This long-neglected product of the blaxploitation cycle plays like a warped rethink of the black power classic THE SPOOK WHO SAT BY THE DOOR (1973). That film (based on the widely read Sam Greenlee novel of the same name) was about a paramilitary organization put together by a black CIA agent to fight racism, while 1975’s BLACK GESTAPO, directed and co-scripted by the late trashmeister Lee Frost (1935-2007), likewise has a disgruntled African-American putting together a cabal of militant black men, albeit one whose aims are far less ideologically pure.
To elaborate: in South-Central LA a red beanie wearing “People’s Army” is set up by the self-proclaimed General Ahmed (Rod Perry), whose true nature is telegraphed by an early scene that intercuts verité footage of a Nazi march with the actions of the army. Ahmed’s ruthless nature puts him directly at odds with his friend and fellow army member, the pure-hearted Colonel Kojah (Charles P. Robinson).
The stakes are heightened when Kojah’s nurse girlfriend Marsha (Angela Brent) is raped by mobsters, inspiring Ahmed and several of his underlings to break into the rapist’s home and castrate him in his bathtub (Kojah for some reason sits this portion of the film out). This leads to a spate of back-and-forth killings, with Ahmed becoming increasingly corrupt, and taking over the local drug, gambling and prostitution rackets from the mobsters—who elect to “separate and come back.”
In fact, the mobsters abruptly disappear around the halfway point, with the remainder of the film focusing on the conflict between Ahmed and Kojah. Things get so bad that Ahmed arranges for his friend to be murdered, but Kojah eludes his tormentors, and in retaliation shows up at the People’s Army compound (filmed at Lee Frost’s own house) with a cache of explosives.
This film was not a success, undercut by an oversaturated market (1975 having been a banner year for blaxploitation, featuring two classic entries: BUCKOWN and WELCOME HOME BROTHER CHARLES), a hodgepodge score consisting largely of recycled cues from previous movie soundtracks (music was a hugely important component in blaxploitation films) and a violence-heavy treatment that borders on horror. The castration sequence ranks as one of the bloodiest in blaxploitation movie history, and the multiple rape scenes were likewise quiute strong even for seventies cinema.
BLACK GESTAPO’s sharp edges, however, have been blunted by the passage of time. The film has long since passed into camp, as is evident in the unsubtle performance of Rod Perry as General Ahmed, whose lines are nearly all recited with a maniacal leer, and Lee Frost’s overwrought staging, which revels in soap opera theatrics and a hysterical tone that’s unique to 1970s exploitation cinema. If not for the jumbled screenplay, with its unfortunate tendency to abruptly drop characters (including the ersatz hero) and subplots for lengthy periods, this would be a classic blaxploiter. Perhaps it is anyway.
Vital Statistics
THE BLACK GESTAPO (a.k.a. GHETTO WARRIORS)
Bryanston Pictures/Saber Productions
Director: Lee Frost
Producer: Wes Bishop
Screenplay: Lee Frost, Wes Bishop
Cinematography: Derek Scott
Cast: Rod Perry, Charles P. Robinson, Phil Hoover, Ed Cross, Angela Brent, Dona Desmond, Charles Howerton, Rai Tasco, Davis Bryant, J. Christopher Sullivan, Colin Male, Gene Russell