This downbeat crime drama fumbles and stumbles as often as it does something right...but there is some decent stuff in this movie along with the dross. Seeing that Williamson directed this, I was impressed at his attempt to portray some complicated issues and relationships in the context of a blaxpoitation movie. He didn't really succeed,but this was an interesting effort.
I am not a huge fan of Fred Williamson (too often he coasts on his good looks and charisma and too often he picks roles in crap like "Black Cobra"), but he looks good on camera and he has his moments. He can mosey down a city street with his hands in his pockets and still be at least as interesting as Sylvester Stallone flexing his pecs in any of his action flicks. So the movie has that doing for it. Plus the character is an interesting study in ambiguity - "Johnny Barrows" tries to walk the straight and narrow after being drummed out of the Army in spite of temptation from the Mob...and yet in the final half of the movie he gives in (apparently for the love of a 3rd grade Sunday School teacher) and proves quite effective at taking out the "bad" bad guys (who can be distinguished from the other bad guys because the mobsters Fred works for don't believe in running drugs and prostitution.) There are racist cops, but also decent cops who nevertheless don't do much to help.And the gas station owner who at first seems like a decent fellow and gives "Johnny Barrows" a chance, turns out to be a son-of-a-b*tch who just wants an indentured servant in place of actual slave labor.
There's lots of problems with the movie of course. The casting is a weird mix of hard working character actors and obvious amateurs and decent talents who are wildly out of place (Roddy McDowall is absolutely ridiculous and unbelievable here - he must have been desperate for work). The big love interest (the movie's Lorelei figure) is a pleasant looking young woman, but she's utterly wrong for the role and doesn't have the focus, maturity or presence to be believable as the Siren Who Betrays The Hero At The End. And the soundtrack is a major irritant - decent instrumentals support a grating, overwrought soul soprano shrieking lyrics that seem to be there to tell the audience things it already knows.
Watch this one if you simply want to see everything Williamson has even been in or every blaxploitation film ever made. Or if you have 90 minutes to kill and don't care how you kill them.
I am not a huge fan of Fred Williamson (too often he coasts on his good looks and charisma and too often he picks roles in crap like "Black Cobra"), but he looks good on camera and he has his moments. He can mosey down a city street with his hands in his pockets and still be at least as interesting as Sylvester Stallone flexing his pecs in any of his action flicks. So the movie has that doing for it. Plus the character is an interesting study in ambiguity - "Johnny Barrows" tries to walk the straight and narrow after being drummed out of the Army in spite of temptation from the Mob...and yet in the final half of the movie he gives in (apparently for the love of a 3rd grade Sunday School teacher) and proves quite effective at taking out the "bad" bad guys (who can be distinguished from the other bad guys because the mobsters Fred works for don't believe in running drugs and prostitution.) There are racist cops, but also decent cops who nevertheless don't do much to help.And the gas station owner who at first seems like a decent fellow and gives "Johnny Barrows" a chance, turns out to be a son-of-a-b*tch who just wants an indentured servant in place of actual slave labor.
There's lots of problems with the movie of course. The casting is a weird mix of hard working character actors and obvious amateurs and decent talents who are wildly out of place (Roddy McDowall is absolutely ridiculous and unbelievable here - he must have been desperate for work). The big love interest (the movie's Lorelei figure) is a pleasant looking young woman, but she's utterly wrong for the role and doesn't have the focus, maturity or presence to be believable as the Siren Who Betrays The Hero At The End. And the soundtrack is a major irritant - decent instrumentals support a grating, overwrought soul soprano shrieking lyrics that seem to be there to tell the audience things it already knows.
Watch this one if you simply want to see everything Williamson has even been in or every blaxploitation film ever made. Or if you have 90 minutes to kill and don't care how you kill them.