Definitive Blaxploitation List (in Chronological Order)
by zachrykse | created - 02 Dec 2016 | updated - 6 months ago | PublicHere is the list of films that I personally would place under the blaxploitation genre. There are a few that aren't really blaxploitation, ones that were marketed or edited later as such, but I feel like they should still be included for the history of it (notes have been added to those). Clearly the genre is basically four strong years with over thrity films made each year. This being from '72 to '76, and in the middle of that, '74 having the most. There is definitely a certain style though that starting in '70 and lasted till '82 for me. The beginning of the genre has some crossover with some women in prison type films, and the end of the list is aided by kung fu crossover titles. No TV movies have been added, as I feel they don't fit with the genre. Two films could not be added to the list for some reason, maybe because they are pornos. These titles however have a lot going for them, with music even being made specifically for the features. This is why I felt these needed to be on the list. There are 8 features that are deemed lost (though there are 2 of those that have been found, but not seen by the public). Of course the list is always up for debate.
Total Count: 235 films
Breakdown of Years:
1970: 08 films
1971: 09 films
1972: 35 films
1973: 34 films
1974: 41 films *could not be added to the list below: Lialeh (1974, January 9th)
1975: 34 films
1976: 31 films *could not be added to the list below: Tongue (1976, February)
1977: 17 films
1978: 09 films
1979: 08 films
1980: 01 film
1981: 04 films
1982: 03 films
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1. Tick, Tick, Tick (1970)
G | 100 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Racial tensions threaten to explode when a black man is elected Sheriff of a small, racially divided town in the deep south.
Director: Ralph Nelson | Stars: Jim Brown, George Kennedy, Fredric March, Lynn Carlin
Votes: 1,361 | Gross: $1.24M
...tick...tick...tick... (1970, January 9th)
2. Halls of Anger (1970)
GP | 96 min | Drama
An all-black inner city school has to become an integrated school. Few dozen white kids are transferred there, but the black students are aggressively opposed to this. The school then approaches a tough black teacher for help.
Director: Paul Bogart | Stars: Calvin Lockhart, Janet MacLachlan, Jeff Bridges, James A. Watson Jr.
Votes: 436
Halls of Anger (1970, April 29th)
3. The Landlord (1970)
PG | 112 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
At the age of 29, Elgar Enders (Beau Bridges) "runs away" from home. This running away consists of buying a building in a black ghetto in the Park Slope section of Brooklyn. Initially, his ... See full summary »
Director: Hal Ashby | Stars: Beau Bridges, Lee Grant, Diana Sands, Pearl Bailey
Votes: 3,086 | Gross: $0.96M
The Landlord (1970, May 20th)
4. Cotton Comes to Harlem (1970)
R | 97 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
Two Harlem cops investigate a robbery, believing that a reverend has staged it in order to steal the money he's collected for a local fundraiser.
Director: Ossie Davis | Stars: Godfrey Cambridge, Raymond St. Jacques, Calvin Lockhart, Judy Pace
Votes: 2,687 | Gross: $4.39M
Cotton Comes to Harlem (1970, May 27th)
5. Watermelon Man (1970)
R | 100 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
Jeff Gerber, a racist white man, wakes up one morning to discover that he has become black.
Director: Melvin Van Peebles | Stars: Godfrey Cambridge, Estelle Parsons, Howard Caine, D'Urville Martin
Votes: 2,868 | Gross: $1.50M
The Watermelon Man (1970, May 27th)
6. They Call Me Mister Tibbs! (1970)
GP | 108 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
In San Francisco, a high-priced call girl is murdered and the case is assigned to Police Lieutenant Virgil Tibbs.
Director: Gordon Douglas | Stars: Sidney Poitier, Martin Landau, Barbara McNair, Anthony Zerbe
Votes: 4,369 | Gross: $5.12M
They Call Me Mister Tibbs! (1970, July 8th)
7. Black Angels (1970)
R | 87 min | Action, Drama
When an African-American biker gang is tricked into believing that a white biker gang is planning a war, all hell breaks loose.
Director: Laurence Merrick | Stars: Des Roberts, John King III, Linda Jackson, James Whitworth
Votes: 178
Black Angels (1970, October 14th)
8. The Red, White, and Black (1970)
GP | 77 min | Action, Romance, Western
A recruit joins an all-black cavalry regiment led by a white man in the post-Civil War West.
Director: John 'Bud' Cardos | Stars: Robert DoQui, Isaac Fields, Barbara Hale, Rafer Johnson
Votes: 86 | Gross: $0.52M
The Red, White, and Black (1970, December 16th)
9. Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song (1971)
R | 97 min | Action, Crime, Drama
After saving a Black Panther from some racist cops, a black male prostitute goes on the run from "the man" with the help of the ghetto community and some disillusioned Hells Angels.
Director: Melvin Van Peebles | Stars: Melvin Van Peebles, Hubert Scales, John Dullaghan, Simon Chuckster
Votes: 5,865 | Gross: $15.18M
Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song (1971, April 23rd)
10. The Big Doll House (1971)
R | 95 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
Beautiful female prisoners are abused in a Philippine prison until five of them plot an escape by taking the evil female warden hostage with reluctant help from two male fruit vendors.
