Black Snake | |
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Directed by | Russ Meyer |
Produced by | Russ Meyer |
Written by | Russ Meyer Leonard Neubauer A. James Ryan |
Starring |
Anouska Hempel David Warbeck Percy Herbert Thomas Baptiste |
Music by | William Loose |
Cinematography | Arthur Ornitz |
Edited by | Fred Baratta |
Release date
|
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Running time
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82 min. |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Black Snake is a 1973 American film directed by Russ Meyer. It was Meyer's return to self-financed projects, following the end of his brief deal at 20th Century Fox. Meyer's only attempt at the Blaxploitation genre, it was filmed in Panavision and was shot on location in Barbados.
A period piece about colonial slavery, the plot centered on Lady Susan, a cruel slave-owner and plantation mistress, and her domination of both the black and white men on the island. Anouska Hempel, a New Zealand-born actress well known in the UK, was cast at the last minute when Meyer's original lead fell ill.
Meyer was dissatisfied with the film, and for years afterwards he complained of Hempel's unsuitability for her part. In the late 1990s Hempel, now Lady Weinberg, bought the British rights; since then it has not been seen on UK television, though it has been released on DVD there.
Black Snake was originally released theatrically in the UK as Slaves and has also been released under the title Sweet Suzy.