User reviews

After reading all the reviews about this film, I was expecting either a sleaze-fest or a camp-fest (or both), but I was pleasantly (?) surprised. Although there are undeniably exploitational elements here (incest, castrations, torture), the director doesn't really linger over them. Nobody would mistake this for a thoughtful study on the mistreatment of black slaves in early 19th-century America, but it's a surprisingly well-made film, and the recreation of the period is just fine. The major weakness of "Drum" is that the male lead, Ken Norton, simply can't act; thankfully, Warren Oates and Yaphet Kotto certainly can. Pam Grier is wasted, however, and Colicos is positively ludicrous as a gay slave-trader. (**1/2)

Overall this is a fair film. Maybe not fair to history or the actors. Ken Norton asking Yaphet Kotto if he had let Sophie touch his snake was very amusing. The use of N word has to be at least a hundred times. I found the film to be in bad taste and not for any purpose other than to exploit. At the end Warren Oates makes a statement that sums up the whole film. He says that slaves are unpredictable sometimes, just like some kind of mad critter. ** out of *****

Although a mediocre film, it showed the extent of racial discrimination in Louisiana in the past. Drum is a special black invented in the imagination of the film makers. On one hand he identifies discrimination, but on the other he tries to be a "good boy" with whites. When the revolt of slaves start he took the position of conciliation, which turned over when he saw his friend killed by whites. The end of the film is as incoherent as the drum's mother, a prostitute who had sexual relations with a beautiful black man.

For those who don't know: MANDINGO and DRUM are both adaptations of books from the Falconhurst plantation series of novels by Kyle Onstott and, later, Lance Horner. There were several books in the series; thus far I've run across about five or six of them!

DISCLAIMER: let me state right now that I am black and can totally understand how people are easily offended by these films. The thing is these films feature such sheer, unadulterated exploitation and overripe acting/dialogue that hardcore bad movie addicts will have a hard time NOT finding these films majorly entertaining! I flat-out admit that both MANDINGO and DRUM are among my favorite guilty pleasures, and I view them both as what would happen if John Waters could have gotten away with making a really sleazy soap opera set on a plantation. Some of the dialogue is so ridiculous that it's nearly impossible for me to take these films seriously at all, although the rape and torture does bring one back to the wretchedness of the situation.

Anyway, I don't know where those of you who claim that DRUM is not a sequel to MANDINGO got that idea. Warren Oates is playing the same character that Perry King did in the first film, only this story takes place about fifteen years later. He even makes veilled references to what happened at the end of MANDINGO, specifically the fates of Ken Norton and Susan George. In other words, PAY ATTENTION! And if you think this is exploitativve, go back and watch the uncut version of ROOTS again. Sure it's more "legit" than MANDINGO and DRUM, but it is every bit the exploitative soap opera that they are. For the real flavor and excellence of ROOTS, read the book.

This was the so-called sequel to "Mandingo" and its not really a sequel but another excuse for exploitation which can be fun to watch. Ken Norton is "Drum" and he can't act to save his life but his physique is so impressive and also the fact that he was a famous boxer that had beaten Muhammad Ali gives the viewer some curiosity to watch him. Warren Oates plays Hammond Maxwell and Perry King played him in the first film and its impossible for him to play it but thats only if you use logic. Oates does add some respectable acting to the film and he chews up the scenery with gusto. Oates says lines like, "My bucks got to have intercourse, the saps a risen'". Pam Grier is Regina and she's Oates bed wench. Grier has a topless scene but has very little else to do in this film. Her part is very underwritten. Yaphet Kotto is Blaise and he gives probably the best performance. I'm not sure if Kotto did this film for the money but if he didn't, he should have known better. He does his best to portray an angry slave who talks of freedom in his heart. "B" movie icon Rainbeaux Smith plays Oates daughter Sophie and she has the hots for the bucks and if they don't cooperate then she screams rape. Smith is enjoyably bratty in this role and its the type of role she spent most of her career playing. She always brought that something extra to a role. Film is shameless in its subject matter. It has gays, lesbianism, naked prostitutes, spankings, fights, slave upheaval, and of course all the actress's get undressed. "Drum" was produced by Dino De Laurentiis and its another cheesy production from him. What can you expect from a man who dared to remake "King Kong"? If you loved this on an exploitation level, I couldn't argue with you. Its hilariously bad.

