RIP Tamara Dobson — Chained Heat

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All Hail Cleopatra! Everyone goes on and on about Pam Grier. Well, Pam certainly was the central female figure in the blaxploiation era, but there was one woman who could've always kicked her butt, and I do mean literally, and that woman was Tamara Dobson. A 6'2" model-turned-actress who actually did study karate, Dobson will always be enshrined in movie history for one role, Cleopatra Jones, that she played in two pretty mediocre action flicks, "Cleopatra Jones" (1973) and "Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold" (1975) starring Funhouse interview subject Stella Stevens as a villainous bitch who tangles with Tamara before the picture is over (Ms. Stevens recounted to us how much fun she had doing her own stunts with Ms. Dobson in their final "duel").
I could've offered up a scene or two from either of those memorable shit-kickers, but thought it was more important to show that Ms. Dobson infiltrated the consciousness of a later generation of exploitation addicts like myself with an appearance in the wondrously depraved (but decently budgeted, considering) women-in-prison bliss called "Chained Heat" (1983). It's the film that firmly established Linda Blair as an exploitation star ("Born Innocent" no more). The cast is a truly dazzling array of name performers, with Stella Stevens as the uncaring, corrupt "captain" of the prison, John Vernon ("Dean Wormer" from "Animal House") as the warden, the always invincible Henry Silva as a gangster, Teutonic wondergirl Sybil Danning as the racist "Queen Bee" who takes on Tamara in a knife-fight, and Carole Ita White ("Rosie Greenbaum" from Laverne and Shirley, Jesse White's daughter!) as a tough chick who Tamara literally just knees outta the way. The picture is a sleazy blast from start to finish, and the statuesque (you didn't think I'd get through an entire piece on her without using that word, did you?) Ms. Dobson was one key reason.
Ms. Dobson died at 59, from multiple sclerosis and pneumonia. She remains an icon, though, and will live on as long as people admire no-nonsense Afros, dazzling primary-colored ensembles, and dominant women who can take on and vanquish several men at once (and Shelley Winters, but we won't go into that).

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• Chained
• Heat
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• Blair
• Sybil
• Danning
• women's
• prison
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• fight
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• Funhouse

[VinceBow]

RIP Tamara Dobson aka Cleopatra Jones.

[mazaradiflash]

Never saw this movie. Prison women in real life don't look anything like these women. Real Prison women are the most hideous looking monsters around.

[danning1]

@harlemcasino Me, too. Note my username.

[DJy2kmalone]

THIS MOVIE WAS THE SHIT BACK IN THE DAY OMG I SEEN IT ON THE BIG SCREEN AND ON VHS I LOVE THE 80'S

[harlemcasino]

I had the biggest crush Sybil Danning as a kid!!!!

[plateshutoverlock]

Moco would kick all of their buts if they even looked at Chris

[jemokups]

i used to do this scene with my cousins haha i'am the black girl! " don't you walk away from me you chalk faced wh***"!

[tall32guy]

:20, my favorite part! LOL I love the way the black lady says "Yahhhdd!" LOL

[UniversalBoog410DDH]

@VinceBow SHE FROM MY HOMETOWN, B-MORE

[danning1]

You can look at this movie either one of two ways: unspeakably bad or side-splitting campy fun. I really think it might be the most enjoyable of all those trashy women's prison flicks of the 80s.

[doointhedoo]

lame fight

[dalessiozz]

i love cybill and tamara!