Director: Jack Hill | Stars: Roberta Collins, Pam Grier, Judith Brown, Brooke Mills
Votes: 3,093 | Gross: $10.00M
The Big Doll House (1971, April 30th)
11. Shaft (1971)
R | 100 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A crime lord hires black private eye, John Shaft, to find and retrieve his kidnapped daughter.
Director: Gordon Parks | Stars: Richard Roundtree, Moses Gunn, Charles Cioffi, Christopher St. John
Votes: 21,025 | Gross: $16.69M
Shaft (1971, June 25th)
12. Black Chariot (1971)
90 min | Drama
Young black man joins a black nationalist group, which is betrayed by a turncoat.
Director: Robert Goodwin | Stars: Bernie Casey, Barbarao, Richard Elkins, Paulene Myers
Black Chariot (1971, June) *lost
13. Speeding Up Time (1971)
90 min | Action, Drama
A poet seeks revenge on the criminal responsible for the death of his mother.
Director: John Evans | Stars: Winston Thrash, Pamela Donegan, Ellen Brown, Ojenke
Votes: 22
Speed Up Time (1971, July 16th)
14. The Bus Is Coming (1971)
GP | 109 min | Drama
A young black soldier returns home to Los Angeles from combat in Vietnam to find out that his brother had been killed by a gang of racist cops. Angered, he joins a black nationalist group to take his revenge.
Director: Wendell Franklin | Stars: Mike B. Sims, Lonnie Bradford, Stephanie Faulkner, Burl Bullock
Votes: 82
The Bus Is Coming (1971, July)
15. Women in Cages (1971)
R | 81 min | Action, Crime, Drama
American women prisoners in a foreign country. Sex and action.
Director: Gerardo de Leon | Stars: Judith Brown, Roberta Collins, Jennifer Gan, Pam Grier
Votes: 1,937
Women In Cages (1971, October 20th)
16. The Organization (1971)
PG-13 | 106 min | Action, Crime, Drama
In San Francisco, Police Lieutenant Virgil Tibbs helps a group of idealistic vigilantes expose a drug ring controlled by powerful businessmen.
Director: Don Medford | Stars: Sidney Poitier, Barbara McNair, Gerald S. O'Loughlin, Sheree North
Votes: 2,159 | Gross: $1.50M
The Organization (1971, October 20th)
17. Honky (1971)
R | 92 min | Drama, Romance
Sheila, an affluent black teenager, begins dating working class white teen Wayne, and asks him for help to sell a kilo of marijuana.
Director: William A. Graham | Stars: Brenda Sykes, John Neilson, Maia Danziger, Lincoln Kilpatrick
Votes: 151
Honky (1971, November 26th)
18. Fritz the Cat (1972)
X | 78 min | Animation, Comedy, Drama
Fritz drops out of college, starts a riot in Harlem and hits the road with an ex-girlfriend before getting mixed up with domestic terrorists.
Director: Ralph Bakshi | Stars: Skip Hinnant, Rosetta LeNoire, John McCurry, Judy Engles
Votes: 14,337 | Gross: $25.00M
Fritz The Cat (1972, January 25th)
19. Embassy (1972)
PG | 90 min | Crime, Drama
A Russian spy penetrates into the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon to try to kill a Soviet defector under asylum there.
Director: Gordon Hessler | Stars: Richard Roundtree, Chuck Connors, Marie-José Nat, Ray Milland
Votes: 152
Embassy (1972, February)
20. Georgia, Georgia (1972)
R | 91 min | Drama, Romance
Georgia, an African-American singer, travels to the Swedish city of Stockholm for a performance. There, she meets an American deserter and soon they have fallen in love. But Georgia's ... See full summary »
Director: Stig Björkman | Stars: Diana Sands, Dirk Benedict, Minnie Gentry, Roger Furman
Votes: 130 | Gross: $0.46M
Georgia, Georgia (1972, March 10th)
21. The Legend of Nigger Charley (1972)
PG | 98 min | Western
A slave kills a white man in self-defense and heads West towards freedom, pursued by a professional slave hunter.
Director: Martin Goldman | Stars: Fred Williamson, D'Urville Martin, Don Pedro Colley, Thomas Anderson
Votes: 501 | Gross: $1.95M
The Legend of *beep* Charley (1972, March 17th)
22. Buck and the Preacher (1972)
GP | 102 min | Adventure, Drama, Western
A wagon master and a con-man preacher help freed slaves dogged by cheap-labor agents out West.
Directors: Sidney Poitier, Joseph Sargent | Stars: Sidney Poitier, Harry Belafonte, Ruby Dee, Cameron Mitchell
Votes: 2,686 | Gross: $3.03M
Buck and the Preacher (1972, March 17th)
23. Cool Breeze (1972)
R | 101 min | Crime, Drama
Thalmus is the leader for a group of criminals who gather in L.A. to rob a bank. Their goal is to find a new bank.
