THE BLACK KLANSMAN (1966) ** ½

Ted V. Mikels is probably best known for his nutty sci-fi cult classic The Astro-Zombies.  I recently got to check out parts 3 and 4 of the franchise and was mildly amused, so I'm trying to fill in some of the gaps in my Ted V. Mikels filmography.  I remember when Spike Lee’s Black Klansman came out, all I could think of was… Is he really remaking a Ted V. Mikels movie?  As it turns out, I don’t think they really have anything to do with each other. 

In the south, a newspaper claims, “Civil Rights Act Passed!”  A young black man thinks that’s his cue to go and sit down in an all-white diner.  That stunt winds up getting him murdered by the KKK.  Later, they kill a little girl outside of a black church.  Her father, an LA jazz musician named Jerry (Richard Gilden) is overcome with grief and returns home.  He’s light-skinned enough to pass for white and decides to infiltrate the Klan and get revenge (which naturally includes getting it on with the Klan leader’s sexy daughter).

One thing you notice about The Black Klansman is that it looks great.  Mikels was always his own cinematographer, and no matter what you might think of his films, the cinematography is often excellent.  This is no exception.  Mikels usually liked to use eye-popping color, but the black and white cinematography in The Black Klansman looks slick.  

This is by far the most serious Mikels movie I’ve seen.  Other than the title and ad campaign there’s nothing really sensational or exploitative about the film.  I guess you could say using black characters as heroic leading men could be seen as a precursor to the Blaxploitation movement as this was released a good five years before Shaft.

What’s surprising is Mikels’ frankness while tackling the subject of race in the south in the ‘60s.  We see members of the black community butting heads with the corrupt racist white officials, interracial relationships, and the everyday hatred African-Americans faced in the south.  All of this is handled with a degree of thoughtfulness.  While the movie may have its share of problems, earnestness is not one of them.  

Speaking of those problems, the acting is a little amateurish, which unfortunately undercuts some of the message.  Gilden (who it must be said, isn’t black), who has a bit of a John Agar quality about him, is an OK leading man.  The other performers range from wooden to overwrought.    

Like the majority of Mikels’ films, there are way too many supporting characters and needless subplots that get in the way of the central drama.  The further the movie gets away from Gilden’s quest for revenge, the less successful it becomes.  After a compelling set-up, the plot flounders once Max (The Mack) Julien is introduced as a black power organizer who helps to bust up the Klan’s rally.   

Warts and all, The Black Klansman is still worth a look as a curio piece.  Ultimately, it’s more interesting for what it tries to do than for what it actually accomplishes.  It would make an good double feature with Roger Corman’s The Intruder as both films are from exploitation filmmakers tackling serious and timely subject matter (which unfortunately is still timely today) about race relations in the south.

AKA:  I Crossed the Color Line.  AKA:  I Crossed the Line.  AKA:  Brutes.