{"id":5425,"date":"2008-04-06T11:34:50","date_gmt":"2008-04-06T18:34:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=5425"},"modified":"2021-01-12T16:58:30","modified_gmt":"2021-01-12T23:58:30","slug":"cleopatra-jones-and-the-casino-of-gold-1975","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=5425","title":{"rendered":"Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold (1975)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;I never claim to be God&#8230; Only close to him.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/Cleopatra-Jones-Poster.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/Cleopatra-Jones-Poster-198x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"198\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-63046\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/Cleopatra-Jones-Poster-198x300.png 198w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/Cleopatra-Jones-Poster-674x1024.png 674w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/Cleopatra-Jones-Poster-84x128.png 84w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/Cleopatra-Jones-Poster-178x270.png 178w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/Cleopatra-Jones-Poster.png 721w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 198px) 100vw, 198px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nWith the help of a local detective (Tanny) in Hong Kong, female operative Cleopatra Jones (Tamara Dobson) tries to rescue her co-workers (Albert Popwell and Caro Kenyatta) from the clutches of a vicious drug dealer known as the Dragon Lady (Stella Stevens).\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>African-Americans<\/li>\n<li>Detectives and Private Eyes<\/li>\n<li>Drug Dealers<\/li>\n<li>Shelley Winters Films<\/li>\n<li>Stella Stevens Films<\/li>\n<li>Strong Females<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary&#8217;s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nAlthough I haven&#8217;t yet seen 1973&#8217;s <em>Cleopatra Jones<\/em> (not listed in Peary&#8217;s book), I believe Peary when he states that this sequel &#8212; a &#8220;sexy, funny, fast-moving exploitation film&#8221; &#8212; is &#8220;better than the original.&#8221; As Peary notes, &#8220;Amazonian&#8221; Tamara Dobson (&#8220;one of the main assets of [the] blaxpoitation generation&#8221;) is &#8220;no Pam Grier&#8221;, but she fits the bill here as a larger-than-life female agent; in her outrageously colorful outfits and over-the-top make-up, she&#8217;s consistently stunning to look at. Even better, however, is her &#8220;pretty and lethal&#8221; sidekick (played by &#8220;Tanny&#8221;, a.k.a. Ni Tien), who kicks some serious butt in a couple of well-choreographed fight scenes; meanwhile, cult film star Stella Stevens seems to be having fun in her role as the Dragon Lady, a drug &#8220;queenpin&#8221; who you <em>don&#8217;t<\/em> want to mess with. The film as a whole moves quickly, and director Chuck Bail makes good use of authentic Hong Kong locales; the final extended fight sequence &#8212; taking place inside the Dragon Lady&#8217;s baroque &#8220;Casino of Gold&#8221; &#8212; is especially exciting. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>&#8220;Tanny&#8221; as Mi Ling<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/cleopatra-jones-tanny.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/cleopatra-jones-tanny.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5428\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Stella Stevens as the Dragon Lady<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/cleopatra-jones-stella-stevens.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/cleopatra-jones-stella-stevens.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5429\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Cleopatra&#8217;s seemingly endless array of outrageous outfits<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/cleopatra-jones-costumes.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/cleopatra-jones-costumes.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5426\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Enjoyably stylized set designs<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/cleopatra-jones-sets.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/cleopatra-jones-sets.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5430\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Effective use of Hong Kong street locales<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/cleopatra-jones-streets.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/cleopatra-jones-streets.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5427\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nNo, but it&#8217;s worth a look as a representative blaxploitation \/ &#8220;strong female&#8221; film of the &#8217;70s.  <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/imdb.com\/title\/tt0072791\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1975\/07\/12\/archives\/the-screencleopatra-jones-and-the-casino-of-gold.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rogerebert.com\/reviews\/cleopatra-jones-and-the-casino-of-gold-1975\">Roger Ebert&#8217;s Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thespinningimage.co.uk\/cultfilms\/displaycultfilm.asp?reviewid=997&#038;aff=13\">The Spinning Image Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;I never claim to be God&#8230; Only close to him.&#8221; Synopsis: With the help of a local detective (Tanny) in Hong Kong, female operative Cleopatra Jones (Tamara Dobson) tries to rescue her co-workers (Albert Popwell and Caro Kenyatta) from the clutches of a vicious drug dealer known as the Dragon Lady (Stella Stevens). Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: African-Americans Detectives and Private Eyes Drug Dealers Shelley Winters Films Stella Stevens Films Strong Females Response to Peary&#8217;s Review: Although I haven&#8217;t&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=5425\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5425","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5425","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5425"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5425\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63049,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5425\/revisions\/63049"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5425"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5425"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5425"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}