Infamousta brilliant actors, brilliant editing

Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Motompa Go in cold, and you're likely to emerge with your blood boiling. This has to be seen to be believed.

Quiet Muffin This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

Mark Turner The late seventies were the heyday for the genre of film known as Blaxploitation. Action films that offered starring roles to black actors with stories urban audiences could relate to were made by low budget studies at first but once they showed they could draw an audience the larger studios jumped on the bandwagon. While male stars like Bernie Casey, James Brown and Richard Roundtree were topping the box office there was one female star that burst upon the scene as well. That she could continue to make a name for herself in more mainstream released from then until now speaks volumes about her abilities. But back then it was a combination of her sexuality and no nonsense characters that got her roles. By the time SHEBA BABY arrived Pam Grier had shone in both COFFY and FOXY BROWN. This time she toned things down enough for a PG rating but the box office still followed.Grier stars as the title character, Sheba Shayne, a top private investigator in Chicago who returns to her hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, when the mob tries to muscle in on her father's loan business. Apparently they weren't aware of who they were dealing with as Sheba deals out swift retribution for the attack on her father. Justice is dealt out street wise with little assistance from the local police and plenty from Sheba's old flame Brick (Austin Stoker). There's no need for more details than that. The genre was filled with cardboard cutout bad guys and street smart heroes that took no guff from both the police and the mob. Instead they sought to handle things on their own and did so quite well. While the films were not an attack on the established law enforcement they played up a sense of pride in community and being able to take care of oneself when it came to criminals. Characters like Sheba were defenders of all with a strong moral compass when it came to right and wrong crime wise. Grier's characters were a positive role model even if they meted out justice on their own.Many have faulted SHEBA BABY as the worst film Grier offered at the time but it holds up still and isn't near as bad as the naysayers claim. The problem is after such strong performances and stories as found in her two prior films this one isn't quite up to that standard she set. It remains a good film though.As with all Arrow Film releases, of which I am a solid fan, this one does what they do best. It offers the cleanest, sharpest and best looking rendition of the film with enough extras to keep fans entertained. Included in this release are: -Original mono audio (uncompressed PCM on the Blu-ray) -Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing -Audio commentary with producer-screenwriter David Sheldon, moderated by critic Nathaniel Thompson -Sheldon: Baby - a brand new interview with David Sheldon -Pam Grier: The AIP Years - a look over the wonder years of the Blaxploitation queen with film historian Chris Poggiali -Trailer -Gallery featuring rare publicity images and Lobby Cards -Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Sean Phillips -Booklet featuring brand new writing on the film by Patty Breen, webmaster of WilliamGirdler.com, illustrated with archive stills and postersFans of Grier and the genre will want to add this one to their collection to make it complete. If you've never exposed yourself to the genre then Grier's film are a good way to start. Perhaps one day the genre will make a comeback. Until then we have Arrow providing the best offerings of the past.

Scott LeBrun This lesser film from Pam Griers' days as a blaxploitation queen is nonetheless mildly pleasing. Because it's rated PG, it has less punch than Pams' best stuff. Some viewers will really miss the elements of sex and graphic violence. The script, by producer David Sheldon and cult director William Girdler, is somewhat less than inspired, with only one sequence - the pursuit through the carnival - that could be considered memorable. The cast is also more colourless than usual. But Pam, in her inimitable fashion, could make just about anything watchable. Hell, this is worth watching just to see her in a wetsuit.Pam plays our title character, Sheba Shayne, a Chicago-based private eye who returns to her hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. It seems that aggressive gangsters are constantly threatening her father Andy (Rudy Challenger) and his loan business, which Andy runs with Shebas' good friend Brick (Austin Stoker). Inevitably, the bad guys will have a full scale war on their hands once Sheba steps into the fray.The ever engaging Stoker of "Assault on Precinct 13" fame is a good leading man for Pam, and D'Urville Martin is lively as "Pilot", a lowlife criminal. Christopher Joy is a hoot as a peddler who for whatever reason dresses more like a stereotypical pimp. Dick Merrifield is amusing enough as smiling, smarmy white guy villain "Shark". And it's nice to see Girdler regular Charles Kissinger as a mostly ineffectual white detective. Pam is great entertainment and eye candy as always, even if her role here isn't really on a level with her most famous ones.The action scenes are passable (one comeuppance offers a spin on something we'd previously seen in "Coffy"), and the music score by Alex Brown and Monk Higgins (with vocals by Barbara Mason) is good, even if, like so much else here, it's also unmemorable.Completists of the filmographies of Pam and Girdler will definitely want to check it out, no matter if it's not their best work.Six out of 10.

utgard14 Lesser Pam Grier blaxploitation movie has Pam as Sheba, a tough private investigator who returns to her hometown of Louisville, KY to fight mobsters who are pushing her father around. While there she finds time to romance Austin 'Assault on Precinct 13' Stoker. Less gritty and sexy than Grier's blaxploitation classics Foxy Brown and Coffy. The acting is wooden, the direction amateurish, the action slow, and the dialogue lacks punch. None of this is uncommon with blaxploitation films, but this one is lacking the sex, violence, and colorful language that usually spackles over the cracks in these things. The film being shot on location in Louisville does add some authenticity and local flavor, which helps. The movie is propped up mostly just by Grier's screen presence. So completists will want to see it for sure. Those expecting something with a little more spice to it are likely to be disappointed.

tavm This is the first of there Pam Grier releases from 1975 I'm reviewing for this site. In this one, she's Sheba Shayne who's back in Louisville, Ky., in order to look over her father Andy (Rudy Challenger) after he got roughed up from some hoods at his loan collection business. Also there is his partner Brick Williams (Austin Stoker) who rekindles his past romance with Sheba. The person who ordered the job is one called Pilot (D'Urville Martin) but the real muscle comes from another one called Shark (Dick Merrifield). I'll stop there and just say that this wasn't as exciting as Ms. Grier's previous movies Coffy and Foxy Brown and since this was rated PG, there's no nude scenes of Pam and the violence is tame in comparison. Still, those action scenes were still pretty exciting especially one involving another villain named Walker (Christopher Joy) who she forces during a car wash to stick his head out the window unless he gives pertinent info. The result with the way his hair looks was the most hilarious scene to me. In summation, if you're a Pam Grier completist, 'Sheba, Baby' is at the least worth a look. Oh, and I recognized the Chicago scenes since I lived there during the first 6 years of my life with occasional visitings since then.