My reason for making "Sheba, Baby" priority viewing over all the other Blaxploitation films and Pam Grier vehicles was purely personal, namely the involvement of director William Girdler. I'm fascinated by his short but fruitful career. To enter the world of soul cinema as a 24-year-old white director and immediately being able to cast Pam Grier after the huge success of both "Coffy" and "Foxy Brown" is an achievement that at least demands for a little respect. Sure the film itself has no patch on the two aforementioned titles, but it's a decent and engaging film. The plot is extremely standard, with Pam as a tough Chicago private eye returning to her hometown of Louisville because the local organized crime network there violently moves in on her father's modest but traditional loaning company. The matters get really personal when Sheba narrowly escapes a car bomb which was meant to kill her stubborn father. Sheba rolls up the malignant network from the bottom of the ladder (miserable couriers and hired assailants) all the way to the top (sly and sleazy white guys on yachts). Pam acts as mean and looks as yummy as she always does, with a wide selection of tight and revealing outfits as well as various hair styles. There are some nice and nasty bits of violence (including a virulent and blood-soaked gunfight inside the loan agency which makes the PG-rating rather questionable), a funky soundtrack, vivid dialogs and a ravishing and sexy Pam Grier. Did I mention Pam Grier already?
Review of 'Sheba, Baby'
