Black Snake is a 1973 American

Cinema of the United States

The cinema of the United States, also known as Hollywood, has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...

 film directed by Russ Meyer

Russ Meyer

Russell Albion "Russ" Meyer was a U.S. motion picture director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, editor, actor and photographer....

. It was Meyer's return to self-financed projects, following the end of his brief deal at 20th Century Fox

20th Century Fox

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...

. Meyer's only attempt at the Blaxploitation

Blaxploitation

Blaxploitation or blacksploitation is a film genre which emerged in the United States circa 1970. It is considered an ethnic sub-genre of the general category of exploitation films. Blaxploitation films were originally made specifically for an urban black audience, although the genre's audience...

 genre, it was filmed in Panavision

Panavision

Panavision is an American motion picture equipment company specializing in cameras and lenses, based in Woodland Hills, California. Formed by Robert Gottschalk as a small partnership to create anamorphic projection lenses during the widescreen boom in the 1950s, Panavision expanded its product...

 and was the first feature ever shot on location in Barbados

Barbados

Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...

.

A period piece about colonial slavery, the plot centered around Lady Susan, a cruel slave-owner and plantation

Plantation

A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...

 mistress, and her domination of both the black and white men on the island. Anouska Hempel

Anouska Hempel

Anouska Hempel, Lady Weinberg , born Anne Geissler, is a film and television actress turned hotelier and designer. She is also a noted figure in London society.-Personal life:...

, a New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

-born actress well known in the UK, was cast at the last minute when Meyer's original lead fell ill.

Meyer was dissatisfied with the film, and for years afterwards he complained of Hempel's unsuitability for her part. In the late 1990s Hempel, now Lady Weinberg, bought the British rights; since then it has not been seen on UK television, though it has been released on DVD there.

Black Snake has also been released under the title Sweet Suzy.