I am amazed at the comments from users offended at this films content. What do they think the antebellum period was like? Do those sensitive souls imagine that plantations were run according to modern corporate standards (with human resources departments!). I think debauchery and abuse were daily occurrences. Despite its directing shortcomings, Drum is an important film that illustrates willfully ignored aspects of America's sordid history. More films depictions of this sort are needed, lest we forget.

No wonder this movie is hard to find in BOTH video stores and on your local TV Guide. Never before have I seen such ridiculous and offensive trite that made me reassess my current priorities, such as "Why am I watching this garbage when I could be outside raking the leaves?". Well, I noticed this film was being shown on one of the movie channels at 3:45am in the morning and I figured nothing could be lost by taping it. I was dead wrong.

I remember when I was younger, looking at the cheap paperback novels my mother used to own that usually involved whirlwind romances and steamy love sagas of the South, and "Drum" was one of the books in her collection. I had never seen this movie until now. Perhaps what the book may have intended was to present a story that was racially-charged and highly sexual against a backdrop of Southern influence where Belles still existed and white men were dashing and charming while black men were nothing more than rogues. None of that was to be found in the movie.

From the opening scenes to the closing credits, this film offers nothing else other than scenes of debauchery, sodomy, over-usage of the "N" word that is commonly applied to African-Americans, the words "whore" and "wench" and extremely bad acting given by everyone involved in what could have been the worst film of 1976.

Drum is the name of the titular character, played by Ken Norton (whom you may remember from similarly-themed trash, "MANDINGO"). He is an illegitimate baby, born by the white Madame of a whore-house who herself, has a steamy lesbian relationship with a black maid. To conceal this taboo and controversial secret, the two women move to Louisiana where the child will be born under the guise that the maid will be his mother.

We cut to the chase some 20 years later, although Drum himself looks like a man in his mid-30's. He is a slave who gets sold to Hammond Maxwell, a sensible yet foolish white man who courts a nasty woman and is the father of a slutty 18-year old daughter who spends her whole time during the course of the film either exposing her breasts or trying to have sex with all the black slaves. Drum's best friend is Blaise, a fellow black slave who begin a mutual friendship after being forced to battle it out in a bare-knuckle fist fight as entertainment for the 'white people'.

There really isn't much of a plot in this film. Pam Grier enters the scene as a 'bed wench' for Hammond Maxwell and love interest for Drum. Hammond's daughter stirs up trouble between Drum and Blaise by trying to have sex with both of them and then lying to her father that Blaise tried to rape her. Tension builds, emotions erupt and by the end of the movie, a mansion is on fire, the black slaves have revolted against the 'white man' wielding scythes and knives while the white men battle it out with their muskets and rifles.

I'm not really sure what kind of an audience "DRUM" was intended for. It is a mockery of history and of African-Americans whose ancestry is derived from slavery. People seeking drama won't want to watch this film because it depicts too much racism and unprovoked sex scenes. People seeking action won't find enough sequences throughout the film that will keep them interested. Even laughable one-liners such as "You are a vulgarian!" will make you groan in disbelief. Everyone else will either be too offended by the over-usage of the "N" word, the countless and endless scenes of women exposing their breasts or the offensive nature that gay men are portrayed by a devious revolting French man and his younger lover.

I found nothing in this film to give positive points towards. All the talent (if any) was wasted and Civil War historians would put this film to shame if they tried to prove any of the so-called 'facts' or farces, if you prefer, that this film tried to present. "DRUM" is not a film that we all needed 'at the time', nor is it a film anyone would want to watch today in these politically correct times. If you do happen to catch sight of it, it would be a rare moment to witness the atrocities that this film has to offer and on that note alone, I wouldn't even suggest that that spike your curiosity.

I have no idea what everyone involved was thinking when they made this movie. If giving this film 'no stars' was an option, then that would be my choice. Instead, I give it the next lowest rating... ONE STAR, and even that is being overly generous.

