Shaft's Big Score!

 

While the first SHAFT was a more subtle film this goes bigger. Nothing represents that symbolic leap more than the fact that Shaft carries a shotgun as his main weapon compared to the revolver he carried in the first film. The film ends with a car chase, boat chase, and a shootout at the docks. That was a most satisfying payoff. The action far exceeds anything from the from the first film. What doesn't work as well however is the private eye mystery element and snappy dialogue that Shaft had in the first film. In this film it feels like trouble finds him, while in the first one it felt like found trouble through the investigation. There are moments of great dialogue but not nearly as many great lines compared to the first one. 

Synopsis: When Shaft finds out that a dead friend ran a numbers racket out of his legitimate business and left $250,000 unaccounted for, he knows why he has suddenly found himself in the middle of a war between rival thugs. These goons are all trying to take over the territory of the dead man as well as get their hands on the missing 250 grand. Shaft has all he can handle trying to track down the money and, at the same time, keep his friend's sister from the clutches of the hoods.

The film starts with someone emptying a safe. That person in turn calls Shaft. As Shaft arrives to meet him the building blows up. The man in question was Cal Asby, an insurance salesman and mortician. Shaft is questioned by Captain Bollin (Julius Harris) but cannot be held due to lack of evidence. The plot in this is convoluted because there are a lot of sides to it. Kelly (Wally Taylor) was in business with Asby and they were running a racket with their funeral parlor and insurance company. Kelly owes $250,000 to mafioso, Gus Mascola (Joseph Mascolo). Later it is revealed that Kelly had wanted to steal that money from Asby's safe and blew him up thinking the money would still be there. Many different sides get involved, including "Bumpy" Jonas (Moses Gunn) and his bodyguard Willy (Drew Bundini Brown) from the first movie. 

Shaft eventually figures out that Asby was a good citizen wanting to use his money for philanthropy. He had planned to buy out Kelly. Kelly got greedy and wanted to use that money to pay his debts and killed Asby to take over the numbers racket. There are many different double crosses along the way. Kelly goes to Mascola and they agree on a 50-50 split. Kelly then later goes to Jonas and offers him a stake in the racket in Queens and a 60-40 partnership. Kelly also asked Mascola to kill Shaft. Mascola sends two men after Shaft, and Shaft kills them both. Shaft later goes to a club and is beaten up by three men who tell him to deliver a message to Bumpy to stay in Harlem. This is only after Kelly lies to Mascola about Shaft being sent there by Bumpy. So Kelly is a really sleazy character and will do anything to save himself. 

There are many things I enjoyed about this movie. Shaft's cool lines aren't in supply as much as the first one. We first see him sleeping with Asby's sister Arna, as Asby calls him. He asks Shaft to protect his sister and he says "I can get a hand on her," as he literally puts his hand on her ass. Later he goes to Kelly's place and encounters his beautiful girlfriend, Rita (Kathy Imrie). They have fun banter that eventually leads to a sex scene where the scene is shot through the distorted glass of a vanity mirror. Like the first film Gordon Parks shows a penchant for filmmaking with the different crossfades between the vanity mirror and back to Shaft and Rita. While Isaac Hayes still did the opening song, the score is less soul than the first one. Parks did the music himself and it is much more traditionally orchestral. There is some fun buddy-cop type of humor when Shaft and Willy have to team up and they go to Mascola's place. Willy just stands there watching Shaft and Mascola fight while Shaft asks Willy for help.

Left to Right: Kathy Imrie (Rita) Richard Roundtree (Shaft) and Rosalind Miles (Arna)

SPOILER SECTION

All sides converge on each other at a cemetery. Kelly finds the money buried there. He gets it, but Mascola shows up and kills him. Shaft meanwhile shows up just behind them and takes the money and Mascola hostage. A long chase ensues, first with cars, then to a speedboat and then on land. Shaft manages to take out all of Mascola's men. He shoots down the helicopter and shoots the other men on the ground near some shipping docks. Once again Parks shows his craftsmanship with the wide shots of the stairs leading to a crane where Shaft is being chased by one of the men. Shaft refuses to tell the police where the money is and says he will be donating it to a child care organization, something Asby had intended to do with it. 

While the subtleties of the first Shaft are not in this, the movie succeeds as a sequel. Much more action, a bigger scope, more blood squibs, and still some fun lines that make Richard Roundtree so awesome as Shaft. The final chase sequence rivals any chase sequence in the era where many movies always had one. It was fun seeing some more staple Blaxploitation actors like Julius Harris. 

Rating: 8/10

Trivia: Director Gordon Parks has a cameo as a croupier in the back of the gambling room at Mother Ike's. 

Scenes: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=shaft%27s+big+score+scenes

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0w8UclRBi4

Gun of the Movie: Shaft's shotgun the High Standard Model 10 (HS-10)

https://www.imfdb.org/wiki/Shaft%27s_Big_Score!

