THE HUMAN TORNADO: A Double-Barreled Blast Of Berserk Blaxploitation
Dolemite had a lot going for it: kung fu prostitutes, a killer funk score and the inimitable presence of comedian-turned-inner-city-movie-star Rudy Ray Moore. It was missing just one thing: energy in the director's chair. Direction for Moore's maiden celluloid venture was handled by erstwhile character actor D'Urville Martin, who openly disliked the project and turned in minimal effort. For his second feature, Moore handed directorial duties to a young, hungry actor/theater director named Cliff Roquemore. The resulting film had equal amounts of energy on both sides of the camera - and it took the fading blaxploitation genre into new and outlandish realms.
TheHuman Tornado begins with Dolemite (Moore) going on therun from his southern home after a racist sheriff (J.B. Baron) catches him inbed with the sheriff's wife, who is coincidentally paying Dolemite for hisservices as a gigolo. Dolemite and his crew flee to Los Angeles, where theyhope to go to work with Queen Bee (Lady Reed) at her successful nightclub.
Unfortunately, Dolemite's arrival coincides with QueenBee getting muscled in on by Cavaletti (Herb Graham), a mobster who coerces hersupport by putting a few of her employees in his personal torture chamber(!).Dolemite sets out to help Queen Bee rescue her girls but this will put them indanger with the mob. Meanwhile, the Sheriff shows up in L.A. with revenge onhis mind - and his efforts to rouse the local police department bring in theinvolvement of local cop Blakeley (Jerry Jones).
Jones also wrote the script and like his work on Dolemite, the result is densely plottedyet oddly episodic in structure. The story is so dense that loose ends result:for example, Moore and Jones somehow never cross paths despite reprising theircharacters from Dolemite. Thescenario is also so ambitious in terms of locations and character ensemble thatit pushes the modest production's resources to their limit. As for Roquemore'sdirection, he's clearly learning as he goes, making some rookie mistakes likepoor doubling for a character played by a young Ernie Hudson and a road-tripstretch that looks like a set of hastily overdubbed camera tests.
All that said, TheHuman Tornado has the same "let's put on a show" spirit that keptDolemite moving - and the obvious excitementand love that Roquemore pours into his work here gives it a high-octane energyguaranteed to keep blaxploitation fans engaged all the way through. He treats it like a comic book brought tolife, going for eye-popping colors and kinetic camerawork/editing schemes thatcreate the right frame for Moore's over-the-top persona and Jones'everything-plus-the-kitchen-sink scripting. He makes effective use of Moore'sfamiliar world of nightclubs, adding production value while ensuring the starthrives in a comfortable setting.
Along the way, Roquemore realizes some demented yetthoroughly inspired setpieces. In terms of action, you get a sequence thatinvolves shootouts, a dramatic jump off a hillside by Moore and a car chasecapped with an explosion. There's also PerilsOf Pauline-style suspense with a little S&M kink in the torture chamberscenes and huge kung-fu brawls that allow Moore to show off his own satiricalstyle of the martial arts involving sped-up action, Esperanto-style gibberishvocalization and cartoonish jowl-shaking.
Roquemore also weaves in a stronger level of sex,including a funny scene where Dolemite warms up for coitus with some pre-sexwork out routines and an amazing moment where Dolemite hypnotizes the gangster'swife, leading to a lusty fantasy sequence that involves her cavorting on akiddie show-style set with a slide, giant letter blocks and a toybox thatproduces naked, muscular black men! Thisscene is like David Lynch teamed up with Melvin Van Peebles to direct a segmentfor Romper Room and alone is worththe price of admission.
As expected, Moore rules the roost in this psychedelic barrage of sex, violence, comedy and soul: whether he's romancing the ladies or performing his own unique interpretation of kung fu, his enjoyment of each moment is contagious. He's even good natured enough to poke fun at his unlikely sex symbol status (the aforementioned exercise before sex scene). He gets good support from Reed and Hudson, paying his dues here like he would also do in Penitentiary II, and Moore's comedian pal Jimmy Lynch makes an impression as a mouthy sidekick. In a truly unique touch, one of the female performers who is kidnapped is played by Java, a legendary transsexual entertainer - a very progressive touch in a '70s blaxploitation flick.
In short, The Human Tornado is the movie you picture in your mind's eye when you think about Dolemite. It's a budget-priced yet energetic blaxploitation fantasia where the evils of racism, organized crime interfering with black showbiz and white people sexualizing black people while keeping them down are vanquished by a wise-cracking superstud showman and his resourceful band of self-styled entertainers. If you can't see the joy in that, you need to ponder your exploitation flick priorities.
Blu-Ray Notes: As with Dolemite, Vinegar Syndrome has issued the definitive blu-ray/DVD edition for this title, boasting an excellent transfer and a handful of cool supplements, including the second segment of "I, Dolemite," a multi-part documentary about Moore's film career.