The Slams is a 1973 American action film directed by Jonathan Kaplan and starring Jim Brown.
| The Slams | |
|---|---|
 Film poster by John Solie | |
| Directed by | Jonathan Kaplan |
| Written by | Richard DeLong Adams |
| Produced by | Gene Corman |
| Starring | Jim Brown Judy Pace Roland Bob Harris |
| Cinematography | Andrew Davis |
| Edited by | Morton Tubor |
| Music by | Luther Henderson |
Production company | Penelope Productions |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Release date |
|
Running time | 91 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Plot
editCurtis Hook (Jim Brown) is caught by the police after a heist. In jail, Curtis has to deal with people who want to know where he stashed the loot while also trying to get out of jail in time to get the money before its hiding place is demolished.
Cast
edit- Jim Brown as Curtis X. Hook
- Judy Pace as Iris Daniels
- Roland Bob Harris as Captain Stambell (as Roland 'Bob' Harris)
- Paul Harris as Jackson Barney (as Paul E. Harris)
- Frank DeKova as Capiello
- Ted Cassidy as Glover
- Frenchia Guizon as Macey
- John Dennis as Sergeant Morella / Flood
- Jac Emel as Zack
- Quinn K. Redeker as The Warden (as Quinn Redeker)
Tagline
editJIM BROWN goes over the wall to flash with a million $ stash.
Production
editThe film was produced by Gene Corman, brother of famous B-movie producer Roger Corman. Gene hired Kaplan on the basis of the director's handling of the black subplot in Roger Corman's The Student Teachers. The only requirement was that Kaplan meet with Jim Brown. "I found him to be quite sweet, quite charming," says Kaplan.[1]
Kaplan found Gene Corman a far more hands on producer than his brother, casting the movie and using his own editor. The film was shot on location mostly at Lincoln Heights Prison in Los Angeles.[1]
Brown wanted to fight someone bigger than him in a fight scene so Ted Cassidy was cast. Kaplan said he found the way to keep Brown engaged in the movie was to get him involved in some sort of competition, so he organised people to play chess with him in between takes.[1]
"We got along because I treated him like an actor, not like an ex-football player," said Kaplan.[2]
Reception
editDennis Schwartz gave it a C+ and said the film "Aims to prove that blacks like whites can also play amoral criminal hero roles with a straight face and a smirk."[3] Critic Mike McGranaghan gave it 3 out of 4 and wrote: "It's everything you could ever want from a Jim Brown prison movie."[4]
References
edit- ^ a b c Jonathan Kaplan on The Slams at Trailers From Hell
- ^ Taylor, Paul (1 Feb 1989). "Keep on Truckin' - Jonathan Kaplan". Monthly Film Bulletin (56.661 ed.).
- ^ Dennis Schwartz (2012). "SLAMS, THE – Dennis Schwartz Reviews".
- ^ "The Aisle Seat - The Slams". aisleseat.com.