Fred Williamson Movies
After excelling in football and track Northwestern University, African-American film star Fred Williamson was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers. He later played for Pittsburgh, Oakland and Kansas City, bringing attention to himself in the latter city by wearing a custom-tailored uniform and white shoes, and developing a karate-based offensive move which he called "The Hammer." In 1969, Williamson moved into acting, playing important roles in the original M*A*S*H (1970) and Otto Preminger's Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon (1970); he also appeared in the recurring part of Diahann Carroll's macho boyfriend on the TV series Julia (1969-71). One of Hollywood's major black stars of the 1970s, Fred Williamson starred in such actioners as The Legend of Nigger Charley (1972), Hell Up in Harlem (1973), Take a Hard Ride (1975) and The Bronx Warriors (1983); in addition, Williamson produced, directed and wrote many of his vehicles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A soldier sets out on a mission of mercy only to discover he's a pawn in a deadly game in this action thriller from cult hero Fred Olen Ray. Veteran U.S. Air Force pilot Murphy (Daniel Baldwin) and his superior, Captain Reynolds (Fred Williamson), are kidnapped by members of a Central American drug cartel as they escort an American congressmen traveling abroad. Murphy and Reynolds are able to signal for help, and a squadron frees the captured soldiers, but Rifkin (Hannes Jaenicke), Murphy's friend and comrade, goes missing in action. A year later, Murphy learns that Rifkin is being held captive by the cartel's leader, Salvatore (Joe Lala), and with Reynolds' help, he sets out on a secret rescue mission using a state-of-the-art stealth aircraft to avoid detection by either Salvatore's gang or government troops. However, Murphy eventually discovers he's walked into a trap -- Reynolds and Rifkin are in cahoots with Salvatore, and they've staged Rifkin's capture to steal the jet for Salvatore's illegal purposes. Active Stealth also stars Shannon Whirry as Murphy's wife, Lisa Vidal, Chick Vennera, and Tim Abell. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daniel Baldwin, Fred Williamson, (more)
One of the first efforts of actor/producer/director Fred Williamson's Po' Boy productions, Adios Amigo costars Williamson with Richard Pryor. Playing a couple of inept western outlaws, Williamson and Pryor mastermind several failed crimes, ranging from a real estate scam to a statecoach holdup. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fred Williamson, Richard Pryor, (more)
- 1978
Another of the many Arthur Hailey literary properties which were transformed into TV miniseries in the 1970s, the five-part, ten-hour Wheels took place in Detroit sometime in the late 1960s. Rock Hudson starred as Adam Trenton, executive in charge of project development at the fictional auto-manufacturing firm of National Motors. Ambitious and ruthless, Adam let nothing stand in the way of his development and production of a new, youth-marketed car known as the Hawk. Meanwhile, Adam's bored and neglected wife Erica (Lee Remick, who earned an Emmy nomination for her performance) drifted into an extramarital affair and a brief "career" as a shoplifter. Eventually, Adam himself acquired a mistress, who in turn fell in love with Adam's son Kirk (James Carrol Jordan). As if things couldn't get any seamier, Kirk's brother Greg (Howard McGillin) was plagued by a blackmailer, while crooked car dealer Smokey Stevenson (played by miniseries stalwart Anthony Franciosa) cooked up a sinister deal that threatened to destroy National Motors. Originally telecast from May 7 to 15, 1978 on NBC, Arthur Hailey's Wheels posted such disappointing ratings that, when it was later rebroadcast, the property was whittled down from ten hours to four -- with episodes three and four summarily dropped from the proceedings. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rock Hudson, Lee Remick, (more)
British director Isaac Julien takes on the Blaxploitation era of the '70s in the hour-long documentary Baadasssss Cinema. With archive film clips and interviews, this brief look at a frequently overlooked historical period of filmmaking acts as an introduction rather than a complete record. Features interviews with some of the genre's biggest stars, like Fred Williamson, Pam Grier, and Richard Roundtree. Director Melvin Van Peebles discusses the historical importance of his landmark film Sweet Sweetback's Baad Asssss Song. For a contemporary perspective, the excitable Quentin Tarantino offers his spirited commentary and author/critic bell hooks provides some scholarly social analysis. The music of Blaxploitation movies is rightfully discussed, focusing on Curtis Mayfield's "Superfly" and Isaac Hayes' "Shaft." Also features interviews with writer/director Larry Cohen and film historian Armond White. Baadasssss Cinema was originally shown on the Independent Film Channel in August of 2002 as part of a week-long Blaxploitation film festival. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
