Detroit 9000 (1973)

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

Writer:

Orville H. Hampton (screenplay)

Stars:

Alex Rocco, Hari Rhodes, Vonetta McGee

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Alex Rocco	...	Lieutenant Danny Bassett
Hari Rhodes	...	Sergeant Jesse Williams
Vonetta McGee	...	Roby Harris
Herbert Jefferson Jr.	...	Ferdy
Robert Phillips	...	Captain Chalmers
Ellaraino	...	Helen Durbin (as Ella Edwards)
Scatman Crothers	...	Reverend Markham
Sally Baker	...	Ethel
Rudy Challenger	...	Aubrey Hale Clayton
Doris Ingraham
George Skaff	...	Oscar
Council Cargle	...	Drew Sheppard
Regis Cordic	...	Dr. Horace Cooley
Stacy Keach Sr.
Davis Roberts	...	Milo

Storyline

Police procedural movie set in Detroit during the early 1970s. At a fundraiser for a black Congressman held at a downtown Detroit hotel, a group of heavily armed masked men bursts on the scene demanding the fund-raised fund. The fund consisting of gold, jewels and cash is estimated to be around 400,000 dollars. The donors mostly are rich black supporters of Congressman Aubrey Hale Clayton who intends to run for state governorship. After the armed robbery, the criminals disappear in a white getaway van. The police arrives at the scene but no one has any description of the suspects. Some speculate that white men committed the crime in order to sabotage the election efforts of a black candidate but others suggest it was black-on-black crime. The Detroit Police Department is careful not to place blame on any racial or ethnic group in order to avoid controversy and criticism. The Department assigns two cops to the case. One cop is Lieutenant Danny Bassett who's white and the other cop is ...

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Plot Keywords:

street shootout | suitcase full of money | cruise ship | shot multiple times | cemetery | 

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Taglines:

It's gonna get solved...or the town's gonna explode.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Action

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

John Nichols was the actual chief of the Detroit Police at the time of his appearance in the movie. No doubt he hoped his appearance in the film would help his 1973 campaign for mayor. He lost to Coleman Young, however, and later went on to become sheriff of suburban Oakland County.

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Goofs

In the shootout at the cemetery, one character's squib is visible on his neck prior to being "shot" in the neck.

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Connections

Featured in Dusk to Dawn Drive-In Trash-o-Rama Show Vol. 4 (1997)

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Soundtracks

Touch Me Jesus
Written by Brian Holland (as Holland)-Lamont Dozier (as Dozier)-Angelo Bond (as Bond)
Performed by Larry Mitchell, Pearl Jones, Scherrie Payne and Ty Hunter (as Glass House)

User Reviews

Sophisticated blaxploitation, if you will.

Blaxploitation but sophisticated blaxploitation, if you will. Right from the bat you'll notice a little deeper characterization and more intricate plot mixed in with the jive music and bloody violence and for the most part, it works well. Some of the story does bog down the pace at times but not enough to cause any major problem. Seeing that this is one of the films released under Tarantino's Rolling Thunder company, the fact that Reservoir Dogs shares a few traits with Detroit 9000 should come as no surprise. However, Detroit 9000 took a few lines of dialogue from Dirty Harry, so I guess that's just the nature of the beast.

Details

Official Sites:

Miramax [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 June 1975 (Denmark)

Also Known As:

Detroit Heat

Filming Locations:

Detroit, Michigan, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,054, 11 October 1998

Gross USA:

$3,179

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$3,179

Company Credits

Production Co:

Holly Hill Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Ryder Sound Services)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1