Director: Barry Pollack | Stars: Thalmus Rasulala, Judy Pace, Julian Christopher, Lincoln Kilpatrick
Votes: 415 | Gross: $1.18M
Cool Breeze (1972, March 22nd)
24. Trouble Man (1972)
R | 99 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A neighborhood "problem solver" is framed for murder by a couple of local crime bosses trying to get him out of the way.
Director: Ivan Dixon | Stars: Robert Hooks, Paul Winfield, Ralph Waite, William Smithers
Votes: 1,605
Trouble Man (1972, April 14th)
25. The Final Comedown (1972)
R | 83 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Black revolutionaries take action in the white suburbs.
Director: Oscar Williams | Stars: Billy Dee Williams, D'Urville Martin, Celia Milius, Maidie Norman
Votes: 446 | Gross: $0.16M
The Final Comedown (1972, April)
26. Top of the Heap (1972)
R | 90 min | Drama
A D.C. black cop is pushed over the edge when he is passed over for a promotion, leading him on a violent personal crusade against criminals punctuated by feverish psychedelic dream visions.
Director: Christopher St. John | Stars: Christopher St. John, Paula Kelly, Florence St. Peter, Leonard Kuras
Votes: 398 | Gross: $0.26M
Top of the Heap (1972, June 2nd)
27. Shaft's Big Score! (1972)
R | 104 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Shaft is back to find the murderer of an old friend on the cold hard city streets with a little help from his new friends.
Director: Gordon Parks | Stars: Richard Roundtree, Moses Gunn, Drew Bundini Brown, Joseph Mascolo
Votes: 3,595 | Gross: $10.00M
Shaft's Big Score! (1972, June 8th)
28. A Place Called Today (1972)
X | 103 min | Drama
Racial tensions arise when a black lawyer runs for mayor of a racially divided town.
Director: Don Schain | Stars: J. Herbert Kerr Jr., Lana Wood, Cheri Caffaro, Richard Smedley
Votes: 80
A Place Called Today (1972, June 15th)
29. The Hot Box (1972)
R | 88 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Hot action and lust in the steamy tropical jungle, as heroines break out of a women's prison and start a local revolution.
Director: Joe Viola | Stars: Carmen Argenziano, Andrea Cagan, Margaret Markov, Rickey Richardson
Votes: 392
The Hot Box (1972, June 23rd)
30. Come Back Charleston Blue (1972)
PG | 100 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
Sequel to Cotton comes to Harlem. Another bad influence is hitting Harlem and Gravedigger and Coffin Ed are the two cops who will stop it. Charleston Blue was a prohibition era black ... See full summary »
Director: Mark Warren | Stars: Godfrey Cambridge, Raymond St. Jacques, Peter De Anda, Percy Rodrigues
Votes: 358 | Gross: $0.34M
Come Back, Charleston Blue (1972, June 29th)
31. Sign of Aquarius (1970)
R | 95 min | Drama, Musical
A group of hippies who live together in a communal apartment are arrested during a peace demonstration. Upon their release, they return home to discuss plans for another demonstration. That... See full summary »
Director: Robert J. Emery | Stars: Paul Elliot, Gabe Lewis, Jim Coursar, Nick Kleinholz III
Votes: 84 | Gross: $0.13M
Ghetto Freaks (1972, June) *re-marketed as blax, c:1970
32. The Thing with Two Heads (1972)
PG | 91 min | Comedy, Sci-Fi
Doctors are forced to transplant the head of a dying, racist surgeon onto the body of a black death row inmate.
Director: Lee Frost | Stars: Roosevelt Grier, Ray Milland, Don Marshall, Roger Perry
Votes: 2,926
The Thing with Two Heads (1972, July 19th)
33. Bone (1972)
R | 95 min | Comedy, Drama, Thriller
When a criminal breaks into the Beverly Hills home of a wealthy couple having marital problems, he unwillingly provides the spouses with an unlikely resolution to their conflicts as well as a solution to his own secret problem.
Director: Larry Cohen | Stars: Yaphet Kotto, Andrew Duggan, Joyce Van Patten, Jeannie Berlin
Votes: 1,375
Bone (1972, July)
34. The Big Bird Cage (1972)
R | 88 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Grier and Haig are thieving mercenaries who engineer a prison break from the outside.
Director: Jack Hill | Stars: Pam Grier, Anitra Ford, Candice Roman, Teda Bracci
Votes: 3,015
The Big Bird Cage (1972, July)
35. Super Fly (1972)
R | 91 min | Action, Crime, Drama
The daily routine of cocaine dealer Priest who wants to score one more super deal and retire.
Director: Gordon Parks Jr. | Stars: Ron O'Neal, Carl Lee, Sheila Frazier, Julius Harris
Votes: 8,592
Super Fly (1972, August 4th)
36. Melinda (1972)
R | 109 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Frankie Parker, a womanizing DJ in LA, meets new girl in town, Melinda, falling hard for her. When she's murdered in his apartment, he is framed for it - an ex-girlfriend and a karate class to help find her killer and clear his name.