Cult director Larry Cohen (It's Alive) directed this violent blaxploitation film. Nasty racist John McKinney cripples a black shoeshine boy, who grows up to be Tommy Gibbs (Fred Williamson), the Godfather of Harlem. The crimelord now has his tormentor McKinney (Art Lund) in his pocket, based on the cop's mob ties. Tommy's traitorous girlfriend Helen (Gloria Hendry) hands over the evidence, and McKinney moves in for the kill. But he may have underestimated the violent Tommy, who makes him shine his shoes in blackface while singing "Mammy." Rick Baker provided makeup effects, and James Brown did the music for this bloody oddity, followed the same year by Hell Up in Harlem. Cohen and Williamson got together 23 years later for an interesting (if unsuccessful) attempt at reviving the genre, Original Gangstas. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- 1989
In this sequel to the 1987 actioner Black Cobra, Fred Williamson resumes his role as a tough-as-nails urban detective. The villain is a terrorist who'll kill anyone who impedes his escape. The terrorist breaks into a schoolroom full of children and holds the kids hostage. It's up to Williamson -- now saddled with an unwanted partner -- to eliminate the bad guy without taking the kids with him. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1990
After a group of technically advanced villains plan to wreak havoc on the world, competent cop Robert Malone (Fred Williamson) is called upon to stop them. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fred Williamson
- 1974
Best known for directing several popular science-fiction films in the 1950s, Jack Arnold turned to blaxploitation with this gritty crime film. Fred Williamson stars as Shep Stone, who becomes a private detective after being suspended from the police department. The usual sleazy setpieces deal with porno producers (one of whom, Bret Morrison, was the voice of The Shadow on radio), drugs, and murder. Teresa Graves (Get Christie Love!) co-stars with Rosemary Forsyth and The $6,000,000 Man's Richard Anderson in this average, but entertaining potboiler. Williamson and Arnold re-teamed for Boss Nigger the same year. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
Made especially for the USA Network, this action adventure centers on freelance bodyguard and former U.S. Marshal Jack Devlin (Dolph Lundgren and his attempts to protect a young woman from vicious gangsters. Unfortunately, Devlin's ability to do his job is severely restricted after an explosion temporarily blinds him. Suddenly faced with new situations and new fears, Devlin finds his courage tested to its limits as he struggles to protect another innocent mob victim. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dolph Lundgren, Kate Vernon, (more)
- 1978
Despite an amusing premise -- five blind men commit a bank robbery -- this Filipino crime film fails to rise above its low-budget blaxploitation look. D'Urville Martin (Dolemite) and Fred Williamson are the main draws, but only devoted fans will want to sit through this one. After 1974's outrageously silly The Killing of Satan, this was a letdown from director Efron C. Pinon. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- D'Urville Martin, Leo T. Fong, (more)
A black cowboy saves a frontier town from both the law and the bad guys in this western written by and starring Fred "The Hammer" Williamson. Boss (Williamson) is an African-American bounty hunter traveling though the Wild West with his best friend and sidekick Amos (D'urville Martin), gunning down wanted men and claiming the rewards when they make their way into town. When Boss bests a man in a gunfight, he discovers the victim had an invitation to become sheriff of San Miguel, a town under the control of notorious outlaw Jed Clayton (William Smith). Boss and Amos head to San Miguel, hoping to claim the hefty reward for capturing Clayton, but they discover the corrupt and venal Mayor Griffin (R.G. Armstrong) has to be bullied into making a black man sheriff. When Boss shoots two of Clayton's henchman during a barroom brawl, it brings the outlaw out of hiding, but it also makes life dangerous for anyone who dares to side with Boss, including Clara Mae (Carmen Hayworth), a beautiful woman he rescued from an ambush that claimed her father. Boss also finds time for a romantic assignation with Miss Pruitt (Barbara Leigh), the town's pretty schoolmarm, and Amos's new career as deputy allows him to interpret certain laws to his own advantage. Boss Nigger was also distributed under the less controversial title The Black Bounty Hunter, and has been released on home video simply as Boss. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
A man moves to the small and racially divided town where his bar-owning brother was murdered after he refused to pay crooked white cops for "protection." When he is threatened himself, he calls in some hefty men to help him, but they instead decide to take over the town. In order to oust the baddies, the hero becomes a one-man army with a mission. This blaxploitationer features the action hero, Fred Williamson. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fred Williamson, Pam Grier, (more)
- 1974
- R
This graphically violent crime drama follows the relatively brief career of the notorious racketeer Crazy Joe Gallo, who formed an alliance with all of New York City's African-American gangs while serving time in Attica. Once he got out, he used that alliance to try and take over the Mafia, an act that resulted in his brutal murder in a restaurant in Little Italy, 1972. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
