The Devil's Son-in-Law

Despite an interest in Blaxploitation films I only came to Rudy Ray Moore fairly late in the day.  For a long time I was aware of him mainly because of his energetic voice overs for Blaxploitation movie trailers, delivered, in  what might be described as rhyming couplets, in his distinctive gruff tones.  (His narration for the Dr Black and Mr Hyde trailer is particularly memorable - 'Don't give him no sass, or he'll kick your ass!').  Eventually, as I got into the genre more, I discovered that Moore had starred in a series of his own movies (also providing the voice overs for their trailers).  These films sit somewhat outside the mainstream of Blaxploitation, being very much vehicles for his 'Dolemite' stage persona.  Indeed, the key to appreciating these movies properly lies in understanding Moore's wider significance to American black culture in the sixties and seventies.  Prior to his film career, Moore was known principally as a stand up comedian, delivering most of his material in rhyme and in the character of 'Dolemite', a pimp and comedian who has fantastic adventures.  Not surprisingly his first, self-financed, film Dolemite (1975), concerned the adventures of this character.  Against the odds - he couldn't at first find a distributor for the completed movie - it became a popular success, resulting a sequel the following year.  This film, The Human Tornado (1976), was the first of the two Rudy Ray Moore films I recently watched.  In every way a better film than its predecessor, it might also be Moore's best movie.  It is certainly a lot of fun, particularly if you are a fan of Blaxploitation.

Kicking off with a taste of Moore's stage act, as Dolemite winds up a stand up tour in front of a club audience, the action quickly moves to his Alabama mansion where he is throwing a wrap up party.  Alerted to the fact that black people are having fun by a couple of hicks, the local redneck sheriff raids the party, only to find his wife in bed with Dolemite.  Facing a trumped up murder charge, Dolemite and his cronies (who include Ernie Hudson in a very early film role) flee to LA, where they get mixed up in a turf war between their friend Queen Bee and a local gangster and rival club owner, all the while trying to evade the sheriff.  All of this, of course, is just a framework for Moore to do his thing, which includes a non-stop recitation of profane rhymes, bizarre action scenes and even more bizarre sex scenes.  The film parodies just about every cliche of the Blaxploitation genre, replicating every sort of situation you'd expect to see in such a film, but executed in deliberately over-the-top fashion.  Dolemite himself is, in effect, the ultimate Blaxploitation hero - he's a successful comedian, a flamboyant pimp, an expert martial artist and a red hot lover, (in the words of the trailer: 'He's got a dong the size of King Kong!').  Interestingly, the one thing he isn't is a drug dealer.  Indeed, unlike many other Blaxploitation titles, drugs and drug culture generally don't feature in Moore's films.  Moore's fight scenes are neat parodies of those seen in other films, with supposed trained martial artist Dolemite flailing his arms around and jumping up and down wildly as he dispatches opponents.  The sex scenes are equally OTT, particularly the sequence where he tries to extract information from the gangster's wife by shagging her so hard the entire room starts collapsing around them.

While The Human Tornado successfully (and amiably) sends up the action and crime sub-genres of Blaxploitation, the second Rudy Ray Moore film I saw turns its attention to the horror sub-genre, as represented by films like Blacula.  Like The Human Tornado, Petey Wheatstraw - The Devil's Son-in-Law (1977), is directed by Cliff Roquemore and stars Moore as a successful and popular stand up comedian.  But while this time around he might be called Petey Wheatstraw, Rudy was a one character man and, like Dolemite, he delivers his act in rhyme, dresses flamboyantly and takes time out to right wrongs in his local community.  The plot sees Petey gunned down in a dispute with rival, mob-backed, comedians, but offered a chance to return to life and avenge himself by Lucifer, in return for agreeing to marry the Devil's incredibly ugly daughter and furnish him with a grandson.  To aid him in his revenge, Satan gives Petey temporary use of his magic pimp cane, which gives him near unlimited power.  Of course, being played by Rudy Ray Moore, decides to try and double cross the Devil.  Once again, the film rides along on a wave of Rudy's profane rhyming gags, punctuated by bizarre action scenes and some supernatural set-pieces where he harnesses the power of the pimp cane to exact vengeance on his enemies, (he uses it to force his rival stand ups to direct a stream of insults at their mob patron during their act, for instance) and a scene where he bonks a bevy of she devils into exhaustion.  The film's low budget often works to its advantage, giving some scenes a surreal edge, (the devil's minions, for instance, are represented by guys in leotards, wearing fright masks - their fights with Petey and his friends are consequently quite insane to watch).  While not quite as accomplished as The Human Tornado - it lacks that film's raw energy and inventiveness - Petey Whitestraw remains an entertaining and offbeat watch.

In the final analysis, of course, whether or not you like these films is very much dependent upon whether you like the brash persona and scatological, profane and frequently offensive humour of Rudy Ray Moore himself.  Personally, I like it a lot - his humour is both witty and insightful, although not for the easily offended.  Moreover, it always seems clear that he's never taking himself or his stage persona too seriously - it's all a parody.  Moore was hugely influential for a whole generation of comics like Richard Pryor and Eddie Murphy (who played Moore in the 2019 biopic Dolemite Is My Name),  His use of rhyme in his act also earned him the epithet 'The Godfather of Rap'.  Despite the popularity of his films, by the end of the seventies he increasingly found himself playing supporting roles in other people's projects.  Frequently, he was reduced to performing cameos as Dolemite.  While he continued to perform and release comedy albums, the nature of his material ensured that he didn't get exposure in mainstream media.  Nonetheless, in no small measure thanks to his films, Rudy Ray Moore, (who passed away in 2008), retains an enthusiastic cult following.  If you haven't seen them, his films are well worth looking up.