Director: Hugh A. Robertson | Stars: Calvin Lockhart, Rosalind Cash, Vonetta McGee, Paul Stevens
Votes: 317
Melinda (1972, August 16th)
37. Blacula (1972)
PG | 93 min | Fantasy, Horror, Romance
An 18th-century African prince, turned into a vampire by Dracula, finds himself in modern-day Los Angeles.
Director: William Crain | Stars: William Marshall, Vonetta McGee, Denise Nicholas, Thalmus Rasulala
Votes: 7,862 | Gross: $3.00M
Blacula (1972, August 25th)
38. Slaughter (1972)
R | 92 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Slaughter, a former Green Beret, avenges the killing of loved ones by the Mob, and in so doing is coerced by the Feds into traveling to Mexico to finish off surviving mobsters.
Director: Jack Starrett | Stars: Jim Brown, Stella Stevens, Rip Torn, Cameron Mitchell
Votes: 1,315
Slaughter (1972, September 12th)
39. Hammer (1972)
R | 92 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A Los Angeles dock worker becomes a boxer but his crooked manager is involved in various rackets and he's working for the mob.
Director: Bruce D. Clark | Stars: Fred Williamson, Bernie Hamilton, Vonetta McGee, William Smith
Votes: 751
Hammer (1972, September 20th)
40. The Night of the Strangler (1972)
R | 88 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
In New Orleans, a relationship between a black man and a white girl leads to a string of murders.
Director: Joy N. Houck Jr. | Stars: Micky Dolenz, James Ralston, Michael Anthony, Chuck Patterson
Votes: 385
The Night of the Strangler (1972, October 1st)
41. Hickey & Boggs (1972)
PG | 111 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Bill Cosby and Robert Culp ("I Spy") are united again as private eyes in this Walter Hill-scripted "film noir." Searching for a missing girl, they find themselves involved with vicious criminals and precipitating a string of deaths.
Director: Robert Culp | Stars: Bill Cosby, Robert Culp, Ta-Ronce Allen, Rosalind Cash
Votes: 1,382
Hickey and Boggs (1972, October 4th)
42. Black Girl (1972)
PG | 97 min | Drama
An aspiring dancer and her wicked sisters resent their mother's love for a foster daughter.
Director: Ossie Davis | Stars: Brock Peters, Claudia McNeil, Leslie Uggams, Louise Stubbs
Votes: 557 | Gross: $0.41M
Black Girl (1972, November 9th)
43. The Limit (1972)
PG | 90 min | Action, Crime, Drama
In Los Angeles, black motorcycle police officer Mark Johnson patrols gang-infested neighborhoods with his white partner and best friend, Jeff McMillan. One afternoon, Mark has a run-in with... See full summary »
Director: Yaphet Kotto | Stars: Yaphet Kotto, Quinn K. Redeker, Virgil Frye, Corinne Cole
Votes: 40 | Gross: $0.03M
The Limit (1972, November 10th) *lost
44. Across 110th Street (1972)
R | 102 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Two New York City cops go after amateur crooks who are trying to rip off the Mafia and start a gang war.
Director: Barry Shear | Stars: Anthony Quinn, Yaphet Kotto, Anthony Franciosa, Frank Adu
Votes: 7,145 | Gross: $3.60M
Across 110th Street (1972, December 19th)
45. Hit Man (1972)
R | 90 min | Crime, Drama
An ex-cop discovers that his brother's recent death is intertwined with both the Los Angeles underworld and the city's porno movie scene.
Director: George Armitage | Stars: Bernie Casey, Pam Grier, Lisa Moore, Bhetty Waldron
Votes: 1,089 | Gross: $1.06M
Hit Man (1972, December 20th)
46. Black Gunn (1972)
R | 96 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A black militant group robs a Mafia bookie joint and also steals the incriminating ledgers which, in turn, prompts retaliation from the mob.
Director: Robert Hartford-Davis | Stars: Jim Brown, Martin Landau, Brenda Sykes, Luciana Paluzzi
Votes: 874 | Gross: $1.10M
Black Gunn (1972, December 20th)
47. Trick Baby (1972)
R | 93 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Two Phildelphia con men try to evade gangsters they have conned and cops who are trying to put them in jail.
Director: Larry Yust | Stars: Kiel Martin, Mel Stewart, Dallas Edward Hayes, Beverly Ballard
Votes: 651 | Gross: $0.62M
Trick Baby (1972, December 22nd)
48. Catch the Black Sunshine (1974)
PG | 102 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
An albino black man and his black brother run from their former owner and search for treasure.
Director: Chris Robinson | Stars: Chris Robinson, Ted Cassidy, Robert Leslie, Phyllis Robinson
Votes: 91
Charcoal Black (1972, Unknown)
49. Miss Melody Jones (1973)
PG | 85 min | Drama
Dreams of Hollywood stardom fade quickly for a young black woman (Philomena Nowlin) when she finds her path to film stardom littered with sleazy deal makers and broken promises. Miss Melody Jones begins to question her sense of purpose.
