Fureur noire

If you have never seen this film, but you saw Shamus (of Burt Reynolds fame), then you have seen this film. You just didn't know it. This movie came out in 1972, Shamus in 1973. The plot is different, but the central character is the same(except for black/white). A private eye that is rough and tumble, lives in a pool hall, has a front man run the hall, has hassles with the police, and can fix almost anything, while being the ultimate lady killer. Both movies are very good.

Robert Hooks stars as one sharp dressing, pool hustling, coke drinking, lady pleasing, bad-ass private eye in this cool and groovy seventies blaxploitation classic.

As the film title suggests, trouble is very much afoot here after our man becomes embroiled in a potential gang war between rival factions, after one side hires him to find out who has been ripping off their low rent gambling dens. Matters become even more complex when our hero subsequently ends up being framed for a murder. None too pleased with being made the scapegoat however, our man subsequently sets out to get revenge which he does.....in violent style!

Chock full of snazzy dialogue, cool music, and some fine action sequences, this is great stuff from beginning to blood soaked end. Hooks is especially cool in his role which makes it somewhat of a shame that there were never any sequels produced as for instance other similarly strong black protagonists of the time such as Shaft and Slaughter enjoyed. Oh well, as it stands, our hero in this is equally as memorable. Be sure to check this out.

In 1972, Paul Winfield had an interesting year: he starred in the Oscar-nominated Sounder (of which he got a nod) with Kevin Hooks as his son. Then he also played one of the villains in Trouble Man which starred Hooks' father, Robert. As for the star, he's real cool here as he goes like Shaft playing pool, making love to his lady (Paula Kelly), and knowing when to shoot without messing up his suit! While I rarely watched "The Waltons", I knew the other bad guy was played by Papa Walton, Ralph Waite, and boy, does he really get it! And how about the future Arthur Carlson from "WKRP in Cincinnati", Gordon Jump, playing a slum landlord who has to apologize to a woman whose baby almost got killed by a railing but not before getting his butt whooped by Mr. T (Robert Hooks' character)? Julius Harris was as cool as Mr. Big here as he was in Hell Up in Harlem a year later. Most cool of all is Marvin Gaye's main title theme and the entire score he composed. Really, what else to say except Trouble Man is solid, you dig? And, no, I really don't think this deserves to be in the book "The Fifty Worst Films of All Time".

Judging by the low number of votes for this film on the IMDB, it appears not too many people have had a chance to see this movie, which is a real shame. I saw it on the Fox Movie Channel last night, and was thoroughly impressed. "Trouble Man" has a good plot, good characters, good performances, and a good script. Robert Hooks is great in the lead as the badass private dick "T". I would add that, in my opinion, this film is as good if not better than "Shaft". That's high praise, perhaps, but see the movie and you might agree. I should put it in more blunt terms: if John Shaft and T were ever to have some beef with each other, T would definitely hold his own, and at the very least, give Shaft an ass whuppin' he would not soon forget.

I originally became curious about this movie because of the original score and Soundtrack by Marvin Gaye. After waiting a couple of years for the DVD to be released, I was truly impressed by the film as a whole. I'm very disappointed by the score of this film on IMDb. This has to be the most slept on blackploitation movie there is. It has very excellent plot and cinematography that puts you right into the action. Hell, Robert Hooks has to be one of the most unsung heroes in action movies. I watch the movie over a dozen times There was someone that was "cooler" than Shaft, His name is Mr. T. (not the guy with the Mohawk). This is a definite must for you black action collection.