Followup to "Mandingo" (NOT a sequel as many believe) about slaves in the old South. It's better than "Mandingo" but that's not saying much. They upped the sex and violence even more (this movie originally got an X rating--it was heavily cut to get an R) and the story moves very quick. I was never bored but I was sickened. The blacks are whipped, beaten, shot, assaulted (by women), and the "N" word is used constantly. Also there's homophobia in here--there's a gay character who is portrayed as totally evil and meets a very sickening end (although it's staged for the audience to cheer). I almost stopped watching but I was (in a way) fascinated by seeing how disgusting and degrading a major motion picture could get.

The storyline is slight--very--I can't even remember it. Ken Norton returns from "Mandingo". He's still very muscular, very handsome and still can't act. Yaphet Kotto looks very embarrassed to be in this film but he's not bad. Pam Grier (here credited as "Pamela") has a nothing role (she's the mistress of Warren Oates) but she does what she can with it. Warren Oates is actually very good here--he's loud, obnoxious and (occasionally) hilarious. He really brings the movie to life. Everyone else is so-so.

I realize some people think this movie is great because (purportedly) it shows what slavery was like. Good for them--but I find it disturbing that anyone thinks this is a great movie. Subject matter aside, it's badly directed, looks ugly and (as I said before) has little plot. Also what's to be gained watching black men and women being tortured and humiliated? Unless you're into S&M I suggest you avoid this. A very sick movie.

"Mandingo" was a brutal film, with quite a few over-the-top scenes that would have you laughing today (not "at" it really, but laughs of "I can't believe they said that"), just for the fact that they are so blatantly non-PC and would never fly in today's political climate. "Drum," the sequel to "Mandingo," not only is much more prone to such laughter, but the actors even seem, sometimes, to be in on the goof.

"Drum" is a serious film though - brutal at times, like its predecessor - but with so much of this dialog, it is absolutely amazing the actors say all this stuff with straight faces. It is here where Warren Oates, as Hammond Maxwell (previously played by Perry King), really shines as an actor. He plays his role simply perfect - a lesser actor would have had no choice but to play the role into the realm of total farce. But somehow, amazingly, Oates finds that incredibly fine line where he is definitely part of the fun of the picture, but he still plays it straight, and not as a goof. This is no doubt one of his best roles.

In one of the film's best scenes, Oates as Hammond is outside eating with his bride-to-be, and the dialog exchange between the two just simply has to be seen, and heard, to be believed. This may even be the "funniest" scene in the film, but there is Oates, playing it just perfect.

Ken Norton, who played Mede in Mandingo, plays his son Drum here, and he still cannot act, but he's fun to watch try. Yaphet Kotto is great no matter what he does, and all the other familiar faces, especially Pam Grier, add to the festivities. Hammond gets a little profound at the very end, an ending that pulls no punches.

"Drum" is definitely a film to be seen, it's just up to you how you want to view it.

I found Drum a much more entertaining movie than Mandingo. It's got tasty nudity, saucy women, and an oversexed spoilt teen girl, where yes we see her.... It is unintentionally funny, where a lot of it, we owe to robotic Ken Norton, where again, casting people, producers, have made the mistake of putting him in the lead. He's a poor performer, surrounded by good ones, no one better than Oates, where I also liked the ruthless homosexual slaver, while Grier was really good, as was Oates's wife. Yes Drum, has sleaze slipping in, as it comes across as a cheap movie, and brief telling tale of the heartlessness of the cold hearted slavers, which on the video cover, it actually says as for selling purposes, it makes no attempt to show what the slavery trade was really like. The slavers are not any less heartless, than the ones depicted in other films. Tarantino really cut the apple to the truth with Django Unchained. Later on in the film we really meet a nasty slaver. And yes, we have two bucks, Norton and Kotto fighting, who become friends until the wicked teen daughter tries to put the hots on Kotto, where soon, yes, another castration is in the waiting. I'll be honest, Drum, is not a good film, but it is bloody entertaining to hell, with a climax I must say, I appreciated, but more so at the fact, that Oates let Drum go. I must say, Oates adds amusement as much as Norton, only the latter can't act. He's better suited in a ring, than in front of camera. Don't let there be a third lead for such a limited Norton, if only to add amusement. But on the other hand....

