Jon Chevron Movies
In the third and last in the original Shaft (1971) series of action-packed "blaxploitation" pictures, private eye John Shaft (Richard Roundtree) travels to the "motherland," where he breaks up a modern slavery ring. Shaft is hired by a diplomat, Emir Ramila (Cy Grant), to infiltrate the criminal empire of the evil Vincent Amafi (Frank Finlay), who is kidnapping poor Africans and shipping them to Europe as slave laborers. Amafi murdered Ramila's son when he attempted to expose the illegal operation, and Ramila, now aware that his investigation of Amafi has been compromised, needs an unfamiliar to face to help bring the ring leader down. After undergoing some training at the hands of a comely tutor so that he'll be able to pass muster as an African, Shaft travels to Ethiopia and allows himself to be shanghaied by Amafi's men. However, the high-ranking Wassa (Debebe Eshetu) is the traitor in Ramila's ranks, and he has betrayed Shaft. As the tough private eye attempts to free the slaves being held captive in a former Nazi prison below a French chateau and bed any beautiful women who crosses his path, he must also dodge a series of assassination attempts by Ramila's men. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
- Starring:
- Richard Roundtree, Frank Finlay, (more)
Hatari! is Swahili for "danger"--and also the word for action, adventure and broad comedy in this two-fisted Howard Hawks effort. John Wayne stars as the head of a daring Tanganyka-based group which captures wild animals on behalf of the world's zoos. Hardy Kruger, Gérard Blain and Red Buttons are members of Wayne's men-only contingent, all of whom are reduced to jello when the curvaceous Elsa Martinelli enters the scene. In tried and true Howard Hawks fashion, Martinelli quickly becomes "one of the guys," though Wayne apparently can't say two words to her without sparking an argument. The second half of this amazingly long (159 minute) film concerns the care and maintenance of a baby elephant; the barely credible finale is devoted to a comic pachyderm stampede down an urban African street, ending literally at the foot of Martinelli's bed. The other scene worth mentioning involves comedy-relief Red Buttons' efforts to create a fireworks-powered animal trap. Not to be taken seriously for a minute, Hatari is attractively packaged and neatly tied up with a danceable-pranceable theme song by Henry Mancini. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- John Wayne, Hardy Kruger, (more)
