Penitentiary
1979
3.5/10
I’m stuck down here in South Cali at a dock. I’m a day late for a live on load so they have me on call. Gotta wait while they take care of all the scheduled appointments today before they get to me….so I decided to watch a flick saved on my tubi account.
The last time I watched this flick was on VHS back when I was in the ARMY in the late 80s. It’s considered a sleeper, cult classic and was released during the end of the 70s blaxploitation era.
I will say it does a decent depiction of showing mofos with no fighting skills in fight sequences thru-out the film. Usually with films they have a fight choreography director, watching this film it’s pretty obvious they just let the actors go at it. It does add to the realism.
The film has a unintended “Gay” vibe to it. There is a number of scenes with the men topless and oiled up, it’s supposed to be sweat, but these cats look like they are at a Sean Combs “Freak Off” party.
For the Gay Agenda Trackers, in addition to the above, there is an openly gay BM character who is seen through out the film. Other gay BM characters are shown. Nothing sexual is shown.
After watching this flick, I was reminded on why I never watched it again. tubi has a clean copy.
tubi has “Penitentiary 2”, Jayne Kennedy co-stars, so I’m gonna have to watch it. HaHa!!!
Synopsis
Hitchhiker Martel "Too Sweet" Gordone (Leon Isaac Kennedy) gets a lift from prostitute Linda (Hazel Spears) in her van and travels with her to meet her clients. After a fight breaks out with the men, Gordone is knocked unconscious and awakens to find he has been wrongly charged with murder. As a way to protect himself in prison, Gordone starts fighting other inmates. This leads him to discover an underground boxing tournament, with the top prize being a prison release.