Shaft (1971)

Cool black private eye John Shaft is hired by a crime lord to find and retrieve his kidnapped daughter.

Director:

Gordon Parks

Writers:

Ernest Tidyman (screenplay), John D.F. Black (screenplay)

Stars:

Richard Roundtree, Moses Gunn, Charles Cioffi

Won 1 Oscar. Another 4 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Richard Roundtree	...	John Shaft
Moses Gunn	...	Bumpy Jonas
Charles Cioffi	...	Vic Androzzi
Christopher St. John	...	Ben Buford
Gwenn Mitchell	...	Ellie Moore
Lawrence Pressman	...	Tom Hannon
Victor Arnold	...	Charlie
Sherri Brewer	...	Marcy
Rex Robbins	...	Rollie
Camille Yarbrough	...	Dina Greene
Margaret Warncke	...	Linda
Joseph Leon	...	Byron Leibowitz
Arnold Johnson	...	Cul
Dominic Barto	...	Patsy
George Strus	...	Carmen

Storyline

John Shaft is the ultimate in suave black detectives. He first finds himself up against Bumpy, the leader of the Black crime mob, then against Black nationals, and finally working with both against the White Mafia who are trying to blackmail Bumpy by kidnapping his daughter.

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Plot Keywords:

blaxploitation | private investigator | drug lord | harlem manhattan new york city | times square manhattan new york city | 

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Taglines:

Wanna see Shaft? Better ask yo' mamma. (Trailer)

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 July 1971 (USA)

Also Known As:

Les nuits rouges de Harlem

Filming Locations:

Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,125,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$12,121,618, 31 December 1971

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Shaft Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Much of the action centers around 125th Street in Harlem. The exterior of Shaft's apartment was at 55 Jane Street, in Greenwich Village, across the street from the (real) "No Name Bar" at 621 Hudson Street. The bar later became a deli.

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Goofs

The month calendar in Shaft's office is January 1971 (February 1971 is also posted on the wall in a "next month" style arrangement). But in Lt. Androzzi's office, the date calendar reads Tuesday January 27 and later Thursday January 29. 27 January 1971 was a Wednesday and 29 January 1971 was a Friday. (27 and 29 January 1970 fell on a Tuesday and a Thursday).

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Quotes

[first lines]
John Shaft: [holding up his middle finger to a cab driver who is honking his horn at him] Up yours! Get out the way!

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Connections

Spoofed in Stuart Little 3: Call of the Wild (2005)

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Soundtracks

Ellie's Love Theme
(uncredited)
Composed by Isaac Hayes
Performed by Isaac Hayes

User Reviews

Has worn worse than the clothes

Okay so there's a huge pile of films from the late 60's and early 70's that haven't worn well--- "Easyrider" leaps first to mind, but after seeing "Shaft" on TCM, we've got a new contender. I realize this is one that started the onslaught on our racial consciousness and while it's better than "Superfly," "The Mack," "Shaft in Africa," "Cleopatra Jones," et al, it's a shock to see how tacky things were 36 years ago. The hip lingo is horribly dated, the incessant reminders that us Caucasians are hopeless honkies is irritating and yeah, there's the wardrobe. I can't help it, it's distracting seeing middle aged guys wearing plaid suits with wide polyester ties (Starsky & Hutch fashion icon Antonio Fargas even has a cameo as a sidewalk informant) wearing laughable hats. Why did they have to throw in Shaft verschtionking a barfly when he's got a loyal (and far classier) woman back at the ranch? The plot is incredibly simplistic and is an ominous indicator of the even worse things to come in the Blaxploitation genre. Alright then, what's right? The late Gordon Parks could construct great complex exterior shots and draw out a fairly credible performance by the inexperienced Richard Roundtree. He could have been a whole lot worse. The best actor here is Moses Gunn (seen to better advantage in "Ragtime"). Ignoring Issac Hayes' title track lyrics that asks the rhetorical question, "who's the big Black private dick who's a sex machine to all the chicks?" (yeesh... but I'm just talking' about SHAFT!), the soundtrack is pretty decent. So there's a lot to be embarrassed about for those involved but there's also some redeeming qualities to the movie. I rate it a 3 for 10.