Paul Talbot

Mondo Mandingo: the Falconhurst Books and Films Paul Talbot

In 1957, the novel "Mandingo" stunned readers with its lurid, unforgettable tale of Falconhurst-a pre-Civil War slave-breeding plantation where unspeakable acts of sex and brutality took place everyday between the masters and slaves. Over the next three decades, "Mandingo" sold millions of copies worldwide and spawned thirteen official sequel books as well as dozens of paperback imitators. The big-budget movie version of 1975 was one of the biggest hits of the year, as well as one of the most reviled films of all time. Now, for the first time, the complete history of the bizarre "Mandingo" phenomenon is told, including: the life of the eccentric author Kyle Onstott and the scandalous true stories that inspired him; the two writers who continued the Falconhurst series; and the background of the disastrous Broadway adaptation. Also covered extensively (including deleted scenes and alternate cuts) is the making of the "Mandingo" film and the production of the sequel, "Drum" as well as several other "slavesploitation" and "spaghetti Mandingo" movies. "Mondo Mandingo: The Falconhurst Books and Films" is exhaustively researched and contains dozens of rare illustrations and photographs plus exclusive, candid interviews with director Richard Fleischer, actor Ken Norton, and many others.