¨Steve Carver's Drum¨ (1975) is another sleazy sequel stars a good cast: Ken Norton, Warren Oates, Pam Grier, Yaphett Kotto, Isela Vega, made to cash in on the already exploitive ¨Mandingo¨ (1975). Exploitation film concerning the tangled loves and hates of a family and their slaves. It's the mid-nineteenth century Louisiana, exploring the declining years of a slave-breeding family, whose slaves are treated not so much like animals as humanoids, their physical intimacy with the master-race is total. Falconhurst, a run down plantation, is owned by Hammond Maxwell (Warren Oates, the same role as Perry King), who walks with a limp due to a childhood accident. Drum (Ken Norton) has been born to a white prostitute (Isela Vega) and an African-american slave, who raises him with her black lesbian lover. Drum grows up as whorehouse servant but is forced to bare-knuckle-combat with another slave named Blaise (Yaphet Kotto) for the entertainment of a white effeminate/gay slaveholder, a Frenchman named Bernard DeMarigny (John Colicos). Hammond often visits the brothel run by Marianna (Isela Vega), in fact his sexual experiences are confined to slaves and prostitutes. Marianna then introduces him Augusta Chauvet (Fiona Lewis) to work as a housekeeper at the Southern plantation. Drum and his friend Blaise, another bare-knuckle fighter, are eventually sold to plantation owner Hammond Maxwell and are both taken to his house to work. As the hunk Ken Norton is the slave who becomes himself a dutiful, long-suffering servant faithful to his white master. Regine (Pam Grier) is purchased by Maxwell as well and is taken to Falconhurst for his own personal desires as a bed wench. Maxwell's got an out of control daughter Sophie (Cheryl Smith) with raging hormones. And Hammond ultimately chooses Augusta for his wife. Meantime, the nasty plantation owner Warren Oates develops once again his old obsession for the female slaves, as well as his hot teen daughter for the bulky male Mandingos. "Mandingo lit the fuse - "Drum" is the explosion !. The white men wanted the white men wanted a stud to breed slaves- The white women wanted mush more..It scalds. It shocks. It whips. It bleeds. It lusts. It out-Mandingo's "Mandingo"! Expect The savage. The sensual. The shocking. The sad. The powerful. The shameful. Expect all that the motion picture screen has never dared to show before !. Expect the truth. Now you are ready for "Drum" !.

Overheated Southern-fried tale of slavery in the Deep South based on the novel by Kyle Onstoff. The tedious, emasculated stereotype of the Deep South circa 1850, with its stoic slaves and demure southern belles, is effectively exploted here. The film contains violence, lots of nudism, fierce fights and bad taste at at its best. Successfully captures the mood of the old pre-war South while emphasizing the horror and immorality of slavery. However, being an inferior sequel , that's why various aspects remain unfocused and much of the blame rests with the clumsy and chaotic storyline fashioned from Kyle Onstoff's postboiling bestseller: an introductory sequence takes ordinary cruderies , while 'Mandingo' was scrupulous in making of the roles themselves, and gives them the status of voice-over, thereby fatally altering the auidiences's relationshp to what is on the scream. Cameraman Lucien Ballard's 's highty evocative pictorialisation of the Falconhurst domain adds a great deal.

Stars Warren Oates as the proud and villainous slave owner, heavyweight boxer Ken Norton does his second film (the first one was Mandingo in a diffrent role) as the slave who makes his master money with his boxing prowess and Fiona Lewis plays the ambitious and vengeful lady. All of them give usually overacting to show this exaggerated story that's basically a Victorian melodrama with more than an echo of the Brontes. They're accompanied by a fine support cast, such as: John Colicos, Isela Vega, Paula Kelly, Royal Dano, Lillian Hayman, Cheryl Rainbeaux Smith and Brenda Sykes. The motion picture was unevenly directed by Steve Carver. This director utilises violence and the real sexuality behind slavery to mount a passable slice of American Gothic which analyses , in appropriately lurid terms, the twists and turns of a distorted society. Filmmaker Carver is an expert on action/thriller genre such as ¨Capone¨, ¨Big Bad Mama¨, ¨Steel¨, Drum¨ and directed two successful hits for Chuck Norris as ¨Lone McQuade¨ and ¨An eye for eye¨. His last films have been failed as ¨The wolves¨, ¨Dead center¨ and this ¨River of death¨ . Rating : 5/10 average . Too ridiculous for the complexity to be worth watching .

