Up Tight! (1968)

Director:

Jules Dassin

Writers:

Jules Dassin (writer)
Ruby Dee (writer)

Release Date:

28 December 1968 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

A man on the run. A life at stake. A people about to explode.

Plot Keywords:

Remake | Blaxploitation | Independent Film | Based On Novel

Cast

Raymond St. Jacques	...	B. G.
Ruby Dee	...	Laurie
Frank Silvera	...	Kyle
Roscoe Lee Browne	...	Clarence
Julian Mayfield	...	Tank Williams
Janet MacLachlan	...	Jeannie
Max Julien	...	Johnny Wells
Juanita Moore	...	Mama Wells
Dick Anthony Williams	...	Corbin
Michael Baseleon	...	Teddy
Ji-Tu Cumbuka	...	Rick
John Wesley	...	Larry
Ketty Lester	...	Alma
Robert DoQui	...	Street Speaker
Leon Bibb	...	Mr. Oakley

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:M

Filming Locations:

Cleveland, Ohio, USA

Company:

Marlukin

Trivia:

Jules Dassin wanted to remake the 1935 film "The Informer" with an all-black cast, set in inner-city America. The original story was based on the Irish rebellion against the English. Dassin felt it mirrored black-white relations in the 1960s.

Movie Connections:

Version of The Informer (1929)

Excellent story set in a grim post-riot Cleveland circa 1968

I saw "Up Tight" yesterday (3/25/08) at the Cleveland Cinematheque. It is an interesting, but violent, story about a person who "snitched" on a criminal. The 1968-vintage scenes from Cleveland, ranging from downtown to the steel mills to a post-riot Hough, as well as other east side inner city scenes, is both historic and breathtaking. As a lifelong Clevelander, I enjoyed comparing the 1968-vintage east side scenes to what they look like today, especially the scene at East 55th and Woodland, which is desolate today compared to how it looked in 1968-the Cleveland Trust bank building is now a vacant lot, the Shell station is currently on its third rebuilding, the Sohio station now the site of a post office, the "Saveway" gas station...which advertised 28.9 cent gas!!!...now the site of a fish and chicken restaurant-that was once a Burger King...so many changes over 40 years. Seeing "Tank" going out on the town, buying everyone rounds at the bar with the stolen money, then staggering drunk all over Cleveland broke, makes this film a must-see. I also liked the scene where guns were stolen from a warehouse, with the old-geezer security guard chasing them, then falling. I also liked the scenes, as well as the old pinball machines and shoot-em-up games, at that arcade in the film, which, I believe, was once at East 105th and Euclid. A lot of easily recognizable locations if you are a lifelong Clevelander, or have once lived in the area around the time this film was shot. Sadly, this film was rarely seen since its December, 1968 theatrical release...I would love to see Paramount release this piece of Cleveland cinematic history to DVD someday. I highly recommend it.