'Oh my God! Mr. Jonathan, it IS bigger and better!'
I love looking back at nudity in cinema, and as FH readers know, one of my favorite decades to explore is the 70's. I love the way nudity is so casually displayed in so many softcore films from the decade. In the 80's, 90's and beyond, nudity seemed more contrived, and set up. So often, it appeared designed to tease viewers and simply added to grab attention. A few fleeting seconds of skin was pushed in promotion and ads and movie goers were ultimately left disappointed when viewing the film.
It's been difficult to find many scenes featuring actors of color. They were sometimes there, but not usually in the nude scenes, and not cast as the hero and lead. Thanks to KC at DC, I was introduced to actor John Daniels, the hunky lead in 1976's Black Shampoo.
According to wiki, Black Shampoo, (later released as Sex at the Salon), is described as an American blaxploitation drama film. The movie, directed by Greydon Clark is said to be based on the film Shampoo with Daniels taking on the Warren Beatty role. Black Shampoo must have been put together quickly as it was released just one year after the original was released in 1975.
Daniels plays Jonathan Knight, (Mr. Jonathan) the owner the most successful hair salon for women on the Sunset Strip. Mr. Jonathan is extremely popular with his clients, especially the white women who come in to have more than their hair blown out. Things take a turn when Jonathan gets involved with his receptionist Brenda. (Tanya Boyd from Days of our Lives) I didn't watch Miss. Boyd on Days, but she is incredibly beautiful in this film, and it's understandable why Jonathan would be so infatuated, I certainly was.
The movie transitions from a sexy romance to an action film with he needs to protect Brenda from her former boss whose connected to the mob. I personally liked the films first half over the last, preferring to watch the beautiful beefy Daniels having sex and not running around with a chainsaw in his hands. All in all though, it's a fun film with several opportunities to enjoy Daniels wearing very little to nothing. There is even a very quick frontal after Mr. Jonathan gets up from the couch after his night with Brenda.
As with many movies from the 70's, negative stereotypes are often on display. Maybe the most obvious were the other two Hairstylists who work with Jonathan at the salon. They are depicted as incredibly flamboyant, which I'm guessing was pretty par for the course at the time. If there was a plus side, our lead and hero Mr. Jonathan interacted respectfully with his gay employee's. They're over the top behavior was mostly 'filler', almost like the court jesters, providing a bit of what must have been considered 'comedy' in between the romantic and action scenes.
If you want to download the clip, I've added to SendSpace HERE:
No comments:
Post a Comment