The original Madingo is a little better but not too much, it was starred by James Mason, Perry King, Susan George, Brenda Sykes and Ken Norton. Where he performed Mede, similarly, actress Brenda Sykes, plays Ellen in the first film and Calinda in the second. However, actress Lillian Hayman portrayed the same role, Lucrezia Borgia, in both films. This ¨Mandingo (1975)¨ is one of a large number of 1970s and 80s productions about slavery, made both cinema and TV, along with: ¨Roots¨ (1977) based on Alex Haley's novel; ¨Slavers¨ (1977) by Jurgen Goslar; ¨Ashanti¨ (1979) by Richrad Fleischer; ¨Drum¨ (1976) by Steve Carver, ¨Huckleberry Finn¨ (1974) by J. Lee Thompson; ¨Goodbye uncle Tom¨ (1971) by Gualtiero Jacopetti, Franco Prosperi; ¨Uncle Tom's Cabin¨ (1977) by Al Adamson that's really a retreaded of the film ¨Uncle Tom's Cabin¨ (1965) by Géza von Radványi; ¨Mandinga¨ by Mario Pinzauti; ¨A Woman Called Moses¨ (1978); ¨Raíces: the next generations¨ (1979); ¨The Fight against slavery¨ (1975) by Evan Jones; ¨Master of Dragonard Hill¨ (1987) and ¨Dragonard¨ (1988) by Gérard Kikoïne .

I got a copy of it from one of those "avant garde" type video shops that pride themselves in having the hard to find stuff.

You can see this movie without having seen the pre-quel,"Mandingo" and not lose much understanding, since they make almost no references to what happened in the first movie. In fact, the plantation owner's white daughter was not in the first movie, so it really doesn't follow at all (she was in the novel "Mandingo"). Those who thought Mandingo was trashy will really be howling when they see this one....Warren Oates and the woman playing his daughter play for laughs in the middle part of the movie...(that actress went on to make X-rated movies and then dropped out of acting altogether by the mid 80s). John Colicos plays an evil homosexual....I like the overdone white trash talk though (" OH PAW! You ain't gonna marry that uppity bitch!) Great camp. Ken Norton acts like a mannequin most of the movie.....(" He might kill Blaize...or even worse, castrate him" - said with a totally expressionless face). And the dinner conversation is hilarious. ("Son I gonna give you Regine. How long you figger it take you to knock her up?). (" Miss Augusta, you jes got to get used to the fack that Falconhurst is all about n****r fornicatin'. If'n my n****rs stop fornicatin', we stops eatin'.)

Regine: You likes big titties, don't you Mistah Maxwell?

Hammond: Oh you knows I likes big titties.

Regine: Well Miss Augusta, she got BIIG titties.

And I repeat - this is supposed to be a serious movie.

The movie is in that "so bad it's good" category. Check it out, if you have a hankerin' for that genre.

A word like "lurid" just doesn't do justice to this low-grade movie. This is a sequel to 'Mandingo' (today's marketing geniuses would have simply called it 'Mandingo 2'), but it's not necessary (or advisable) in the least to have seen that film to understand this one. The makers of 'Drum' shamelessly exploit every racial/sexual myth and taboo they can think of. Any depiction of brutality against slaves is not designed to point out the evils of that institution, but is merely there to add salaciousness. The story takes place mostly on a plantation in New Orleans whose business is slave-breeding. The talk is almost all about fornication, miscegenation, castration, etc. Subtlety is not this movie's forte.