Director: Bill Brame | Stars: Philomena Nowlin, Peter Jacob, Ronald Warden, Jacqueline Dalya
Votes: 38
Miss Melody Jones (1972, Unknown)
50. Night of the Cobra Woman (1972)
R | 85 min | Horror, Thriller
After being bitten by a cobra in the Philippines, Lena can turn herself into a snake and she stops aging. The curse comes with a price. The priestess Lena must consume cobra venom and vital young men to stay young.
Director: Andrew Meyer | Stars: Joy Bang, Marlene Clark, Roger Garrett, Vic Diaz
Votes: 496
Night of the Cobra Woman (1972, Unknown)
51. Together for Days (1972)
PG | 84 min | Drama
A Black radical activist and a young White woman find themselves drawn to one another during the politically and racially-charged atmosphere of early 1970s America.
Director: Michael Schultz | Stars: Clifton Davis, Lois Chiles, Northern Calloway, Leonard Jackson
Votes: 113
Together for Days (1972, Unknown) *lost
52. The Harder They Come (1972)
R | 120 min | Crime, Drama, Music
Wishing to become a successful reggae singer, a young Jamaican man finds himself tied to corrupt record producers and drug pushers.
Director: Perry Henzell | Stars: Jimmy Cliff, Janet Bartley, Carl Bradshaw, Ras Daniel Hartman
Votes: 7,031
The Harder They Come (1972, Unknown) *February 8th, 1973 in USA
53. Black Mama White Mama (1973)
R | 87 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A Black prostitute and a white revolutionary must form an uneasy alliance when they are busted out of prison, then pursued by guerrillas, bounty hunters and the Army.
Director: Eddie Romero | Stars: Pam Grier, Margaret Markov, Sid Haig, Lynn Borden
Votes: 3,637 | Gross: $0.19M
Black Mama White Mama (1973, January 19th)
54. Black Caesar (1973)
R | 87 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Raised in Harlem, Tommy Gibbs becomes a successful mob boss but he clashes with the rival Mafia and his old enemy, dirty cop McKinney.
Director: Larry Cohen | Stars: Fred Williamson, Gloria Hendry, Art Lund, D'Urville Martin
Votes: 3,891
Black Caesar (1973, February 7th)
55. Alabama's Ghost (1973)
PG | 96 min | Horror
Nightclub janitor discovers a secret room, finds old magician's belongings, tries on the costumes and becomes "Alabama, King of the Cosmos."
Director: Fredric Hobbs | Stars: Christopher Brooks, Peggy Browne, E. Kerrigan Prescott, Steven Kent Browne
Votes: 276
Alabama's Ghost (1973, February)
56. The Black Bunch (1972)
X | 82 min | Action, Drama
In Africa, four native women join and are hired to find a wealthy man's son who has disappeared, and use the opportunity to get revenge on a gang of mercenaries who have massacred the inhabitants of the womens' village.
Director: Henning Schellerup | Stars: Gladys Bunker, Betty Barton, Yvonne, Anita Cunningham
Votes: 63
The Black Bunch (1973, February)
57. The Mack (1973)
R | 110 min | Crime, Drama
Goldie returns from five years at the state pen and winds up King of the pimping game. Trouble comes in the form of two corrupt white cops and a crime lord who wants him to return to the small time.
Director: Michael Campus | Stars: Max Julien, Don Gordon, Richard Pryor, Carol Speed
Votes: 3,301
The Mack (1973, April 4th)
58. Book of Numbers (1973)
R | 81 min | Crime, Drama
Two waiters in Depression-era Arkansas get involved in the numbers racket.
Director: Raymond St. Jacques | Stars: Raymond St. Jacques, Philip Michael Thomas, Freda Payne, Hope Clarke
Votes: 95
Book of Numbers (1973, April 11th)
59. Charley-One-Eye (1973)
R | 96 min | Western
A black, Union Army deserter and his crippled American Indian hostage form a strained partnership in the interests of surviving the advancing threats of a racist bounty hunter and neighboring bandits.
Director: Don Chaffey | Stars: Richard Roundtree, Roy Thinnes, Nigel Davenport, Jill Pearson
Votes: 287
Charley-One-Eye (1973, April 18th)
60. Ganja & Hess (1973)
R | 112 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
After being stabbed with an ancient, germ-infested knife, a doctor's assistant finds himself with an insatiable desire for blood.
Director: Bill Gunn | Stars: Duane Jones, Marlene Clark, Bill Gunn, Sam L. Waymon
Votes: 2,595 | Gross: $0.02M
Ganja & Hess (1973, April 20th)
61. The Soul of Nigger Charley (1973)
R | 109 min | Western
After the end of the Civil War, Charley fights against a group of Southern soldiers seeking to reignite the Confederacy.
Director: Larry G. Spangler | Stars: Fred Williamson, D'Urville Martin, Denise Nicholas, Pedro Armendáriz Jr.
Votes: 221 | Gross: $0.32M
The Soul of *beep* Charley (1973, May 16th)
62. Sweet Jesus, Preacherman (1973)
R | 99 min | Action, Drama
A Black hit man poses as a Baptist preacher in a ghetto church. He decides to take over the local rackets.
