The Mack (1973)

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 ... See full summary »

Director:

Michael Campus

Writer:

Robert J. Poole

Stars:

Max Julien, Don Gordon, Richard Pryor

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Max Julien	...	Goldie
Don Gordon	...	Hank
Richard Pryor	...	Slim
Carol Speed	...	Lulu
Roger E. Mosley	...	Olinga
Dick Anthony Williams	...	Pretty Tony (as Dick Williams)
William Watson	...	Jed (as William C. Watson)
George Murdock	...	Fatman
Juanita Moore	...	Mother
Paul Harris	...	Blind Man
Kai Hernandez	...	Chico
Annazette Chase	...	China Doll
Junero Jennings	...	Baltimore Bob
Lee Duncan	...	Sgt. Duncan
Stu Gilliam	...	Announcer

Storyline

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.

---

Plot Keywords:

poliziottesco | north american poliziottesco | champagne | whiskey | craps | 

---

Taglines:

There's a new kind of hero on the streets!

---

Genres:

Crime | Drama

---

Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 April 1973 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Mack and His Pack

Filming Locations:

3701 Telegraph Avenue, Oakland, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$250,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Harbor Productions, Harvey Bernhard Enterprises

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Glen Glenn Sound)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Goldie and Slim are brought out of the pool room by the cops with shotguns, you can see a sign with the director's name "Campus" as they walk on the sidewalk.

---

Goofs

When Goldie arrives at the Players Ball, a shadow of the camera falls across the back of his white fur coat.

---

Quotes

Olinga: You really don't understand do you? Hey man, don't you realize in order for us to make this thing work man we gotta get rid of the pimps and the pushers and the prostitutes and then start all over again clean.
Goldie: Hey look, nobody's pushing me anywhere, okay. I mean not you, not the cops, nobody man. I mean, you want to get rid of the pushers, I'll help you. But don't send your people after me.
Olinga: Oh come on John. Can't you see that we can't get rid of one without getting rid of the other. We gotta ...
[...]

---

Alternate Versions

Some video versions have rerelease soundtrack from 1980s.

---

Connections

Spoofed in Martin: Do You Remember the Time? (1993)

---

Soundtracks

Brother's Gonna Work It Out
Words and Music by Willie Hutch

User Reviews

"The Mack"

Blaxploitation has never had a good working relationship inside mainstream cinema because it sometimes required the audience to relate with people who were pimps, pushers, hookers, and any other rabble of common street criminals. But people loved movies like "Reservoir Dogs" and "Trainspotting"; yet "Dogs" had murderous jewel thieves in the leads and "Trainspotting" was about heroin addicts in Edinburgh. So then, "The Mack" can't be any different from those two, can it?

I missed Blaxploitation when it arose during the 60s and 70s because I wasn't alive; I was born in 1985. I stumbled across "The Mack" at a local used book store that also sold videos. Sitting on a rack, was "The Mack."

After doing five rough years in prison, Goldie (Max Julien) decides to become a pimp in order to make a living, much to the dismay of his younger brother Olinga (Roger E. Mosley), who has become radicalized within the pro-Black civil rights movement during the time that Goldie has spent behind bars. Goldie then has to contend with a pair of racist, corrupt cops who hound him constantly and rival pimps.

"The Mack" is a movie that has become an enormous influence on modern hip-hop culture and is frequently referenced to in the films of Quentin Tarantino. Max Julien makes for a truly convincing "Mack" and there's even a rather subdued, yet incredibly funny supporting performance from Richard Pryor.

This movie really does capture the essence of a chaotic time period perfectly. Vietnam was going on in 1973 and some people felt that life in America was in shambles, with drugs and crime running rampant in this country. So I guess that's why people praised movies like "Death Wish," "Dirty Harry," "A Clockwork Orange," and basically any Sam Peckinpah movie that came out during the 70s.

Along with maybe "Shaft" and "Foxy Brown," "The Mack" could probably be one of the better known Blaxploitation flicks released during the 70s. I loved this movie from beginning to end. But it's a shame that "The Mack" is not more well-known in the movie-going community.

10/10