There are some normally good actors here, like Warren Oates, but he doesn't come off too well as the plantation master. Another fine actor, Yaphet Kotto, has a thankless task here as one of the "bucks." As for Ken Norton in the title role; well, as an actor he was a great heavyweight boxer. One might get a little kick out of Fiona Lewis' campy performance; or a fan of '70's drive-in flicks might be interested to note the presence of Rainbeaux Smith. That's not much, but that's all I can strain to think of to recommend this movie.

It's hard for me to understand what kind of audience this movie was intended for. Nowadays fans of trashy films will no doubt have a great howl over it. More sensitive souls may be appalled wondering what kind of amoral, cynical persons are responsible for turning out sleaze like this. The large group of people in the middle will just go on ignoring it. That's good.

Compare and contrast a film like this to 12 YEARS A SLAVE or even DJANGO UNCHAINED and you'll see the startling shift in cinema over the past 45 years. Back then in the Blaxploitation era, studios were just waking up to the value of catering to African American audiences as well as others curious about other kinds of stories than their own. The 70's also gave us the Mondo genre of fake documentaries including the surprisingly good GOODBYE UNCLE TOM created more as a shock piece. It did however give us an era of renewed interest in the history of American slavery though mainly for exploitation vs. educational purposes. The resulting films would vary widely in quality all the way from the groundbreaking "Roots" miniseries to films such as this which celebrated the grit and sleaze just as much as they shamed it.

Steve Carver certainly graduated from the Roger Corman school of film-making, not letting 5 minutes go by without nudity, violence, or lots of severe uncouth language that would result in the actors being cancelled and de-platformed off of social media today. Just imagine if John Colicos or Warren Oates were alive and on Twitter today? Then we'd get a window into all kinds of their political opinions until someone dug up one of their many hilariously profane and socially unacceptable lines from this film and used it against them.

The modern media landscape makes the fact that films like this even exist even more refreshing in an age where GONE WITH THE WIND comes with a disclaimer at the start. There's absolutely nothing heavy-handed in its message and it tells a simple story about the tough life of a slave who had to cope with the fact that he lived in relative luxury as a house servant vs. many of his peers in the fields. Ken Norton's performance comes off as stilted, awkward, and lacking in range in many scenes but it gives his character a likable everyman quality. Yaphet Kotto of course acts circles around him, as does Warren Oates, and Carver manages to get us to like them as well. This is no easy feat in a film dealing with such dark subject matter. Things move along pretty quickly at the start and finish and ultimately deliver a lot more action and violence than expected.

My main complaints are that DRUM lulls and loses focus through the center portion and there's a lot of obvious goofs in the editing such as the re-use certain shots and several characters who die multiple times. The body doubles used for Kotto and Norton during a punishment scene don't quite match them either, with Kotto suddenly in much better shape and Norton in far worse. Watch for one of the best knife fights of the 70's where we really get a good sense of how sharp the blade is, plus some surprisingly realistic depictions of 1850's fashion and architecture. Sure the sets looks like sets but they allow for some interesting staging and fight choreography.

Overall I'd give this one a strong recommendation for fans of 70's shock cinema, grindhouse, and exploitation up there with something like HELL UP IN HARLEM or THE RISE AND FALL OF IDI AMIN. The ending especially brings us 10 minutes of outrageous insanity up there with the best of Tarantino (who certainly watched this and kept much of it in mind for DJANGO UNCHAINED).

I shared Michael Elliott's opinion of MANDINGO (1975) but I can't say that I do the same for his take on its sequel, DRUM (1976). While I concede that it's a (slightly) better film - it's not as dull as its predecessor, nor does it take itself so seriously - I feel that the exploitation elements are even more pronounced this time around. There is a lot more nudity in DRUM (its sexual perversions extending to both male and female homosexuality!), for instance, and the plot is even tawdrier: John Colicos is a campy gay French trader who wants to bed black stud Ken Norton - unbeknownst to him, the son of a white woman who just happens to be the madam of the most popular brothel in the area, and where all the various parties converge: including Warren Oates as the elder version of the character played by Perry King in MANDINGO, his puritanical(!) future wife Fiona Lewis and Colicos himself, whose unruly slave Yaphet Kotto is made to fight Norton but subsequently becomes his pal. Besides, there's Cheryl "Rainbeaux" Smith as Oates' horny teenage daughter who's after every colored male in the household! The version I watched (from the R2 DVD) featured a somewhat faded pan-and-scan print: again, being 100 minutes long, the film seems to have suffered some edits - even when taking into consideration the NTSC to PAL conversion factor - from the official length of 110 minutes; in fact, Mike's description of the climax - which I didn't find excessively violent - suggests that it may have been trimmed somewhat.

