Detroit 9000 (1973)

Director:

Arthur Marks

Writer:

Orville H. Hampton (writer)

Release Date:

1975 (Norway)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Action

Tagline:

Visit the murder capital of the world--where the honkies are the minority!

Plot:

Cops go after jewel thieves. |

Plot Keywords:

Vulgarity | Cigarette | Place Name In Title | Brothel | African American

Cast

Hari Rhodes	...	Sergeant Jesse Williams
Alex Rocco	...	Lieutenant Danny Bassett
Vonetta McGee	...	Ruby Harris
Ella Edwards	...	Helen Durbin
Scatman Crothers	...	Reverend Markham
Herb Jefferson Jr.	...	Ferdy
Robert Phillips	...	Captain Chalmers
Rudy Challenger	...	Aubrey Hale Clayton
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Sally Baker	...	Ethel
Richard Bourin
Council Cargle
Bob Charlton
Regis Cordic
Jerry Dahlmann
June Fairchild	...	Barbara
Don Hayes
Dilart Heyson
Doris Ingraham
Ron Khoury
Bob McIlwain	...	Sam Orr
John Nichols	...	Police Chief John Nichols
Ed Oldani
Davis Roberts
George Skaff	...	Oscar
Jason Sommers
Martha Jean Steinberg
Michael Tylo
Whit Vernon
Herb Weatherspoon
Woody Willis
Ernie Winstanley

Also Known As:

Call Detroit 9000 (UK)
Detroit Heat (USA) (video title)

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Canada:14A | Norway:15 | Norway:16 (1975) | UK:18 (video rating) (1986) (uncut) | UK:X (original rating) (cut) | USA:R | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Detroit, Michigan, USA

Company:

Holly Hill Productions

Trivia:

Original title was "Motown 9000", but could not be used for legal reasons.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In the shootout at the cemetery, one character's squib is visible on his neck prior to being "shot" in the neck.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Dusk to Dawn Drive-In Trash-o-Rama Show Vol. 4 (1997) (V)

Aside from the dated phrases, clothes and music this could be the present.

As a huge fan of 70's action movies, I was looking forward to seeing this, especially since it has Quentin Tarantino's endorsement. I was expecting another campy blaxploitation movie, but was very surprised that this was not the case. The film explores the politics and race relations in Detroit in the early 70's, using the repercussions of an armed robbery of a political fundraiser as a backdrop.

Aside from the funky music and 70's fashion, and to a certain extent the dialogue, this could easily be any urban area in the 90's. The media is portrayed as eager to turn this high-profile crime into a racially-motivated crime. The cops are shown as being under pressure from all sides to solve the case quickly.

As the investigation unravels, the viewer finds out that not everyone is who they seem to be. And although the end of the film is somewhat predictable, it is still entertaining.

Some of the dialogue is typical camp, and some of the acting is wooden, but the one major complaint I have with this movie is the chase scenes that are shown in immediate succession. Its almost as if the writers thought to pad the drama with some action as an afterthought. Overall, though I was very suprised by this film and the issues it attempts to address.