Director: Henning Schellerup | Stars: Roger E. Mosley, William Smith, Michael Pataki, Tom Johnigarn
Votes: 242 | Gross: $0.37M
Sweet Jesus, Preacherman (1973, May 25th)
63. Savage! (1973)
R | 81 min | Action, Drama
Action packed story of how Jim Haygood (James Glehart) young, black and brilliant becomes the legendary leader of a rebel army. In a daring ambush on the beach Moncada, elusive leader of ... See full summary »
Director: Cirio H. Santiago | Stars: James Iglehart, Lada Edmund Jr., Carol Speed, Sally Jordan
Votes: 167
Savage! (1973, May)
64. Brother on the Run (1973)
R | 90 min | Action, Drama
About a college/high school teacher who tries to intervene and rescue his student who is being pursued by the law. The professor happens to have sexual intercourse with at least two different women on his way to save his student.
Directors: Edward J. Lakso, Herbert L. Strock | Stars: Terry Carter, Gwenn Mitchell, Kyle Johnson, James Sikking
Votes: 56
Brother on the Run (1973, May)
65. Coffy (1973)
R | 90 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A sexy Black nurse takes vigilante justice against inner-city drug dealers after her sister becomes their latest victim.
Director: Jack Hill | Stars: Pam Grier, Booker Bradshaw, Robert DoQui, William Elliott
Votes: 12,929
Coffy (1973, June 13th)
66. Shaft in Africa (1973)
R | 112 min | Action, Adventure, Crime
Private investigator John Shaft is recruited to go undercover to break up a modern slavery ring where young Africans are lured to Paris to do chain-gang work.
Director: John Guillermin | Stars: Richard Roundtree, Frank Finlay, Vonetta McGee, Neda Arneric
Votes: 3,216 | Gross: $3.18M
Shaft in Africa (1973, June 14th)
67. Super Fly T.N.T. (1973)
R | 87 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A Harlem drug dealer and his girlfriend retire to Rome, where he joins an African revolution.
Director: Ron O'Neal | Stars: Ron O'Neal, Roscoe Lee Browne, Sheila Frazier, Robert Guillaume
Votes: 409
Super Fly T.N.T. (1973, June 15th)
68. Scream Blacula Scream (1973)
PG | 96 min | Fantasy, Horror
The vampire Mamuwalde (a.k.a. Blacula) is resurrected by voodoo and forced to kill again.
Director: Bob Kelljan | Stars: William Marshall, Don Mitchell, Pam Grier, Michael Conrad
Votes: 3,056 | Gross: $2.18M
Scream Blacula Scream (1973, June 27th)
69. Terminal Island (1973)
R | 88 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
After the abolishment of the death penalty, California murderers are dumped on an island to spend the rest of their lives unsupervised. There, two groups are formed, one lead by a psychopath, and another group determined to bring him down.
Director: Stephanie Rothman | Stars: Don Marshall, Phyllis Davis, Ena Hartman, Marta Kristen
Votes: 1,506
Terminal Island (1973, June)
70. Cleopatra Jones (1973)
PG | 89 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
During the 1970s, U.S. Special Agent Cleopatra Jones proves to be an invaluable asset to the local police forces in the war on drugs.
Director: Jack Starrett | Stars: Tamara Dobson, Bernie Casey, Brenda Sykes, Antonio Fargas
Votes: 3,530 | Gross: $2.98M
Cleopatra Jones (1973, July 13th)
71. Fox Style (1973)
R | 84 min | Drama
A wealthy nightclub owner struggles to reconcile his country upbringing with his city environs.
Director: Clyde Houston | Stars: Chuck Daniel, Juanita Moore, Denise Denise, Richard Lawson
Votes: 87
Fox Style (1973, July)
72. Heavy Traffic (1973)
R | 77 min | Animation, Comedy, Drama
An underground cartoonist contends with life in the inner city, where various unsavory characters serve as inspiration for his art.
Director: Ralph Bakshi | Stars: Joseph Kaufmann, Beverly Hope Atkinson, Frank DeKova, Terri Haven
Votes: 3,713 | Gross: $1.34M
Heavy Traffic (1973, August 8th)
73. Gordon's War (1973)
R | 90 min | Adventure, Crime
Four Vietnam Vets go to war against the drug dealers and pimps of Harlem.
Director: Ossie Davis | Stars: Paul Winfield, Carl Lee, David Downing, Tony King
Votes: 449 | Gross: $0.82M
Gordon's War (1973, August 9th)
74. Slaughter's Big Rip-Off (1973)
R | 94 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Vigilante Slaughter comes under attack from Duncan, a local money launderer whose hit-man traps Slaughter in a car at a cliff, but Slaughter escapes, arms himself, and goes after Duncan's hideout.
Director: Gordon Douglas | Stars: Jim Brown, Ed McMahon, Don Stroud, Brock Peters
Votes: 598
Slaughter's Big Rip-Off (1973, August 31st)
75. Detroit 9000 (1973)
R | 106 min | Action, Crime, Drama
After a fundraiser for a black politician is robbed, Detroit police put two detectives, one white and one black, on the case, who try to work together under boiling political pressure.
Director: Arthur Marks | Stars: Alex Rocco, Hari Rhodes, Vonetta McGee, Herbert Jefferson Jr.
