Abar, the First Black Superman
| Abar, the First Black Superman | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Frank Packard |
| Produced by | J. P. Joshua |
| Written by | K. Walter Smith (scenario) |
| Screenplay by | James Smalley |
| Starring |
J. Walter Smith Tobar Mayo Roxie Young |
| Cinematography | Ronald Víctor García |
| Edited by | Jack Tucker |
Production company |
Jos-To Productions |
| Distributed by |
Mirror Releasing Xenon Productions |
Release date |
|
Running time | 102 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Abar, The First Black Superman is a 1977 blaxploitation film.[1] When it was released on VHS in 1990, it was re-titled In Your Face.
Plot
Upon moving into a bigoted neighborhood, the scientist father of a persecuted black family gives a superpower elixir to a tough bodyguard, who then becomes a superpowered crimefighter.
Cast
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Production
The film was the brainchild of James Smalley, a black pimp from Louisiana, and Frank Packard, a white actor and screenwriter; it was filmed partly in a working whorehouse. Smalley ran out of money before the film was completed, and had to sell the film to the owner of a film processing lab to settle his unpaid bills.[1]
Originally titled SuperBlack, it was completed in 1975, but not released until 1977, under the name Abar, The First Black Superman; it would be renamed again for VHS release as In Your Face. Its original release was very limited, primarily to what was known as the "Chitlin' Circuit" of Southern drive-ins.[1]
The film was shot in the Baldwin Hills and Watts neighborhoods of Los Angeles without permits to do so, and at one point actual motorcycle gang members who had been hired to play a black motorcycle gang surrounded the cars of the white police officers who had been called in to shut down shooting. The officers chose to stay in their cars.[1]
References
External links
- Abar, the First Black Superman on IMDb
- Abar, the First Black Superman at the TCM Movie Database
- Abar, the First Black Superman Trailer on YouTube