Melinda (1972)

Director:

Hugh A. Robertson

Writers:

Raymond Cistheri (story)
Lonne Elder III (screenplay)

Release Date:

19 May 1973 (Japan)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama

Tagline:

YOUR kind of black film

Plot:

A slick, smooth-talking, womanizing young black DJ falls hard for an enigmatic woman he's just met. Things take a turn for the worse...

Plot Keywords:

Violence | Investigation | Corvette | Murder | Assassination

Cast

Calvin Lockhart	...	Frankie J. Parker
Rosalind Cash	...	Terry Davis
Vonetta McGee	...	Melinda
Paul Stevens	...	Mitch
Rockne Tarkington	...	Tank
Ross Hagen	...	Gregg Van
Renny Roker	...	Dennis Smith
Judyann Elder	...	Gloria
Jim Kelly	...	Charles Atkins
Jan Tice	...	Marcia
Lonne Elder III	...	Lt. Daniels (as Lonne Elder)
Ed Cambridge	...	Detective (as Edmund Cambridge)
George Fisher	...	Young Man
Joe Hooker	...	Rome's Servant
Allen Pinson	...	Rome

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:R

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Cecil B. DeMented (2000)

Soundtrack:

Love Is

Just too Sweeet!

This is one in a long line of blaxploitation films made during the 70's that were designed as money making vehicles. Most of them are simply terrible, but Melinda is actually a cool one.

Its basically a revenge tale, but it is chock full of melodrama and excitement. The story is an overdone one, but the films' cheapness actually benefits it. The settings seem authentic and the movie actually manages to capture some street life in it.

Admittedly, the acting is not excellent, but somehow the film manages to be entertaining in a "ghetto" way. Don't go out of your way to see it, though.