UNCLE TOM’S CABIN (1977) **

 

The evil, scar-faced slave owner Simon Legree (Herbert Lom) becomes indignant when a slave named Cassie (Olive Moorefield) does not welcome his advances.  He then gets revenge by buying her and a number of other slaves, including the wise old “Uncle” Tom (John Kitzmiller).  When Cassie refuses Simon’s affections, he begins to take out his frustration on the slaves.  Uncle Tom winds up in the crosshairs of his rage, and is gravely injured, which eventually sparks a slave uprising.

The bulk of Uncle Tom’s Cabin comes from a 1965 German-Italian production from director Geza von Radvanyi.  It was presented in America by exploitation legend Kroger Babb to little fanfare from the moviegoing public as the tumultuous ‘60s was not exactly an ideal time for an adaptation of the Harriet Beecher Stowe novel.  A decade or so later, it wound up on the desk of producer Sam Sherman at Independent-International.  Since Mandingo and Drum was still fresh on everyone’s minds, he had Al Adamson film add exploitation-minded scenes of sex and violence to make the rather dull plantation drama marketable. 

What’s interesting is that Adamson’s stuff is far and away the best thing about the movie.  The scenes of rape and revenge are more callus and cruel than the stuff found in the original version, but it’s also much more effective as it works on a baser level; one that film just didn’t even attempt to deliver on.  The subplot involving a love affair between a runaway slave (Prentiss Mouldon, who was also in Adamson’s Nurse Sherri) and a white woman (Mary Ann Jenson) who gives him shelter is surprisingly tender, and there’s a chemistry between the performers that is sorely lacking elsewhere in the picture. 

That’s not to say that the original scenes are all bad.  Herbert Lom’s performance as the despicable slave owner is magnetic enough to ensure your attention.  It’s just that the drama between him and Moorefield fails to ignite the screen the way the lovers in Adamson’s footage did.  It also doesn’t help that the old scenes are slow moving, laughably dubbed, and curiously uninvolving. 

Considering some of the patchwork jobs I’ve sat through in the past few weeks, I can safely say Adamson and company did a good job making his footage match the old.  While the appearances of his stock acting troupe is a dead giveaway, the overall effect is pretty seamless.  Sure, it may fall well short of the exploitative classic that is Mandingo, but I think Adamson’s scenes would’ve worked on their own merits as a short subject, without being beholden to the old movie. 

I’d like to add one thing that should be noted as I go through this boxset, and I think this review is the perfect place to do so seeing as the content of this movie will make many uncomfortable.  Due to constantly changing societal norms and values, many viewers will probably cringe their way through many of Adamson’s pictures (especially his ‘70s work).  Despite some of the decidedly un-P.C. stuff found in his films, Adamson employed a large number of POC actors and actresses, often time and time again.  I think that speaks volumes to who he was in real life.  I just wanted to add that to the record, just in case anyone wanted to “cancel” him based on this flick alone.

AKA:  White Trash Woman.