Yaphet Kotto Movies
African American actor Yaphet Kotto was one of the most prominent beneficiaries of the upsurge in black-oriented theatrical pieces of the late 1950s; he appeared in many prestigious Broadway and off-Broadway productions, taking regional theatre work rather than accept stereotypical "mainstream" roles in movies and TV. Kotto's first film was Nothing But a Man (1964), an independently produced study of black pride in the face of white indifference. Though he vehemently steered clear of most of the '70s blaxploitation fare, in 1972, Kotto produced, directed and wrote the feature film Speed Limit 65 (aka The Limit and Time Limit), a one-of-a-kind "black biker" film. The biggest production with which Kotto was associated in the early 1970s was the James Bond film Live and Let Die, in which, as the villainous Mr. Big, he was blown up in the final scene (a similarly grisly fate awaited Kotto in 1979's Alien). On television, Yaphet Kotto was a regular on the TV series For Love and Honor (1983) and Homicide: Life on the Streets (1992), and was seen as Ugandan president Idi Amin in the 1977 TV movie Raid on Entebbe. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
An inner-city Chicago community comes together to save their neighborhood from destruction in this '70s era blaxploitation-comedy. The construction of a proposed expressway would tear up their urban home, so a massive block party is planned to protest the action. Meanwhile, fast-talking scam artist Daddy Foxx (Yaphet Kotto) has taken a group of unemployed young men under his wing and is teaching them the tricks of his trade. Foxx's best pupil is 14-year-old Baby D (Kirk Calloway), much to the chagrin of his older brother, Win (Randy Brooks), a drummer who can't land a decent gig. After Win's drum kit and apartment get trashed, he finds no recourse but to join up with Foxx himself, so the gang proceeds to pull various cons on other local crooks. This annoys fellow street hustler Goldie (Rudy Ray Moore), but ultimately everyone has to put their differences aside and cooperate to make sure that their neighborhood isn't demolished by the city's bulldozers. It takes a lot of funky music, cream pies in the face, and petty theft, but together they stand their ground. ~ Fred Beldin, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yaphet Kotto, Rudy Ray Moore, (more)
- 1975
- PG
When a group of treasure hunters attempt to locate a sunken fortune, they enlist the help of an adventure-hungry fisherman (Cornel Wilde). This film was written, directed, and produced by Cornel Wilde, who has the starring role as well. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cornel Wilde, Yaphet Kotto, (more)
A woman looking for adventure finds romance, excitement and danger in her viewfinder in this action-packed comedy-drama. Friday Foster (Pam Grier) is a beautiful and ambitious young photographer who is working as an assistant at Glance Magazine, edited by the hard-boiled Monk Riley (Julius Harris). When Riley can't get in touch with his first-call photographer, he calls Foster with a very important New Year's Eve assignment -- reclusive billionaire Blake Tarr (Thalmus Rasulala), often called "the black Howard Hughes," is expected to be coming to Los Angeles, and Riley wants pictures of Tarr's arrival. But Foster gets more than she bargained for when Tarr is ambushed by a gang of assassins disguised as security guards. The next day, Foster is helping to shoot a fashion show introducing new creations from flamboyant designer Madame Rena (Eartha Kitt) when Clorils Boston (Rosalind Miles), a model who has known Friday since childhood, is stabled to death. Colt Hawkins (Yaphet Kotto), a private detective who is on the scene, offers to help Friday track down Clorils' killer after she notices that the same mysterious man (Carl Weathers) was present at both crimes. Foster and Hawkins discover the two killings are connected by a plot hatched by an underground group called "Black Widow" to kill off powerful and influential African-Americans. But who is behind the conspiracy, and can they be stopped in time? Also starring Godfrey Cambridge, Paul Benjamin, Scatman Crothers and Ted Lange, Friday Foster was based on the comic strip by Jim Lawrence and Jorge Longeron; running from 1970 to 1974, it was the first syndicated strip with an African-American woman as the leading character. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pam Grier, Yaphet Kotto, (more)
- 1974
- PG
A young NYPD detective learns (the hard way) about the politics that govern a big-city police department. He kills a lady-detective/colleague whose undercover garb concealed her profession and he gets caught up in a department cover-up. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Moriarty, Yaphet Kotto, (more)
Isaac Hayes puts his gun where his groove is in his role as hard-case bounty hunter Mack "Truck" Turner, three years after composing the legendary score for Shaft (1971). Ex-football star turned skip-tracer, Turner specializes in bringing in the criminals police are too scared to chase, and when he's hired to capture sociopathic pimp Gator (Paul Harris), he finds himself confronted by the most vicious killers in the underground scene. Little does Turner know that Gator's woman, Dorinda (Nichelle Nichols), has a deep-running cold streak of vengeance, and has hired ruthless hit man Harvard Blue (Yaphet Kotto), as well as a legion of other like-minded and equally determined assassins, to snuff out Truck's supercharged motor once and for all. It's now up to Truck to keep his cool long enough to get to the source of the seemingly endless stream of bullets that come at increasingly unsettling intervals. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Roger Moore makes his first appearance as "Bond...James Bond" in 1973's Live and Let Die. Bond is dispatched to the States to stem the activities of Mr. Big (Yaphet Kotto), who plans to take over the Western Hemisphere by converting everyone into heroin addicts. The woman in the case is Solitaire (Jane Seymour in her movie debut), an enigmatic interpreter of tarot cards. The obligatory destructive-chase sequence occurs at the film's midpoint, with Bond being chased in a motorboat by Mr. Big's henchmen, slashing his way through the marshlands and smashing up a wedding party. Clifton James makes the first of several Bond appearances as redneck sheriff Pepper, while Geoffrey Holder is an enthusiastic secondary villain. The title song, written by Paul McCartney and Linda McCartney, provides the frosting on this 007 confection. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roger Moore, Yaphet Kotto, (more)
