El gran Sansón

Strip club owner Samson and his pet lion try to keep the neighborhood safe. White mobster Johnny Nappa tries to move in but Samson is not giving in.

It's a second tier blaxploitation. Samson is setup like a noble tribal African king and he does a lion. It's an old lion and he doesn't do much. Nothing is really that great. It's a simple story. I don't really recognize lead actor Rockne Tarkington although I've seen a couple of his things. There are some fun stunts and some dangerous car people interactions although they need a better fight coordinator. They do get to wreck a few cars. The final battle is a little silly. It's more unrealistic than the rest of the movie. This is for blaxploitation fans.

Bar owner Samson (Rockne Tarkington), armed only with his wits, strength and a cudgel, fights to keep his neighbourhood crime-free, much to the irritation of vicious mob under-boss Johnny Nappa (William Smith). The film is essential a wish-fulfillment fable as Samson single-handily dispatches numerous hapless mob underlings and, even by the standards of the genre, the ending is a bit implausible. The film has a bit of a brutal edge and lots of swearing but the numerous fights are typical bloodless PG brawls. The cast is fine, there are some fine 70s fashions on display, and Samson's woman Leslie (Carol Speed) is topped by an impressive afro. The role of the lion is unclear, but the big cat does add some novelty to the film (and makes for a great poster). Not one of the great blaxploitation flics but watchable for fans of the dated but funky genre.

Regardless of your views on the nature of blaxploitation films themselves, the average viewer expects silly one-liners, comically inept and invariably racist antagonists, and a breezy plot which allows for the genre tropes to star. Black Samson offers virtually none of these, and instead presents you with ceaseless cruelty.

The film starts out looking like another fun-to-watch-with-friends romp, but quickly takes an ever-dark and ever-sadistic turn and never once looks back. Gone are the cartoonish racist villains; instead, we have believable, human monsters that exude hate (kudos to the actors, but unfortunately in the wrong genre for such savagery). Gone is the lighthearted pacing and tempo; instead, we have a story that plays more like a Greek tragedy. Where you'd normally find comic vehicles, instead scenes play out as if from a snuff film.

Black Samson is not a bad film by any means; if anything, it's one of the most sincere efforts of cinema normally attached to the blaxploitation era. However, those looking to goof on a film might find themselves sorely disappointed in how human and bruised the characters are presented.

"Samson" (Rockne Tarkington) is the owner of a nightclub in a black part of Los Angeles who does his best to keep crime down and things under control. However, this doesn't please two rival criminal organizations-one white and the other black-from wanting to move in and take over. This is especially true for one particularly psychotic mobster named "Johnny Nappa" (William Smith) who refuses to heed Samson's warnings and simply won't take "no" for an answer--and things become quite tense after that. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was a pretty good "blaxploitation" film in large part due to the performances of the aforementioned William Smith and Rockne Tarkington. Likewise, having a beautiful actress like Connie Strickland (as Johnny's girlfriend "Tina") certainly didn't hurt either. In any case, I thought this was a pretty good film and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

Rockne Tarkington is Samson, a supercool clubowner and guardian of the ghetto. Samson runs his topless bar with his ladyfreind as his main dancer. He also keeps the streets clean and keeps the bad element out. The bad element, the Italian/American mobsters led by musclebound madman William Smith have different ideas on what to do with Samsons territory. Rockne plays Samson smart, tough and cool. He carries a giant pimpstick(and uses it occasionally to deliver a beatdown), owns a lion and pulls off some seriously funky, African attire. Nappa(William Smith) and his goons force Samson into a showdown at the end of the film. Super tough and super cool Samson is a man of integrity and will never sell out his people in the hood. He also treats his woman like a queen and unlike other blaxsploitation characters like Shaft and Superfly, don't have women on the side. Character actor William Smith is totally in his element as the villain in this piece and is completely psychotic. Black Samson is very good and recommended to anyone who enjoys blaxsploitation and action movies from the 1970's.