Die Faust

I saw this awhile ago, but I thought of it again after watching the film "Death Walks at Midnight" which also features a giant metal glove used as the murder weapon. The titular glove in this one, however, is not spiked and is used entirely on male victims who really deserve it, and is wielded by ex-football player turned preacher Rosy Grier. Grier plays an innocent man sent to prison, who takes revenge on the men who sent him there using a stolen "high-tech weapon" (the glove). John Saxon, playing a cop for the thousandth time in his career, is the man who tries to stop him and recover the glove. Both characters are pretty sympathetic and as I recall the films ends happily. That's probably one of the reasons it wasn't very successful and remains pretty obscure today. It lacks any real exploitative elements--the violence is pretty tame and there's no sex or nudity. Even the blaxploitation elements aren't too strong here. But if you're not expecting too much, it's worth a look.

Oh God almighty, what a weird film this is! It starts out with a

horrendous theme song (with a singer that sounds like Englebert

Humperdink!), and it follows a grisly attack by a huge soul-brother with a glove that can kill with even a flick of its finger! John Saxon is the only saving grace for this movie as a smooth-talking bounty hunter

tracking the glove-man. Everything else, well, let's put it this way: it's like Ed Wood deciding to make a sleazeball action movie from the

late 70's and early 80's. That's how bad the film is!!

Shot in 1978 but released in 1980, "The Glove" (also known under an alternate title as "Blood Mad") is a competent B-movie featuring John Saxon as a latter-day bounty hunter, not unlike the character played by Steve McQueen in his final pic "The Hunter". A gratuitously violent subplot involving vengeful Roosevelt Grier provides the film's title but throws it off its dramatic tracks in an unsuccessful effort to cater to the blood 'n guts market.

Saxon plays an ex-ball player and ex-cop, eking out an existence by chasing down bail jumpers. He voices over his world-weary lament in well-written film noir fashion, but the film's episodic structure, and flat, unatmospheric direction fail to capture the ambience of those '40s pics.

Saxon's possible big score comes when a Prison Guards Association offers a $20,000 reward for the apprehension of Grier, who is on a revenge rampage beginning with his brutal attack on guard Aldo Ray at film's outset. Grier was motivated by the ruthless treatment he received in prison from guards equipped with a "riot glove". Supposedly invented in the '60s to deal with student riots and outlawed after its use in prisons, the metal and cloth glove is the film's gimmick. Dressed in black with helmet and the glove on to wreak revenge, Grier looks like a refugee from "Rollerball" in his violent scenes. Stuck with an absurdly underwritten role, Grier is Mr. Nice Guy when not cracking heads, wont to serenade ghetto kids with his guitar.

As pic meanders along to the inevitable he-man showdown between Saxon and Grier. Saxon impresses with a strong, personable performance which indicates he could be a solid detective-type hero if given better material. Girlfriend Joanna Cassidy is a distinctive presence stuck in a non-role, while various guest stars (including the late Joan Blondell) have little to do in their episodic cameos. Social consciousness in the violent finale is very poorly conceived as the filmmakers contrive to whip up audience support for mob violence and then cop out with "There has to be another way" line of dialog. Tech credits are okay.

My review was written in January 1981 after a 42nd St. Theater screening.

John Saxon is a down at heel bounty hunter chasing down a criminal with $20,000 on his head.

The film is, despite the lurid poster and overblown opening theme song, a character story about the life of a bounty hunter. I must admit, I was hoping for a dumb action flick with a huge guy dressed in riot gear and wearing riot gloves going on a rampage. Riot gloves are are armoured and weighted gauntlets which are used to beat people into submission. In fact the glove only really plays a big part approximately three times in the whole film. The film is pretty dull in actual fact, except for a couple of unintentional laughs. It's cheesier and cornier than Veggie Supreme pizza and not really worth watching.

The premise for this film is what drew me to rent it. A hitman is

after a killer that uses a high tech riot glove to torture his victims.

John Saxon stars in this heap of garbage and narrates throughout

the ENTIRE movie. This feature is pretty cool at first, but after a

while you begin to get irrated with him explaining the obvious.

About 45 minutes in, the movie loses any steam that it had (it had

none to begin with), and things start making absolutely no sense

at all. The theme music and soundtrack to this movie sounds like

it came from some Saturday morning cartoon, and the fighting

scenes are poorly choreographed. I would not recommend this

film to anyone with a conscience.