Black Fist (1975)

User Rating:

4.9/10   

Directors:

Timothy Galfas
Richard Kaye

Writers:

Richard Kaye (additional sequences)
Tim Kelly (writer)

Release Date:

February 1975 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama

Tagline:

You Know Where He's Comin' From!

Plot:

To make money, a Los Angeles street-fighter goes to work for gangsters. |

Plot Keywords:

Gangster | Pool Hall | Barber Shop | Streetfighting | Blaxploitation

Cast

Richard Lawson	...	Leroy Fisk
Annazette Chase	...	Florence
Philip Michael Thomas	...	Fletch & Boom Boom
Robert Burr	...	Logan
Dabney Coleman	...	Heineken (Cop)
Charles L. Hamilton
Denise Gordy
Richard Kaye
Ed Rue	...	Avon
John Wesley		(as John Wesley Rodgers)
Ron Carson	...	Big Henry
Al Checco	...	Fleichman
Joseph Ruskin
Carolyn Calcote
Morris Buchanan		(as Morris Buchannan)

Also Known As:

Bogard
Get Fisk (USA) (reissue title)
Homeboy (USA) (bootleg title)

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

France:-16 | Norway:18 | USA:R (re-rating) | USA:X | UK:18 (cut) | Iceland:16 | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Trivia:

Despite one of the original titles being "The Black Streetfighter", this film bears no connection to Sonny Chiba's series of martial arts pictures, including Gekitotsu! Satsujin ken (1974) (The Streetfighter) and Onna hissatsu ken (1974) (Sister Streetfighter).

Movie Connections:

Featured in Dusk to Dawn Drive-In Trash-o-Rama Show Vol. 3 (1996) (V)

We should start a blaxploitation movie watcher club

I actually bested an earlier writer's bargain by buying this brand new in a shrink wrap for $1 at a dollar store. I regret that the cover art is a close up face pic that is generic and close up to where he looks like anybody else with an Afro and full mustache. I much more prefer the super hero pic that is sported on this page. The movie was middling, not as stellar as Shaft, Truck Turner and Superfly, but certainly above Fred Williamson's Joashua AKA Black Rider, which had it's potential retarded by one of the most inept music scores of all time. Black Fist has a competent soundtrack moving from a Liza Minelli/ Barbara Streisand sound alike crooning an opening homage to the lead character then moving to lush instrumentals with violins that would have made Barry White proud. The lead star looks familiar. In my case, I recently saw him in Burt Reynold's Stick, but I was surprised to find that he has only treaded on notoriety playing in many TV shows. He is somewhat similar to the guy who played on WXRP in Cinncinatti as well as The Brother from the Love Boat, which also makes him seem familiar. I thought his hero was decent with the exception of an opening scene that seemed out of character in which he stuttered when first confronted but then nonsensibly and unexplainably he was confident and confrontational seconds later ( a blooper perhaps). Speaking of bloopers, there is a scene early on when the Gerald Levert looking henchman pulls a gun on Leroy and behind him and clearly in site you see a second yes man who has a gun pointed at the Levert lookalike. It is subtle, but makes no sense 1 henchman pointing a gun at his partner. Perhaps improvised by an overzealous actor who wanted to extend his limited screen time. The actress who plays the love interest is more than adequate for an overall good film.