Across 110th Street is a violent urban thriller about a corrupt, older white cop (Anthony Quinn) and an honest, young African-American cop (Yaphet Kotto) chasing three robbers-cum-murderers who ran away with $300,000 that belonged to the Italian mob. The police must find them before the sadistic Mafia henchman Nick D'Salvio (Anthony Franciosa) reaches them first. The film has reached a cult status; the title song, performed by Bobby Womack, was later used in Jackie Brown, Quentin Tarantino's extended homage to the crime flicks of the 1970s. ~ Yuri German, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Quinn, Yaphet Kotto, (more)
When their lavish home is invaded by a violent and unstable black criminal, a high-living white Beverly Hills couple is forced to confront their worst nightmares in filmmaker Larry Cohen's satirical black comedy. Famous car dealer Bill (Andrew Duggan) and his wife, Bernadette (Joyce Van Patten), go through the motions of their mundane day-to-day existence while coasting on a fragile web of lies and tentative affection. When Bill discovers a rat in the filter of his pool, he is frozen with fear until Bone (Yaphet Kotto) mysteriously appears and removes the threatening vermin. Their gratitude is short-lived when Bone forces his way into their posh home with the intention of raping Bernadette and making off with a tidy sum. However, when he discovers some questionable discrepancies with their financial records, Bill is forced to make a trip to the bank to make a withdrawal while Bone and Bernadette await his return -- but Bone warns that he will not hesitate to kill Bernadette if Bill doesn't return in due time. Their transparent façade forever shattered, captor and captive form an unusual bond while Bone's meal ticket opts for an ominous change of plan that he believes will rid him of excess baggage while also drawing a substantial profit. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 1972
- PG
In this biker flick, an L.A. policeman becomes friends with another officer and the tough black leader of a biker gag. Conflict ensues, especially when the biker leader's ambitious and vengeful second in command beats up his girlfriend and abducts the leaders pregnant girl. He takes her on a wild ride that almost kills her and the child. He is pursued by the cop who eventually captures him, but not before the badguy slits his throat. Surprisingly, he does not die. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
This western is notable for having Bill Cosby in a dramatic role in his first feature film. Caleb Rivers (Cosby) is a black Civil War Veteran who just wants to clear out his Arizona homestead and live in peace with his neighbors. Instead, he and his son (George Spell) have to track his stolen horse all over the Southwest, fighting bigoted bullies and the hardships of nature the whole way. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1970
Based on a true story, The House Divided: Denmark Vessey's Rebellion was filmed where it happened, in Charleston South Carolina. Yaphet Kotto plays Vessey, a former slave who has bought his freedom and is working as a carpenter. In 1822, Vessey organizes a slave rebellion in Charleston. Planning to hijack a ship and sail for Santo Domingo, he is fully aware that blood will be shed, but he and his followers are willing to die on their feet rather than live on their knees. The powerful supporting cast includes Bernie Casey, Ned Beatty, Brock Peters, William Windom, Cleavon Little, Mary Alice and James Bone III. Sometimes listed as a 1970 production, A House Divided actually premiered February 17, 1982, as a 90-minute PBS television special. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1970
In this drama, a radical student and a college dean have a heated argument. The trouble really begins when afterward, the dean is found dead. The story was taken from the Name of the Game television series. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1970
- R
Justice runs red in the deep South in this powerful drama. Steve Mundine (Lee Majors) is a young lawyer who, shortly after marrying his sweetheart Nella (Barbara Hershey), takes a position with a law firm in a small Southern town, run by his uncle Oman Hedgepath (Lee J. Cobb). L.B. Jones (Roscoe Lee Browne) is a well-to-do African-American funeral director who comes to Hedgepath's firm in search of legal representation. Jones wishes to divorce his wife Emma (Lola Falana), but his grounds make the case a hot potato -- Jones has learned Emma has been having an affair with Willie Joe Worth (Anthony Zerbe), a white police officer who is the father of Emma's unborn child. Worth does not want his affair dragged into a court of law, so he and his fellow officer Stanley Bumpas (Arch Johnson) violently take matters into their own hands. The last feature film from legendary Hollywood director William Wyler, The Liberation of L.B. Jones was based on a novel by Jesse Hill Ford. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lee J. Cobb, Anthony Zerbe, (more)
- 1970