Votes: 1,152 | Gross: $3.36M
Detroit 9000 (1973, August)
76. Hit! (1973)
R | 134 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A Federal Agent, whose daughter dies of a heroin overdose, is determined to destroy the drug ring that supplied her. He recruits various people whose lives have been torn apart by the drug ... See full summary »
Director: Sidney J. Furie | Stars: Billy Dee Williams, Richard Pryor, Paul Hampton, Gwen Welles
Votes: 862 | Gross: $0.08M
Hit! (1973, September 18th)
77. The Spook Who Sat by the Door (1973)
PG | 102 min | Action, Drama, Crime
A black man plays 'uncle Tom' in order to gain access to CIA training, then uses that knowledge to plot a new American revolt.
Director: Ivan Dixon | Stars: Lawrence Cook, Janet League, Paula Kelly, J.A. Preston
Votes: 1,567 | Gross: $1.00M
The Spook Who Sat by the Door (1973, September 21st)
78. The Slams (1973)
R | 91 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Everybody is after the money stolen by Hook before he ended up in prison, including the villainous head guard Capt. Stambell.
Director: Jonathan Kaplan | Stars: Jim Brown, Judy Pace, Roland Bob Harris, Paul Harris
Votes: 322 | Gross: $0.26M
The Slams (1973, September 26th)
79. I Escaped from Devil's Island (1973)
R | 89 min | Action, Adventure
In 1916, A group of prisoners plot their escape from the notorious fortress located in French Guiana.
Director: William Witney | Stars: Jim Brown, Christopher George, Richard Ely, Richard Rust
Votes: 553
I Escaped From Devil's Island (1973, September)
80. The Black Alley Cats (1973)
81 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Wanting revenge on a street gang for a rape attack, four young girls get together, take kung-fu lessons, learn how to shoot, form a gang called the Black Alley Cats and search out the gang that attacked them.
Director: Henning Schellerup | Stars: Sunshine Woods, Sandy Dempsey, Charlene Miles, Johnnie Rhodes
Votes: 150
The Black Alley Cats (1973, September)
81. Five on the Black Hand Side (1973)
PG | 96 min | Comedy
In contrast to most of the violence-laden "blaxploitation" films of the period, this low-budget effort eschews exploitation for humanity and domestic drama. Leonard Jackson plays a barber ... See full summary »
Director: Oscar Williams | Stars: Godfrey Cambridge, Clarice Taylor, Leonard Jackson, Virginia Capers
Votes: 489 | Gross: $1.72M
Five on the Black Hand Side (1973, October 25th)
82. The Black 6 (1973)
R | 94 min | Action, Drama
A high school student, who is a person of colour, is caught dating a white girl by the girl's brother. He and his biker gang beat the boy to death. The boy's brother seeks revenge.
Director: Matt Cimber | Stars: Robert Howard, Cindy Daly, Mikel Angel, John Isenbarger
Votes: 629
The Black Six (1973, November 2nd)
83. Hell Up in Harlem (1973)
R | 94 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A gangster in Harlem must rescue his ex-wife, who has been kidnapped by the Mafia.
Director: Larry Cohen | Stars: Fred Williamson, Julius Harris, Gloria Hendry, Margaret Avery
Votes: 1,758 | Gross: $1.45M
Hell Up in Harlem (1973, December)
84. That Man Bolt (1973)
R | 104 min | Action, Crime, Drama
To take a briefcase from Hong Kong to Mexico City, via Los Angeles, is it necessary to call on that man - Bolt? With the number of dangerous spies and gangsters who are after that briefcase, maybe Jefferson Bolt is not enough.
Directors: Henry Levin, David Lowell Rich | Stars: Fred Williamson, Byron Webster, Miko Mayama, Teresa Graves
Votes: 433
That Man Bolt (1973, December)
85. Blackenstein (1973)
R | 78 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
Eddie is a Vietnam war veteran who loses both his arms and his legs when he steps on a land mine. A brilliant surgeon is able to attach new limbs, but his assistant switches the DNA injections, transforming him into a huge hulking monster.
Director: William A. Levey | Stars: John Hart, Ivory Stone, Joe De Sue, Roosevelt Jackson
Votes: 1,417
Blackenstein (1973, Unknown)
86. Tom (1973)
R | 82 min | Drama
A white ex-GI goes to a Black ghetto to deliver a letter from his buddy, a Black soldier who died in Vietnam, but when he gets there he encounter hostility and trouble from all sides.
Director: Greydon Clark | Stars: Greydon Clark, Tom Johnigarn, Jacqulin Cole, Bambi Allen
Votes: 239
Tom (1973, Unknown)
87. Willie Dynamite (1974)
R | 102 min | Crime, Drama
A social worker tries to get a pimp to change his ways.
Director: Gilbert Moses | Stars: Roscoe Orman, Diana Sands, Thalmus Rasulala, Joyce Walker
Votes: 1,313 | Gross: $0.48M
Willie Dynamite (1974, January 23rd)
88. Black Belt Jones (1974)
R | 85 min | Action
A Mafia buy out of Papa Byrd's karate school downtown ends in his death. Byrd's daughter, Sydney, refuses to sell, and wants revenge. Byrd's students call the Black Belt Jones for help. Jones reluctantly teams with Sydney in many battles.