When a high-class call girl witnesses a brutal murder with the potential to shake the police department, the state department, and the entire criminal underworld, it's up to two rival cops to see that she survives at all costs in this bullet-riddled action entry starring Fred Williamson, Gary Busey, and Don "The Dragon" Wilson. The most powerful men in the city have committed what they thought was the perfect crime - but there was a lone witness to their diabolical misdeed. This isn't your typical mob hit, but an assassination that has the potential to implicate some of the most powerful men in the city. Tyler and Yordan are two cops that have never seen eye to eye. Now, in order to ensure that this crucial piece of evidence not be snuffed out in a hail of gunfire, Tyler and Yordan must work together to protect their witness from a virtual army of assassins. Trust isn't a strong point with these two policemen, however, and in addition to keeping their charge out of the crosshairs the pair must constantly keep up their guards lest one of them turns out to be the informant who seems to be tipping off the triggermen to their every move. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Don "The Dragon" Wilson, Gary Busey, (more)
- 1969
The made-for-TV Deadlock stars Leslie Nielsen as Lt. Sam Danforth (since this is long before the Police Squad era, Nielsen plays it straight). The white Danforth finds himself at ideological loggerheads with black district attorney Leslie Washburn (Hari Rhodes). Racial tensions are escalated when a black ghetto kid is killed by a cop, and a white reporter covering the case also turns up dead. Future stars Fred Williamson and James McEachin show up in supporting roles. First telecast February 22, 1969, Deadlock served as the pilot episode for The Professionals, a single-season component of NBC's rotating series The Bold Ones. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This crime drama features a computer expert who is bilking the casinos in Vegas by hacking into the computers that run the slot machines. This way, he's able to tell when each machine is about to spit out a jackpot. His girlfriend Kathy (Marcia Clingan) goes to Vegas, plays the machines, and brings home a tidy sum each week-end. Before he can start enjoying the good life, the hacker is tortured and killed and Kathy is kidnapped by the murderers. Then a crooked cop (Bo Svenson) and his buddy (Fred Williamson) get involved and the competition for the illicit software is on. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bo Svenson, Fred Williamson, (more)
- 1988
- R
An archaeologist has come back home with a priceless gem in his possession. However, it was ill-gotten and his life is in extreme danger. After he's killed, his widow becomes the mark of several treasure-seekers. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lisa Eilbacher, Steve Railsback, (more)
- 1978
- R
Convicted of crimes while in France during World War II, five soldiers are imprisoned by the Army. They later escape to try and make a difference in a crucial battle. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- 1976
- R
Fred Williamson returns as L.A. detective Jesse Crowder in this loose sequel to the previous year's No Way Back. This time, Crowder must escort a government witness (Bernard Kuby) across the country to New York, dodging homicidal gangsters at every stop along the way. Blaxploitation fans will recognize D'Urville Martin (Dolemite) among the cast. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- 1988
- R
A pair of Air Force pilots are sent to Nicaragua on a dangerous terrorist mission. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fred Williamson, Bo Svenson, (more)
- 1990
- R
This convoluted sequel once again centers upon the courageous exploits of a secret, elite cadre of American jet fighters struggling to keep the world safe from communism. This time they must stop an enemy conspiracy to steal nuclear weapons. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Hatch, Fred Williamson, (more)
Blaxploitation icon Fred Williamson produced, directed, and stars in this action thriller as Dakota Smith, a hard-nosed but scrupulously honest cop who has more than a few questions when his partner is murdered. As Smith sets out to find who killed his sidekick and bring him to justice, he discovers a trail of dirty dealings that leads from the lowest rungs of the police force to the highest pillars of city government -- and Dakota isn't about to rest until law and order once again prevails. Also starring in Down 'n Dirty are Bubba Smith, Gary Busey, David Carradine, Beverly Johnson, and Charles Napier. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fred Williamson, Bubba Smith, (more)
- 1979
A nuclear-powered transcontinental train provides the setting for this television pilot from the mystery series Supertrain. The story concerns a shady agent who becomes the prime target for murder. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1997
Produced in Canada for a Canadian and U.S. viewership, the weekly, hour-long drama series Fast Track starred Keith Carradine as Richard Beckett. A former racecar driver, Beckett had become a doctor, working almost exclusively along the speedway circuit and tending to the injuries of his fellow motorists. Naturally, Beckett also got involved with various domestic crises, and occasionally put in time as an amateur detective. The impressive supporting cast included Duncan Regehr as Christian Chandler Jr., Tristan Rogers as Harry, Fred Williamson as Lowell Carter, and Sebastian Spence as Stevie Servine. Produced by Alliance Atlantis, Fast Track unveiled the first of its 23 episodes on August 3, 1997, telecast simultaneously on Canadian and American cable TV. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