I personally enjoyed this film quite a bit. It is a rare classic and a gem of all gems. Before you view this, I suggest that you come in expecting pure camp and over the top scenes. None of it should be taken seriously.

I can watch this one over and over. Ken Norton gives a performance only Ken Norton can give. Yappet Kotto is a genius in this one. The fight scenes are better than the original. This film is actually on a completely different level than it's predecessor, Mandingo. Where Mandingo is more serious in tone, this film does not take itself seriously. It's one laugh after another.

It is a shame that we don't have an official release in the US. Guess Hollywood is too PC these days. Bunch of wimps if you ask me.

'Drum' is the kinda sorta sequel to 'Mandingo', a movie that tried to walk a fine line between being a "serious" drama and a silly but fun exploitation movie. The director this time around is Steve Carver who made the trash classics 'Big Bad Mama' and 'The Arena', and he doesn't even attempt to disguise the Drive-In feel of this one. Ken Norton once again stars but plays a different character than in 'Mandingo'. Warren Oates plays Hammond Maxwell who Perry King played in the first movie. The idea that they are the same man is totally ridiculous and unbelievable, but once you can get over that hurdle you are in for a good time. Oates is outrageously amusing but without resorting to the hamminess that James Mason brought to 'Mandingo'. He is simply a joy to watch, as an uncouth but charming slave owner, and is the number one reason to hunt down this movie. Oates terrific performance more than makes up for Norton's dull turn. Also very good is Yaphet Kotto ('Blue Collar') as Drum's friend turned enemy Blaise, also one of Oates' slaves. Kotto is excellent (as usual) and it's a pity he wasn't the star instead of Norton. Fiona King ('The Fury') plays Oates' wife to be and is entertaining, as is Rainbeaux Smith ('Caged Heat') as Oates slutty daughter (a similar role to Susan George's in 'Mandingo' but much more enjoyable). Also noteworthy is John Colicos ('The Postman Always Rings Twice') as a very evil and camp slave owner who vows to kill Drum who spurns his salacious advances. The impressive cast also includes blaxploitation legend Pam Grier ('Black Mama, White Mama') who sadly doesn't have all that much screen time, and Oates 'Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo Garcia' co-star Isela Vega, who doesn't have much more. 'Drum' is pure exploitative trash and proud of it. If you take it in that spirit and not as a serious study of racism in 19th century America you'll enjoy it immensely. Especially when watching Warren Oates in one of his most enjoyable and underrated performances. This movie is essential viewing for all Oates fans.

The most interesting thing about DRUM are the fight scenes (of course), but there are far too few (and they're far too short) to hold one's attention for long. Once again we have Ken Norton playing, well, Ken Norton. The filmmakers toss in just about every tawdry twist they can conceive, but it doesn't necessarily make the movie any more watchable; it's bottom-of-the-barrel exploitation for the sake of bottom-of-the-barrel exploitation, nothing more. More's the pity: Norton showed some potential as an actor. As a fighter, he made the most of a golden opportunity when he broke Muhammad Ali's jaw in their first fight. Although Norton didn't come close to winning the second or third fights (all 3 are on YouTube; check them out for yourself), he gave a good account of himself. Boxers gave him trouble (Ali, Jimmy Young and Larry Holmes handily out-boxed him), as did real punchers (George Foreman, Earnie Shavers, and Gerry Cooney all but decapitated him en route to easy knockout wins and he passed on a rematch with Foreman and heavy hitters like Ron Lyle and Joe Frazier were never on his list of folks to fight). He's gone, now, but he's in good company. As boxing trainer/commentator Teddy Atlas recently put it: "They've got a heck of a stable Up There."