| Lady Cocoa | |
| Director: | Matt Cimber |
| Starring: | Lola Falana |
| Music: | Luchi De Jesus |
| Cinematography: | Ken Gibb |
| Editing: | Bud Warner |
| Distributor: | Dimension Pictures |
| Runtime: | 93 minutes |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
Lady Cocoa (also known as Pop Goes the Weasel) is a 1975 low-budget American blaxploitation crime drama that was directed by Matt Cimber. With Lola Falana in the title role, the film also featured Millie Perkins, Alex Dreier, Gene Washington and Joe Greene. It was released by Moonstone Entertainment, and written by George Theakos.
The film tells the story of a woman (Lola Falana) who is released from jail for 24 hours prior to testifying against her ex-boyfriend (James A. Watson Jr.) and is placed in police protection for that timeframe. The film mimics the plot-line in theoretically the first blaxploitation movie, Carmen Jones. Adjustments are made to that traditional story so that the protecting officer does not meet a pathetic end nor that our heroine nastily lose her life to him.
Linda Gross of the Los Angeles Times called Lady Cocoa "a slick, predictable, but well-made blaxploitation film."[1] Joe Baltake, writing for the Philadelphia Daily News, complimented Falana's performance but called the film "a flimsy, boring situation comedy," concluding: "It's dumb, but Lola makes it palatable."[2]