Review: Sheba, Baby


Buxom Pam Grier is the title private eye Sheba Shayne, who tackles the gangsters trying to muscle in on her father Rudy Challenger’s business. Austin Stoker is his faithful business partner.


This 1975 AIP blaxploitationer written and directed by William Girdler (director of the blaxploitation horror flick “Abby”, the ‘Jaws with Fur’ flick “Grizzly”) has little or none of the sex and violence so important to these films (or at least, important to me). Did they expect us to care about the plot? Sadly, I didn’t. This is a particularly cheap, lukewarm entry into the genre, with even Grier delivering a rather lacklustre performance, free of the energy and enthusiasm usually found in her genre work (even the worst of it).


Dick Merrifield (who isn’t in the film nearly enough), Christopher Joy (hilarious as a spineless loan shark) and a sleazy D’Urville Martin (director of the crappy cult blaxploitation flick “Dolemite” and co-star of the excellent blaxploitation film “Black Caesar”) have their moments in villainous roles, but that’s about it for entertainment value. Pretty dull and lacking in anything remotely exciting, even for fans of this sort of thing, of which there are many.


Watch “Coffy” or “Foxy Brown” (her two biggest hits in the genre) instead, for your R-rated PG (Pam Grier) fix. This one’s entirely forgettable.


Rating: C

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