Three Way

 

 

 (wikipedia)

THREE THE HARD WAY-1974-Record producer Jimmy Lait (Jim Brown), PR man Jagger Daniels (Fred Williamson) and Kung Fu guy Mr. Keyes (Jim Kelly) team up to rescue Jimmy's wife (Sheila Frazier) from the clutches of the racist madman Monroe Feather (Jay Robinson) and his mad scientist pal (Richard Angarola) who's created a secret formula to destroy all our black brothers and sisters. There's lots of fights and shootouts. Keyes gets help from his Asian friend (David Chow). Later Feather has a party where his Aryan troops all wear Guardian Angels like red berets. Despite the overwhelming numbers the trio invades Feather's citadel and destroy everything and everybody. Alex Rocco, Jeanie Bell, Irene Tsu and Roberta Collins have small roles. The weirdest part is the three topless women Jagger hires to torture a hit man. 

Director Gordon Parks, Jr. keeps the movie going at a fast pace despite the thin plot. It could have been better but seems the selling point were the three stars themselves. Parks' best-known film is SUPERFLY (1972). He made THOMASINA & BUSHROD the same year as THREE. He only completed one more film after this as he was killed in a plane crash over Kenya while making a film called “Revenge”. It was later finished by another director and re-titled THE BUSHWHACKERS. He was 44 years old.

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Gunn

BLACK GUNN-1972-Gunn (Jim Brown) is the owner of a slick club whose brother Scotty (Herbert Jefferson Jr.) is involved with the Black Action Group, a radical faction run by Seth (Bernie Casey). He also has some stolen mob ledgers. A mob boss (Stephen McNally) puts Russ Capeli (Martin Landau) who fronts as a used car dealer in charge of getting the ledgers back. Psycho thug Krigley (Bruce Glover) and cohort Rico (William Campbell) beat up parking attendant/informer Sam Greene (MLB pitcher Vidal Blue). A congressman Carl Adams (Gary Conway) can't get a table at Gunn's club and his bigoted friend Winman (Keefe Brasselle) starts a fight and gets thrown out. Adams associate Toni (Luciana Paluzzi; THE GREEN SLIME) can't persuade Gunn. After Scotty is killed Gunn wants his killer who turns out to be Krigley. Gunn beats him up. He goes after Capeli but is captured and tortured. Fortunately the BAG Bros come to the rescue. 

The crazed ending features a bloody shootout, a car chase, explosions and Capeli being set on fire. It ends with Gunn being arrested. Deacon Jones plays himself and Timothy Brown is also in it. This all star blaxploitation crime drama by England born Robert Hartford-Davies who before coming to the US had directed CORRUPTION with Peter Cushing. He followed up GUNN with another blaxploitation movie (also made in the US) THE TAKE with Billy Dee Williams.

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Devil's Island

I ESCAPED FROM DEVIL'S ISLAND-1973-Le Bras (Jim Brown; also in SLAUGHTER'S BIG RIP-OFF the same year), a convict is saved from the guillotine and given a life sentence on Devil's Island instead where guards make bets on fights between prisoners. It's run by a one armed commandant (Paul Richards) and 2 sadistic guards. Another convict Davert (Christopher George) is the leader of a communist faction who Le Bras feels saved his life. Le Bras devises an escape plan with 2 other cons JoJo (Rchard Ely) and Dazzas (James Luisi) and Davert is kind of forced to go with them. On their tiny raft they are driven back to the island by sharks and flee into the jungle where they are taken in by a group of lepers. Later they are captured by local natives and Le Bras is chosen to be the new husband for the wife of a man he killed. Once again they escape by raft and somehow make it back to civilization. Dazzas is arrested for stealing but Le Bras and Davert use fireworks to make their escape.

I ESCAPED FROM DEVIL'S ISLAND is one of the last movies directed by the legendary William Whitney who's career began in the late 1930's. He did many low budget serials and westerns plus movies featuring Zorro, The Lone Ranger and Dick Tracy. Although he entered TV in the 50's he still occasionally made a feature film (like MASTER OF THE WORLD with Vincent Price in 1961). Here he does the best with what he has on the film's obviously low budget and fast paced schedule. The story by Richard L. Adams (who'd also pen THE SLAMS starring Brown the same year) is sadistic and far fetched but the two leads manage to keep it going.

