Frankie J. is a smooth-talking L.A. DJ on the prowl for ladies and fun, at least until his latest conquest ends up dead in his apartment. Forced to clear his name before the cops wrongly convict him, he turns amateur sleuth with the help of his jealous ex and his karate master friend. They slowly uncover a shocking conspiracy by the Chicago mob, racing to unveil the truth before they’re permanently erased.
Buy Melinda Blu-rayThe film has all of the bona fides of a prime blaxploitation project, with the ideal era (1972), a funky score by Jerry Butler and Jerry Peters, the first appearance of Jim Kelly (the karate master), and a larger-than-life lead character facing off against the corrupt outside elements destroying his neighborhood, in this case the mafia. What it doesn’t have, at least initially, is any semblance of a plot, as we follow Frankie (Calvin Lockhart) in his relaxing daily prowl without any clue of a destination. Although the movie is titled Melinda, she’s a secondary character who finally gets the narrative on track when she’s murdered in Frankie’s apartment.
From there, the story plays out about as expected, with Frankie slowly assembling the clues to build a case against the mob and clear his name. His MacGuffin is Melinda’s missing gold cigarette case, eventually revealed to contain an incriminating audio tape implicating rich racists in the assassination of a black presidential candidate. The neighborhood murder exposes a separate crime with geopolitical implications, but ultimately, it’s all about Frankie outwitting the mob and getting back to his womanizing ways.
Lockhart is perfect as Frankie, a smooth Romeo irresistible to the ladies but also sly enough to quickly transition into his sleuthing quest. As Melinda, Vonetta McGee makes a big impression in her limited screen time, not so much for her fine performance but for her eerily uncanny resemblance to Beyoncé, right down to the light eyes. Rosalind Cash doesn’t get much mileage out of her one-note jealous ex character, while Jim Kelly’s acting is abysmal in his debut, so stilted and monotone it’s a relief to get him off screen when he’s not beating up baddies.
The film is presented in 1.85:1 aspect ratio with DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono sound. Colors are fairly washed out, showing no signs of remastered color grading for this release, but the print and sound are mostly free of defects. The sole bonus feature is the original theatrical release. It’s a bare-bones release, but still a welcome arrival on Blu-ray.