Director: Robert Clouse | Stars: Jim Kelly, Gloria Hendry, Scatman Crothers, Eric Laneuville
Votes: 2,724 | Gross: $0.73M
Black Belt Jones (1974, January 28th)
89. Bamboo Gods and Iron Men (1974)
R | 96 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
The Jefferson's honeymoon night in Hong Kong will be troubled by a number of people wishing to get hold of a Buddha statuette that the husband offered her when window-shopping that day. ... See full summary »
Director: Cesar Gallardo | Stars: James Iglehart, Shirley Washington, Chiquito, Marissa Delgado
Votes: 278
Bamboo Gods and Iron Men (1974, January)
90. The Arena (1974)
R | 83 min | Action, Adventure
When the Romans force a group of sex slaves to become gladiatrices, two such fighters - a Nubian dancer and a Gaulish priestess - form an alliance to lead the others in rebellion.
Director: Steve Carver | Stars: Margaret Markov, Pam Grier, Lucretia Love, Paul Muller
Votes: 2,105
The Arena (1974, January)
91. Sugar Hill (1974)
PG | 91 min | Action, Crime, Horror
When her boyfriend is murdered by mobsters, Sugar Hill decides not to get mad, but BAD. She asks the voodoo priestess Mama Maitresse to summon Baron Samedi, the Lord of the Dead, to help ... See full summary »
Director: Paul Maslansky | Stars: Marki Bey, Robert Quarry, Don Pedro Colley, Betty Anne Rees
Votes: 2,303 | Gross: $0.03M
Sugar Hill (1974, February)
92. Black Hooker (1974)
R | 87 min | Drama
Young woman quickly realizes that prostitution is a harsh reality.
Director: Arthur Roberson | Stars: Durey Mason, Sandra Alexandra, Jeff Burton, Kathryn Jackson
Votes: 203
Street Sisters (1974, March 13th) *not blax, marketed with Black Hooker poster
93. Tough Guys (1974)
PG | 92 min | Action, Crime
An ex-convict priest and a framed former policeman hunt a machine-gun killer behind a bank robbery.
Director: Duccio Tessari | Stars: Lino Ventura, Isaac Hayes, Fred Williamson, Paula Kelly
Votes: 387
Three Tough Guys (1974, March 15th)
94. Foxy Brown (1974)
R | 92 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A voluptuous vigilante takes a job as a high-class prostitute to get revenge on the mobsters who murdered her boyfriend.
Director: Jack Hill | Stars: Pam Grier, Antonio Fargas, Peter Brown, Terry Carter
Votes: 12,027 | Gross: $2.46M
Foxy Brown (1974, April 5th)
95. Thomasine & Bushrod (1974)
PG | 95 min | Action, Crime, Romance
The exploits of 1910s bounty hunter Thomasine and bandit Bushrod who, after rekindling their old romance, take to robbing banks to survive, stealing from rich whites and sharing their loot with the poor on the harsh frontier.
Director: Gordon Parks Jr. | Stars: Max Julien, Vonetta McGee, George Murdock, Glynn Turman
Votes: 607
Thomasine & Bushrod (1974, April 10th)
96. Claudine (1974)
PG | 92 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
In the 1970s Harlem, garbage collector Roop feels intimidated by the idea of dating Claudine who is a single mother of six on welfare.
Director: John Berry | Stars: Diahann Carroll, James Earl Jones, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, Tamu Blackwell
Votes: 2,511 | Gross: $3.51M
Claudine (1974, April 22nd)
97. Black Eye (1974)
PG | 98 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Private detective investigated a series of murders connected with a drug ring in Venice, California.
Director: Jack Arnold | Stars: Fred Williamson, Rosemary Forsyth, Teresa Graves, Floy Dean
Votes: 309
Black Eye (1974, May 17th)
98. The Black Connection (1974)
R | 87 min | Action, Drama
Las Vegas drug dealer is in deep with the Italian mob over a large amount of missing cocaine. He must get creative to get out from under the mob before they take the ultimate course of action.
Director: Michael Finn | Stars: The Checkmates Ltd., Bobby Stevens, Sweet Louie, Sonny Charles
Votes: 110
The Black Connection (Run *beep* (1974, May)
99. The Take (1974)
PG | 92 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Crime fighter Terry Sneed arrives in New Mexico to help out a local police chief - but he's already taking money from the underworld.
Director: Robert Hartford-Davis | Stars: Billy Dee Williams, Eddie Albert, Frankie Avalon, Sorrell Booke
Votes: 314
The Take (1974, May)
100. Dynamite Brothers (1974)
R | 90 min | Action, Drama
Young black man teams up with a Chinese kung-fu expert to fight a drug ring.
Director: Al Adamson | Stars: Alan Tang, Timothy Brown, James Hong, Aldo Ray
Votes: 568
Dynamite Brothers (1974, May)
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