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Prison Escape

RIOT-1968-Three convicts (Jim Brown, Gene Hackman and Mike Kellin) take over the isolation unit of a (real) Arizona prison after their failed attempt at a breakout and pretend they are leading protests over the conditions and treatment of their fellow prisoners. Brown as Cully Briston is the only level headed one and he roughs up some cons who want to kill some hostages. He also has a dream that he lives in a mansion surrounded by beautiful women. Red Fraker (Hackman) is the brains behind the plan who knows of a secret tunnel which could be the key to their freedom. Later Cully gets most of the inmates drunk on homemade hooch. An American Indian named Surefoot (Ben Carruthers) causes trouble that leads to several deaths in this violent but fairly realistic prison drama. Big Jim is the only one to actually escape and according to the movie is “still at large”. Gerald S. O'Loughlin plays a mean prison guard who's beaten to death. 

Director Buzz Kulik used a real prison and inmates for this action filled but hardly remembered little flick made several years before Hackman became a star with THE FRENCH CONNECTION (1971) and Brown struck blaxpolitation gold with SLAUGHTER and it's sequel. Director Kulik worked primarily in TV (since the early '50's; he directed at least 9 TWILIGHT ZONE episodes) but around this time made several features. He later made many well known TV movies (BRIAN'S SONG, BAD RONALD, FROM HERE TO ENTERNITY mini-series). 

RIOT is based a novel by Frank Elli and screenwriter James Poe also penned THE SHOOT HORSES DON'T THEY the same year. At the time he was married to Barbara Steele.

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The Slams

THE SLAMS-1973-"Why'd ya do Curtis? Ya know you can't mess with the man".  Jim Brown is Curtis Hook who's thrown in jail after a botched robbery. The mob has put a contract out on him because he took drugs and money from them in the robbery. "This shit is crazy" Hook declares after being attacked. 


Ted Cassidy (TV's lovable Lurch on THE ADDAMS FAMILY) is Glover, a sadistic inmate who pours molten metal on a squealer. Frank DeKova (TV's lovable Wild Eagle in F-TROOP) is Capiello, a very mean imprisoned gangster who wants Hook to work for him. Since Hook is sitting on a lot of stolen money everyone is on his case including a corrupt captain (Roland Bob Harris). Added to this he's in between a racial prison war. His girlfriend Iris (Judy Pace) tries to help Hook through Mr. Barney (Paul Harris), a pimp surrounded by several topless women who says what Hook really needs is a "good white Jewish lawyer"! It gets more far fetched as it progresses ending with Hook's big escape and he and Iris living happily ever after on their tainted money. 


This forgotten blaxplotation pic was made the same year as Brown's better known SLAUGHTER'S BIG RIP-OFF. Also with Quinn Redecker (also in SPIDER BABY) as the warden, Dick Miller in a small humorous role as a cab driver, Jan Merlin and John Lupton in one scene. 


Director Jonathan Kaplan made other features like TRUCK TURNER, OVER THE EDGE and HEART LIKE A WHEEL before going into TV (ER, LAW & ORDER). Gene Corman produced this MGM release.


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Hard Riding

TAKE A HARD RIDE-1975-This is like a spagetti western mixed together with a blaxplotation movie and it kind of works.

Just before cattle boss Morgan (Dana Andrews) dies he entrusts a large sum of money to his hired hand Pike (Jim Brown) who promises to deliver it back home across the Mexican border. Bounty hunter Kiefer (Lee Van Cleef) gets wind of the journey and decides to go after the money. Along the way, Pike picks up a cigar smoking gambler (fellow ex-football player Fred Williamson), a widow (Catherine Spaak) and her mute Indian servant (Jim Kelly!). Later they also take in a little boy.

Kiefer teams up for a while with a preacher/gunfighter (Ronald Howard in his last movie role). Barry Sullivan is a local sheriff and Harry Carey Jr., Robert Donner and Charles MacGregor are also featured. There's a lot of gunfights but the short fight between Brown and Williamson is pretty bad.

Van Cleef (a really great screen villian) was a very busy actor in Europe in the mid '70's. Brown, Williamson and Kelly (and MacGregor) had all been in Gordon Park's THREE THE HARD WAY the year before. Williamson directed the first two of his many low budget movies in 1975, the seldom seen DEATH JOURNEY and the comedy western ADIOS AMIGO (co-starring Richard Pryor).

Director Antonio Margheriti (credited as Anthony Dawson) keeps things going at a good clip and even throws in some humor. Margheriti (who died in 1990) worked in every movie genre' including the cannibal gore of INVASION OF THE FLESHHUNTERS.

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