Mandingo is a 1975 American historical drama film directed by Richard Fleischer and produced by Dino De Laurentiis for Paramount Pictures. It is adapted by Norman Wexler from Kyle Onstott's 1957 novel and its 1961 stage adaptation by Jack Kirkland. The film stars James Mason, Susan George, Perry King, Richard Ward, Brenda Sykes, and Ken Norton in his film debut. It concerns the Atlantic slave trade in the Antebellum South.

In the film, cruel slave owner Warren Maxwell (Mason) orders his son Hammond (King) to marry a white woman to produce grandchildren with no black ancestry. Hammond marries Blanche (George), his cousin, who becomes jealous that he pays more attention to his Black lover Ellen (Sykes) than to his wife, leading Blanche to force the fighting slave Mede (Norton) into a sexual relationship with her. The title refers to the Mandinka people, who are referred to as "Mandingos", and described as being good slaves for fighting matches. The word is also used as a pejorative to describe a hypersexual Black man.

Upon initial release, Mandingo received negative reviews. However, retrospectively, the film's reception became much more favorable. It has been variously seen as a big-budget exploitation film made by a major studio, a serious film about American slavery, examining historical horrors committed against African Americans, or as a work of camp. Critic Robin Wood described it as, "The greatest film about race ever made in Hollywood."

Despite the film's poor critical reception, it was a commercial success and was followed by a sequel, Drum (1976), which starred Norton as a different character and Warren Oates as Hammond.

In the Deep South of the United States before the American Civil War, Falconhurst is a run-down plantation owned by widower Warren Maxwell and largely run by his son, Hammond. One of Hammond's female slaves, Pearl, reaches puberty and Hammonds duty as her master is to have her first time sexual intercourse as she is a virgin. Later, Hammond has his own regular sex slave, Dite, who he recently learns he has just impregnated. Hammond and his cousin, Charles, visit a plantation where both men are given Black women out of hospitality. Hammond chooses Ellen, who is a virgin. Both she and Hammond watch as Charles abuses and rapes the other woman, with Charles claiming that she likes it. Hammond asks Ellen if this is true, and she says no. Hammond then sleeps with Ellen.

Warren Maxwell pressures him to marry, so Hammond chooses his cousin, Blanche, who is desperate to get out of her house to escape her brother Charles. It is implied that she had an incestuous relationship with Charles. After their wedding night, Hammond is sure that she is not a virgin—a claim Blanche denies. On their way back from their honeymoon, Hammond returns to the plantation where Ellen is kept and purchases her as his sex slave. Eventually, he comes to genuinely care for her.

Meanwhile, Hammond purchases a Mandingo slave named Ganymede. Nicknamed "Mede", the slave works for Hammond as a prize-fighter. He is forced to soak in a large cauldron of very hot salt water to ostensibly toughen his skin. Hammond also breeds Mede with Pearl, even though Pearl is a blood relation of Mede's. Hammond makes a great deal of money betting on Mede's fights.

Rejected by Hammond, Blanche becomes a slovenly alcoholic who does nothing all day long. While Hammond is on a business trip alone, Blanche discovers Ellen is pregnant. Correctly assuming the baby is Hammond's, Blanche beats Ellen. Ellen flees, but falls down some stairs, and miscarries. Hammond (who had promised Ellen that her baby would be freed), returns to Falconhurst and discovers Ellen lost the baby. Threatened with bodily harm by Warren, Ellen does not tell him how she miscarried. Hammond gives Ellen a pair of ruby earrings, which she wears while serving an evening meal. Hammond gave the matching necklace to Blanche, who becomes enraged to find Ellen being publicly favored by Hammond.