Willie Dynamite (1974)

Director:

Gilbert Moses

Writers:

Ron Cutler (screenplay) and
Ron Cutler (story)
(more)

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 | Violence | Heart Attack | Narcotics | New York City

Cast

Roscoe Orman	...	Willie
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	...	Willie's Mother
Judith Brown	...	Gorgia (as Judy Brown)
Marilyn Coleman	...	Connie
Mary Charlotte Wilcox	...	Scatback
Marcia McBroom	...	Pearl
Jack Bernardi	...	Willie's Lawyer
Ted Gehring	...	Sergeant
Ron Henriquez	...	Cyrus
Wynn Irwin	...	Bailiff #1
Nathaniel Taylor	...	Sugar
Ken Lynch	...	Judge #1
Davis Roberts	...	Judge #2
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Tol Avery	...	Business International Association Television Speaker (uncredited)
Jophery C. Brown	...	Thug / Bailiff (uncredited)
Robert DoQui	...	Baylor the Pimp (uncredited)
Jac Emil	...	Pimp (uncredited)
Leslie McRay	...	Competing Prostitute (uncredited)
Jeffrey Sayre	...	Conventioneer (uncredited)
Olan Soule	...	Conventioneer arrested in Vice Raid (uncredited)
Alan Weeks	...	Photographer (uncredited)

Directed by
Gilbert Moses

Writing credits
Ron Cutler		(screenplay)
Ron Cutler		story
Joe Keyes Jr.		story

Produced by
David Brown	....	producer
Richard D. Zanuck	....	producer

Original Music by
J.J. Johnson

Cinematography by
Frank Stanley

Film Editing by
Aaron Stell

Art Direction by
John T. McCormack

Set Decoration by
Claire P. Brown

Costume Design by
Bernard Johnson

Production Management
L.B. Merman	....	unit production manager (as Doc Merman)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jim Hogan	....	first assistant director (as James Hogan)
William Holbrook	....	second assistant director

Sound Department
Dennis C. Salcedo	....	optical sound recordist

Stunts
George Santana	....	stunts

Animation Department
Gilbert Moses	....	animator (as Gilbert Moses III)

Production Companies

• Universal Pictures

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1974) (USA) (theatrical)
• Universal Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)

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:

Spoofed in Black Dynamite (2009)

Soundtrack:

Willie D.

Not your average pimp film.

Willie Dynamite is most certainly one of the most flamboyant pimps to ever grace the screen and his "stable" of beautiful women are frequently scantily clad, but don't let the smooth taste fool you, Willie Dynamite is not your average pimp film.

"Willie Dynamite" was at times thought-provoking, frequently intense and entertaining throughout. Watching Willie Dynamite fall from pimp grace makes for some interesting drama.

Roscoe Orman is great as the fallen pimp and Diana Sands is brilliant as always but there is much to be said about the performance of the young Joyce Walker, Willie's newest and most inexperienced 'treat'. This film's motto seems to be 'even an old dog can learn new tricks' as each of the main characters undergo some form of transformation before the credits start rolling.

8/10 stars