Willie Dynamite (1974)

Director:

Gilbert Moses

Writers:

Ron Cutler (screenplay)
Ron Cutler (story)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

Ain't no one crosses WILLIE "D"

Plot:

A social worker tries to get a pimp to change his ways. |

Plot Keywords:

Pimp | 1970s | Pimpmobile | Urban Decay | Detective

Cast

Roscoe Orman	...	William Andrew Short aka Willie Dynamite
Diana Sands	...	Cora
Thalmus Rasulala	...	Robert Daniels
Joyce Walker	...	Pashen
Roger Robinson	...	Bell
George Murdock	...	Celli
Albert Hall	...	Pointer
Norma Donaldson	...	Honey
Juanita Brown	...	Sola
Royce Wallace	...	Mrs. Short - Willie's Mother
Judith M. Brown	...	Gorgia
Marilyn Coleman	...	Connie
Mary Charlotte Wilcox	...	Scatback
Marcia McBroom	...	Pearl
Jack Bernardi	...	Willie's Lawyer

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

USA:R

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Goofs:

Continuity: When Willie is talking to Cora at the end of the movie, there is a light scar along his right cheek. As he's leaving her apartment, the scar not only gets noticeably worse, but additional scars also mysteriously appear on his forehead and nose. Yet when Willie comes out of the apartment building to see his car being towed, all of the scars are gone.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "TCM Underground: Willie Dynamite/Sweet Jesus, Preacherman (#1.61)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

King Midas

Different from the rest!

The ad and plotline for this movie may give you the impression that Willie Dynamite is a typical blaxploitation actioner with heavy doses of violence and sex but that is not the case. Willie Dynamite deals with a NYC pimp (Orman) who must deal not only with the police and a dedicated social worker (Sands), but also his fellow pimps who resent his increasing level of power within the city. There is not much in the way of nudity or blood or even profanity. During the last third of the movie, the story switches gears as both Orman and Sands go through some major changes which cause them to alter their outlook and approach to their lives. In doing this, Willie Dynamite goes in a different (and less sensational) direction than many films of this period chose to go. The film also takes on a higher level of believability which helps to bring the two main characters to life. Both Orman and Sands are impressive in their roles. It is sad to note that Sands died shortly after making this as she was a very talented woman. Orman, believe it or not, went on to become a staple on TV's Sesame Street as Gordon! Now that's a change of pace. His fur coats and fur hat add some unintentional laughs to the story, though at the time this was made, they were probably in vogue. In fact, Willie Dynamite has a great early 70s ambiance that many of the bigger movies of the time did not contain. Willie Dynamite may not be the best known of the blaxploitation genre but it deserves more attention than it got.