Reviewed By
Ryan McDonald

Analysis
Continuing my excursion into 70s exploitation films, I thought I should touch on at least one film from the blaxploitation movement. Instead of being boring and discussing my (admittedly great) love of "Shaft", I thought I'd choose a film that whilst one of the more well-known and commercially successful blaxploitation films, is not really considered high-art.

Black Caesar may have all the blaxploitation trappings (pimp suits, big hats, black vs. corrupt white plot etc) that many consider dated (not me, I'd take this over John 'Enough with the two guns and inexplicable doves already' Woo anyday) and it may have some technical problems associated mostly with a low-budget and inexperienced cast, but at the end of the day, this has more food for thought than even the most entertaining and well-known entries into this sub-genre ("Shaft" and "Coffy" come to mind). In fact, this glib, uncompromising character study of a true anti-hero is less of a blaxploitation actioner than a 70s version of the 30s gangster pics that often starred Edward G. Robinson or George Raft.

At the top of the attributes of this film is the startling lead performance of former NFL star Fred 'Hammer' Williamson. His Tommy Gibbs is the antithesis of super-cool ladies' man PI John Shaft (Damn Right!) and more in tune with Ron O'Neal's Youngblood Priest, the drug dealer looking to set himself up for life before he gets out of the business in the similarly grim but exciting "Superfly". Not only does Williamson (never my favourite blaxploitation lead actor I must say, that'd be Richard Roundtree or Isaac Hayes) impress more than in any of his other films (including his vanity projects, his subsequent director-producer-star efforts), he actually uses his obvious love for himself and his arrogance to help create this mostly unlikeable but totally fascinating character. He's a shoe-shine boy beaten by a corrupt cop who grows up to be a gangster hell-bent on gaining control of the streets and getting his revenge. Williamson predictably oozes charisma and even has some humorous moments (especially early on. I mean, are we expected to take lines like this seriously?- 'The Streets are a Jungle, McKinney. And it takes a Jungle-Bunny to Run it!'- great stuff). He does not, however, shy away from the unglamorous, ruthless, and even abusive elements of his character.

The supporting cast is quite uneven, with the shrill Gloria Hendry ("Black Belt Jones", "Live and Let Die") as the long-suffering girlfriend doing better in her musical performance than in her frequently overdone acting. Making up for her deficiencies, however, is the thoroughly vile performance by character actor Art Lund, as a real boo-hiss villain. He plays the antagonistic, racist cop who torments Tommy from a very early age. You're likely to cheer when he gets his dues, being beaten and forced to sing 'Mammy' with boot polish on his face, a truly bravura moment. Also look out for the performances of D'Urville Martin (director of the terrible blaxploitation cult film "Dolemite"), Julius Harris ("Superfly", "Live and Let Die", "Shaft's Big Score"), and Minnie Gentry, as Gibbs' childhood friend- a faux priest, his estranged father, and his servant mother, respectively. Martin has one extraordinary scene where he seemingly starts to believe in his role as a priest and ability to communicate with God. There's lots of anger, sadness and resentment in the scenes between Gibbs and Harris, and Gentry is heartbreaking as she tells her son that taking her away from her job would be useless because it's all she knows.

I've never seen his popular film "It's Alive" but of all the Larry Cohen films I have seen, this is among his most ambitious (despite the budget) and his best (though I have a soft spot for "Uncle Sam", which he wrote the screenplay for. Isaac Hayes was great in it, even if it was silly). Though not without flaws, the film has some extraordinary sequences. For instance, there is a scene where Williamson and his 'brothers' mow down a bunch of spaghetti-eating mafia guys. The sequence starts with typical Nina Rota type music before moving into the hard funk music, at once parodying mafia movies and updating them for the Soul Cinema era.

The two greatest scenes, however, are the aforementioned 'Mammy' bit, which is gloriously melodramatic and over-the-top in delivering a political message (probably the best marriage of audience pleasing and political/racial message I've seen). Secondly we have the finale, which uses handheld cameras better than I've seen before and since and has one of the most startling, downbeat endings I've ever seen.

Finally, we have the music by The Godfather of Soul himself, James Brown. I've not once heard Brown belt out any of these tunes in concert but I still say his opening and closing theme "Down and Out in New York City" is his finest ever work, and the entire score is a funktastic masterpiece that rivals (but does not surpass) the work of Isaac Hayes on "Shaft".

Key Area	Rating (out of 5)	Comment
Action		Some chases and gunfire, but this isn't one of the more action-oriented blaxploitation films (though action is the genre you're most likely to find it under at the video store).
Tension		With the volatile, seething Williamson on hand, you never know if he's going to explode, especially in his scenes with Hendry and Lund.
Violence/ Gore		Gangster style violence!
Bare Flesh		Gloria Hendry offers a blink-and-you'll-miss-it boob shot once or twice.
Plot		An interesting update of "Little Caesar", quite an involving character study.

Verdict One of the standouts in a much loved yet equally maligned subgenre. Funky, corny, scathing, funny, and powerful all at once.

Movie Pictures (Click picture to enlarge)