O Cafetão

'The Mack' is one of the very best blaxploitation movies of the 1970s, and one that has had an enormous influence on both hip hop culture and Quentin Tarantino. Max Julien gives a brilliant performance as Goldie an ex-con who decides that pimping is his best hope for survival and success. Julien had played one of the members of Jack Nicholson's psychedelic combo Mumblin' Jim in Richard Rush's 60s classic 'Psych-Out'. 'The Mack' should have put him up with Fred Williamson and Richard Roundtree as a major black star, but for some reason his career never took off, despite his obvious charisma and co-writing and co-producing the hugely successful 'Cleopatra Jones'. So much so that when Tarantino wanted him to audition for the part of Marcellus Wallace in 'Pulp Fiction' he was unable to even track him down. Too bad as Julien would have been a terrific Wallace and it might have kick started his career. Apart from Julien the movie features Richard Pryor as his crazed best friend Slim, Roger Mosley (who played Leadbelly in Gordon "Shaft" Parks little seen biopic) is Goldie's politically active younger brother Olinga, and Carol Speed ('Abby') plays Lulu, the prostitute who gets him started in the game. But my favourite supporting role is the one by Don Gordon who plays Hank, an evil corrupt cop. Gordon later went on to play another nasty piece of work in Dennis Hopper's 'Out Of The Blue'. He's just terrific in both movies and rarely gets the attention he deserves. 'The Mack' definitely makes my blaxploitation Top Five, along with (no order) 'Superfly', 'Shaft', 'Black Caesar' and 'Coffy'. (Sorry I don't count 'Across 110th Street' as blaxploitation, otherwise I'd list it).

If you want to get an insider's glimpse into the world of pimpin', look no further than "The Mack." Often compared to the other, better known black movies of the 1970's, which tend to focus more on drugs and street justice, "The Mack" incorporates both of those elements, but with a heavy focus on pimpin'. It gives outsiders a glimpse into the life of a pimp through the eyes of 1973's official Pimp of the Year, Goldie ("The Mack" shows that this dubious title is actually given out in an annual event, one similar to the Oscars). Goldie's strengths are his strong pimp hand, which he uses early and often, and the fact that he always gets his percentage on time (as in "woman better have my percentage"). Although his brother (fyi: one of magnum p.i.'s sidekicks)dedicates his life warning people about pimps and drug pushers, Goldie continues his lavish lifestyle, going so far as to bring his women to the annual Pimp Softball and Barbeque Outing (for a pimp, Goldie sure knows how to swing the lumber). But, with a tragic ending, