Also Ralph Waite's colorful duds which detective Robert Hooks is too embarrassed to be seen with riding in the front seat. Hooks has been hired by the joint heads of an illegal gambling ring (Paul Winfield and Waite) to find out who's been sticking up their joints. Hooks takes no nonsense from anyone, and that includes the uppity Waite who talks down to him.
A fighter for social justice (who actually does something about it other than complaining), Hooks takes on both the criminal element ("Mr. Big", Julius Harris, who admires him in spite of their being in opposite sides) and law enforcement (William Smithers), even though he has friends on both sides. Nice seeing the soft spoken but stern Pa Walton, Ralph Waite, playing the bad guy.
Hooks was the original "Mr. T.", and indeed he's terrific, able to react quickly and think of the impact of what he does, shooting and plotting at the same time. Plenty of vintage South Central location footage and realistic dialog that is straight from the street, sounding fresh for a 50+ year old film. I wish there was more of the sparkling Paula Kelly as Hooks' loyal wife. Not much different than other blaxploitation films of its time or even crime thrillers in general, but still a lot of fun.
A fighter for social justice (who actually does something about it other than complaining), Hooks takes on both the criminal element ("Mr. Big", Julius Harris, who admires him in spite of their being in opposite sides) and law enforcement (William Smithers), even though he has friends on both sides. Nice seeing the soft spoken but stern Pa Walton, Ralph Waite, playing the bad guy.
Hooks was the original "Mr. T.", and indeed he's terrific, able to react quickly and think of the impact of what he does, shooting and plotting at the same time. Plenty of vintage South Central location footage and realistic dialog that is straight from the street, sounding fresh for a 50+ year old film. I wish there was more of the sparkling Paula Kelly as Hooks' loyal wife. Not much different than other blaxploitation films of its time or even crime thrillers in general, but still a lot of fun.