Will David Janssen never stop being a fugitive? In the made-for-TV Night Chase, he's a Los Angelino on the lam after shooting his wife's lover. Believing he's killed the man, Janssen boards Yaphet Kotto's taxi and orders Kotto to head for Mexico. The film's level of suspense holds up until the end, when the logic holes begin widening. Night Chase went into production with the more appropriate title The Man in the Back Seat. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Dean Martin and Robert Mitchum play deadly adversaries in this curious mixture of the western and mystery genres. During a poker game in Rincon, Colorado, a stranger in the game is lynched for cheating. One of the gamblers, Van Morgan (Dean Martin), tries to prevent the lynching but is rebuffed and promptly leaves town. Soon a gold rush hits Rincon, bringing all manner of men and women -- including self-ordained preacher, Rev. Jonathan Rudd (Robert Mitchum) and brothel madame Lily Langford (Inger Stevens). Learning that two of the men in the poker game have been murdered, Van returns to Rincon to find out why. Once in town, Van is diverted from his investigation by the attentions of Lily and of Nora Evers (Katherine Justice). But when two more of the poker game's participants are killed, Van must spring into action to track down the killer. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dean Martin, Robert Mitchum, (more)
Thomas Crown (Steve McQueen) is a self-made Boston millionaire who masterminds a bank heist in hopes of leaving it all behind. Tired of being part of the Establishment, he has hopes of pulling off the caper and flying to Rio. Erwin Weaver (Jack Weston) leads the cast of crooks who never actually meet Crown but manage to pull off the robbery without a hitch. Crown deposits 3 million in a Swiss bank account, pays off the crooks, and waits for the insurance company to repay the bank for the loss. Eddy Malone (Paul Burke) is the savvy detective who helps insurance investigator Vicky Anderson (Faye Dunaway) find the mastermind behind the heist. Thomas Crown Affair became one of the first films to employ many split-screen images throughout its running time, as devised by editor Hal Ashby. Michel Legrand's score was nominated for an Academy Award, and the song The Windmills Of Your Mind, written by Legrand with Alan and Marilyn Bergman took home the coveted Oscar. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve McQueen, Faye Dunaway, (more)
- 1968
Unbeknownst to Hoss Cartwright, the horse he has just purchased previously belonged to a murdered millionaire. As a result, Hoss is railroaded into jail on a murder-theft charge. Threatened with lynching by a band of townsfolk eager to get their hands on the dead man's missing money, Hoss breaks out of jail with the help of black cowboy Child Barnett (Yaphet Kotto), a man who has spent virtually his entire adult life on the run. Others in the cast are John Marley as Sheriff Millet, Harry Hickox as Mayor Bingham, Henry Beckman as Charlie, Bruce Kirby as Chad, and bandleader Frank DeVol as Brother Stoner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lorne Greene, Michael Landon, (more)
A landmark independent film, Nothing but a Man is the first dramatic story featuring a largely black cast created for an integrated audience (the work of black filmmakers such as Oscar Micheaux was intended for audiences who patronized black-only theaters). White filmmakers Michael Roemer and Robert M. Young traveled through the South in 1962 in search of ideas for a fiction feature set during the growing turbulence of the civil rights era. Their story, based in Alabama but shot in southern New Jersey, is only tangentially related to the movement toward equality. Duff, an itinerant black railroad laborer (Ivan Dixon), romances and marries Josie, a small-town preacher's daughter (Abbey Lincoln). Duff insists on being treated with respect, but his stance is personal rather than political. After he settles down in the town with Josie, he comes up against white bosses who want to make sure he knows his place and black men such as Josie's father who don't want to rock the boat for fear of losing what little advantage they have. Duff's relationship with his own father (Julius Harris), a broken-down drunk living in Birmingham, teaches him valuable lessons about dignity and self-worth. The film was lauded at both the New York and Venice festivals but received limited release in theaters specializing in foreign and independent film. However, word of mouth in the black community (where Nothing but a Man was for years a staple on the 16 mm rental market, in the days before VCRs) and continued attention by film historians have ensured the status of Nothing but a Man as a pioneering and enduring work. ~ Tom Wiener, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ivan Dixon, Abbey Lincoln, (more)
In 4 for Texas, Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin star as Zack Thomas and Joe Jarrett, a pair of rival mountebanks who spend most of the film battling over who will control the gambling and wenching in 1870 Galveston. Though they'd as soon cut each other's throats than cooperate, Zack and Joe are forced to unite against a pair of common enemies: crooked banker Harvey Burden (played by Victor Buono, a favorite of director Robert Aldrich) and cold-blooded outlaw/hired-gun Matson (Charles Bronson, virtually the only person in the film who takes his role seriously). The heroes also battle over the affections of well-endowed heroines Elya Carlson (Anita Ekberg) and Maxine Richter (Ursula Andress), both of whom are sharp-witted businesswomen who match Zack and Joe scam for scam. The Three Stooges show up for a moment, in which they repeat their "point to the right" and "State of Texas" routines, and get into a fracas with feisty little old lady Jesslyn Fax. Also making guest appearances are Arthur Godfrey and Teddy Buckner and His All Stars. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, (more)