Shaft (1971)

 

SHAFT has a great combination of ingredients that lead to a most satisfying movie. A combination of snappy lines and dialogue combined with the private eye mystery being well written. The movie shows some and tells even less. You never feel ahead or behind Shaft's investigation. There are gunfights where you don't see the gunman and it plays more like a suspense scene and it works. There are shootouts with the 1970s stylized violence that I love so much. The most fundamental thing that makes it great is Richard Roundtree in the title role. His acting is great both from the physical and emotional standpoint. You believe him as a tough guy, as an investigator, and as the lady's man. Isaac Hayes adds more greatness to the score with his vocals and the title song that perfectly encapsulates the main character. 

Synopsis: John Shaft is the ultimate in suave Black detectives. He first finds himself up against Bumpy, the leader of the Black crime mob, then against Black nationals, and finally working with both against the White Mafia who are trying to blackmail Bumpy by kidnapping his daughter.

The film starts with some great location shooting around New York City. Nothing beats the late 60s and early 70s New York look with the different lights and restaurant logos among other views. Isaac Hayes "Theme from Shaft" kicks in and we know how cool he is supposed to be. "Who's the black private dick that's a sex machine to all the chicks? (SHAFT!) "You're damn right!" The bird's eye shots of Shaft cut back to the medium shots of his profile. Gordon Parks shows his penchant for direction in those shots. The breath you see coming from people's mouths indicates this is winter in New York City.

Richard Roundtree as John Shaft

Early on Shaft has a number of moments and lines to establish how cool he is. His cop friend Androzzi, (Charles Cioffi) and his assistant come up to talk to Shaft early on and they have a memorable exchange. "Where the hell are are you going Shaft?" "To get laid. Where the hell are you going?" Shaft shows his Detective skills early on where he notices one man in the building where his office is looking for him. He takes the other man up to the office where he engages two men in a fight, throwing one of them out the window to his death. Androzzi eventually interrogates him about this confrontation and they have a memorable exchange. Androzzi and him get into a debate about race where Androzzi holds up a black pen saying to Shaft "You ain't so black." Shaft then holds up a white coffee mug and says "you ain't so white either." 

Eventually Shaft discovers that "Bumpy" Jonas (Moses Gunn), a Harlem crime boss, sent his men to Shaft's apartment for a meeting. Bumpy requests that Shaft find his daughter who has been kidnapped by rival Mafiosos in the city. What I like about this plot is that it shows the limitations of a big time gangster. Bumpy needs Shaft because his influence and his sway over cops he can buy doesn't extend out of Harlem. Shaft doesn't like the idea of working for a criminal but also gets payment out of it. Bumpy tells Shaft to find Ben Buford, a black militant leader. 

What ensues throughout the rest of the movie is some great shootouts, mystery reveals and payoffs, and fist pump moments from Shaft. There is a great shootout when he tracks down Buford where no gunman is revealed, you just see bodies getting shot and blood squibs. Shaft and Buford's escape from a building is just as much suspense as it is action. Shaft eventually figures out Mafiosos are watching his apartment from a local bar. He disguises himself as a bartender and eventually busts open one of the men's heads with a bottle. That was a surprising moment that had the blood and violence aesthetic I love so much from 70s movies. Shaft uses the two men for information and sets up a meeting between him and the men who are holding Bumpy's daughter Marcy, hostage. 

Spoiler Section

Shaft goes to a cafe where he has a memorable interaction with a waitress. He asks for an espresso and she asks if he wants a sandwich and he says no. She later comes back and asks if he wants her to bring him a lemon peel. Those little moments are moments that feel natural that makes me like this movie more. Shaft eventually finds Marcy but gets shot in the process of trying to save her. One of the kidnappers leaves Shaft alive and tells him to deliver a message to Bumpy: 24 hours to deliver or Marcy dies. Buford and company save Shaft and a doctor operates on him.  Eventually Shaft and Buford's men find out where Marcy is being held and launch an attack on the building. What is great is how coordinated this attack is. Shaft repels down a window and breaks in while inside the building Buford and his men position themselves along the doors to take out the other men. all of them succeed in killing the Mafiosos and saving Marcy. One of them has a fire hose to hold off others, if that isn't poetic justice for the Civil Rights area I don't know what is. 

There are many things I love from this movie but the combination of Richard Roundtree being a perfectly cool character with some pathos is a great foundation. The mystery being something you figure out as an audience with the character is great. The 70s aesthetic and filmmaking with the violence is great. It has some sociocultural commentary but it never feels over the top. In 1971 I imagine it was progressive to show a white woman being into Shaft, and more specifically showing they had sex on screen. I enjoyed seeing actors I've seen in other things. Cult movie legend Tony King and Blaxploitation mainstay Tony King being the big ones I've seen in other things. 

Christopher St. John as Buford (Left) and Tony King as Davies (Middle)

Rating: 10/10

Trivia: Isaac Hayes was the first African-American to win the Academy Award for best original song. He also auditioned for the role of Shaft. Producers were impressed with him enough to hire him for the score.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1ga1FgU10E

Clips: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZbXA4lyCtqrmVTafTkv3RiOuSC-O6-Sp

Gun of the movie: Shaft carries two different Colt Detective Specials throughout the film. One that is nickel plated that he keeps in his fridge is my favorite. 

https://www.imfdb.org/wiki/Shaft_(1971)