IMDb RATING
7.0/10
1.1K
YOUR RATING
Men sent their own way await heroin in Leach's apartment.Men sent their own way await heroin in Leach's apartment.Men sent their own way await heroin in Leach's apartment.
Jerome Raphael
- Solly
- (as Jerome Raphel)
Jim Anderson
- Sam
- (as James Anderson)
Roscoe Lee Browne
- J.J. Burden
- (as Roscoe Browne)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis film was held up for release after the Board of Regents of the Motion Picture Division of New York State's Dept. of Education viewed the film and refused to grant it a license to be commercially shown. This was mostly due to the repeated use (seven times) of a four-letter word that rhymes with "hit" and is used as a slang synonym for heroin. The film was judged obscene but opened without a license anyway at the D.W. Griffith Theater on October 3, 1962, only to receive several bad reviews from the major N.Y. film critics. Director Shirley Clarke sued and a month later, the highest court in the state reversed the decision of the Board of Regents. However, the reputation of the film was already damaged and to this day, it has never recouped its original $167,000 budget.
Featured review
I'd like to clear up this jazz/heroin confusion (ignorance) that may stop you from watching this great film. Leach is the connection to Cowboy, and Cowboy is the connection to a dealer. The IMDb plot summary says that Cowboy is bringing "the connection" back to Leach's house, but he is really just bringing heroin. The fact that some of the people waiting for heroin are jazz musicians doesn't mean all jazz musicians were addicts, although most of the good ones were. With that said, I would advise any bee-bop fan to watch this film just for the amazing, and sole, footage of Blue Note heavies Jackie McLean and Freddie Redd. You will most likely also like the free-jazz directorial treatment of what was originally a stage play. The film also deserves credit for it's honest portrayal (in 1961!) of heroin addiction, neither glamorizing nor condemning it. The only problem I had was the slightly over-theatrical styles of some of the actors. Overacting did become the Leach character, however: "OHHH, MY BOIL!!!" If you liked "The Incident" or "The Pawnbroker," you'll like this one.
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $167,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 50 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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