Bucktown (1975)

Duke Johnson visits a small Southern town, intent on burying his brother. After the funeral, he learns that he must stay for 60 days, for the estate to be processed. A few locals convince ... See full summary »

Director:

Arthur Marks

Writer:

Bob Ellison

Stars:

Fred Williamson, Pam Grier, Thalmus Rasulala

Cast

Credited cast:
Fred Williamson	...	Duke Johnson
Pam Grier	...	Aretha
Thalmus Rasulala	...	Roy
Tony King	...	T.J.
Bernie Hamilton	...	Harley
Art Lund	...	Chief Patterson
Tierre Turner	...	Steve
Morgan Upton	...	Sam
Carl Weathers	...	Hambone
Jim Bohan	...	Clete
Robert Burton	...	Merle
Gene Simms	...	Josh
Bruce Watson	...	Bagman
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jody Maxwell	...	Topless dancer / girlfriend

Storyline

Duke Johnson visits a small Southern town, intent on burying his brother. After the funeral, he learns that he must stay for 60 days, for the estate to be processed. A few locals convince Duke to reopen his late brother's nightclub, and soon the local redneck policemen are intimidating Duke with threats of violence. Duke refuses to pay the bribes they demand, so then he and his lady friend Aretha are threatened and attacked by the crooked cops. Rather than take them on himself, Duke calls on his old pal Roy. Roy brings a few buddies to Bucktown, and they bring justice to the small town. With the redneck cops out of the way, Duke lets his guard down. Then the situation gets out of hand again. Finally, Duke must settle the score himself.

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Plot Keywords:

brother | redneck | small town | funeral | southern | 

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Taglines:

WHATEVER YOU WANT THEY'VE GOT... And Bucktown is where you'll find it!

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 July 1975 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bucktown: Panikos stin poli

Filming Locations:

Kansas City, Missouri, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Plitt Theaters

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Glen Glenn Sound)

Color:

Color (Movielab) Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

During the climatic fight between Duke and Roy, Bob Minor (doubling for Thalmus Rasulula) can be seen many times.

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Quotes

Aretha: You just don't give a damn about anybody do you?
Roy: You listen to me. You show me anybody who gives a damn about anybody else and I'll show you a fool. A damn fool! Who go through life with their hands out, begging instead of grabbing. You think anybody here in this town is any different? They don't give a damn who gets killed. Just as long as the dice keep rolling, the hoes keep hoeing, and the money keeps flowing!

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Connections

Referenced in Rich Hall's the Dirty South (2010)

User Reviews

Amusing, sleazy, action-movie.

Dean Johnson (Fred Williamson) came to Bucktown to bury his murdered brother. Dean is forced to stay in Bucktown for two months, because of his brother's will. Now Dean works on his late brother's bar, he becomes friends with a foxy lady named Aretha (Pam Grier) but he has to deal with a sleazy police force led by Chief Patterson (Art Lund) and his men. When Dean calls his best friend Roy (Thalmus Rasulala) to clean up the mess in Bucktown with the help of Roy's men. The clean up is successful and getting rid of these sleazy cops but it ain't easy. Dean slowly realized that Roy and his men are the same of the previous corrupt cops. They want money from any business in town. Now Dean becomes a one-man army to get rid of Roy and his men.

Directed by Arthur Marks (Detroit 9000, Friday Foster, J.D.'s Revenge) made an entertaining, action movie with some good laughs. Williamson is fun to watch as the lead hero. Grier is fine as Dean's girlfriend. Rasulala and Lund are strong in supporting roles. It is nice to Carl Weathers as one of Roy's tough guys in a small role.

DVD has an good anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1) transfer and an OK Dolby 2.0 Mono Sound. The DVD's only extra is the original theatrical trailer. "Bucktown" does have some good moments, some of the dialogue are extremely funny but the movie becomes laughable at times and forced at times. Despite some flaws, It's a fun "Soul Cinema" feature. (*** ½/*****).