director:
Richard Fleischer
starring: James Mason · Susan George
Perry King · Richard Ward · Brenda Sykes
Ken Norton · Lillian Hayman · Roy Poole
Richard Fleischer
directed this lurid historical drama based on the scorching novel by Kyle
Onstott. Love it or hate it, there's no denying this film's power. Good
performances and taut filmmaking abound, but the average viewer is likely
to be repulsed by the gritty, realistic, ugly story of slavery in the
South... the African-American Holocaust. ·A plantation owner in the
1840s trains his slaves to be bare-knuckle fighting champions, unaware
that his daughter is having an affair with his top fighter. The story
begins as Warren Maxell (Mason) and his son Hammond (King) travel to New
Orleans to buy a top-quality slave. They purchase Mede (Norton) and return
to the plantation where they stage slave-fights for extra cash. Hammond's
wife Blanche (Susan George) is horny for the new buck and seduces Mede
to get revenge against her inattentive husband. Soon she's pregnant and
gives birth to a mixed baby. Enraged, Hammond poisons his wife, slaughters
the child and goes after Mede... There is a sequel DRUM.
An American
film; fullscreen, uncut (127 min.) version in DVD encoded for ALL REGIONS,
playable on any American DVD machine; in English language.
Violence
/Adult Material: Viewer discretion is advised.
·
