick and Antonio Fargas as a smart aleck associate of Winters, the only person who can stun her into silence. Dan Frazer shows the decent side of white law enforcement, aghast that his own team wood defy his orders by becoming involved in momma's crusade against Cleopatra. That ties this film in with the 1965 film "Synanon" which gave us a detailed vision of that organization.
Playing a commanding character whom you can't help but admire, Dobson really walk through this film like an empress, and you applaud her for her stance on the illegal drug trade. She's a person that you could walk up to just to tell her how much you admired her style, and probably walk away with a new friend. Tall and statuesque, she is also intelligent, funny and the type of person who fights against sinning with a little bit of sin herself. The build up to her confrontation with momma is worth the wait.
Winters appears to be playing the sister of her character from "A Patch of Blue", although there was nothing lighthearted about her in that film. She's obviously enjoying the campinness of her character, knowing that the racism she shows will be viewed to show how ridiculous it is. She would later play a non-villainess variation of this character in "S. O. B.", and has a grand old time chewing up every inch of plaster around her. You couldn't ask for a more crowd sleazing '70s action film, as well as a heroine that deserves a standing ovation.
Watch Winters explode when she learns that her prize poppy field has been blown up and blasted off of her profit margin by Cleopatra Jones, seeking revenge by having a police raid on a Synonyn branch close to Jones' heart, giving Cleopatra a motivation for being so militant on organized drug leaders. In fact, as Cleopatra orders it to be burnt to bits, she indicates that by doing so it will remain out of the systems of the young people that momma will end up having it sold to.
Two other strong performances by Bernie Casey as Jones' sidekick and Antonio Fargas as a smart aleck associate of Winters, the only person who can stun her into silence. Dan Frazer shows the decent side of white law enforcement, aghast that his own team wood defy his orders by becoming involved in momma's crusade against Cleopatra. That ties this film in with the 1965 film "Synanon" which gave us a detailed vision of that organization.
Playing a commanding character whom you can't help but admire, Dobson really walk through this film like an empress, and you applaud her for her stance on the illegal drug trade. She's a person that you could walk up to just to tell her how much you admired her style, and probably walk away with a new friend. Tall and statuesque, she is also intelligent, funny and the type of person who fights against sinning with a little bit of sin herself. The build up to her confrontation with momma is worth the wait.
Winters appears to be playing the sister of her character from "A Patch of Blue", although there was nothing lighthearted about her in that film. She's obviously enjoying the campinness of her character, knowing that the racism she shows will be viewed to show how ridiculous it is. She would later play a non-villainess variation of this character in "S. O. B.", and has a grand old time chewing up every inch of plaster around her. You couldn't ask for a more crowd sleazing '70s action film, as well as a heroine that deserves a standing ovation.