Pam Grier was firmly entrenched as a top blaxploitation star at American International Pictures thanks to a pair of beloved Jack Hill crime films, Coffy and Foxy Brown. However, she'd had enough of the combination of T&A, bloody violence, and drugs when it came time to make her next two action vehicles, this film for Louisville, Kentucky-based filmmaker William Girdler and a glossy all-star comic book adaptation, Friday Foster. Girdler was no stranger to blaxploitation after helming Zebra Killer with Austin Stoker and the ill-fated possession film Abby, which still hasn't had a legal home video release thanks to a legal clash between Warner Bros. and AIP. The last Louisville project for Girdler, Sheba, Baby reunited Girdler and Stoker and also brought in producer David Sheldon, who would go on to oversee Girdler's biggest box office hit, Grizzly. Sadly, the young director was tragically killed three years after making this film shortly after completing The Manitou. 
on his local loan office. She teams up with her dad's business partner, Brick (Stoker), to shake down the racketeers they believe are involved, specifically a nasty hustler named Pilot (Martin, also returning from Zebra Killer) and plenty of other lowlifes. However, it soon appears that there's a larger, more sinister force at work here, forcing Sheba to slide on a wet suit and and infiltrate a swanky yacht to get to the bottom of the conspiracy. 
focus more on star power and a strong, glamorous image than bare flesh or grisly violence. That said, it's a pretty hard PG (which was common at the time) with some pretty wet blood squibs and a little toplessness that pushes the rating about as far it will go without upsetting any parental guardians. Grier seems to be having a lot of fun (she appears in almost every shot of the film) as she gets to engage in a lot of fun chase scenes (the best shot at the Louisville state fair) and pull out a gun a lot, which strangely doesn't seem to faze local law enforcement at all. Overall it's definitely weaker tea compared to the Jack Hill films, but Girdler keeps things clipping along well enough and delivers what amounts to a solid '70s action film seemingly designed to be shown on TV in the middle of the afternoon, which is usually where this ended up.
notes for the insert booklet). Between the two you get quite a bit of info about Girdler including his 
Louisville connections and how the story came about (originally with a different title), plus insight into the state of Grier's career at the time and how she got on with her director. There's a lot more about Sheldon to be found in the featurette "Sheldon, Baby," in which he chats more about his career including his start as an AIP exec up through his take on the incomplete all-star disaster that was Grizzly II. A good intro for newcomers and a solid listen for fans is the second featurette, "Pam Grier: The AIP Years," a video essay by Temple of Schlock's Chris Poggiali covering the ins and outs of her now-legendary tenure there from Black Mama White Mama through Drum. Basically if you want an in-depth bio of Grier's most famous period, this is where you want to go. Also included are the usual AIP trailer and a gallery of publicity shots and lobby cards, plus reversible cover options spotlighting a new design by Sean Phillips and the original poster art. 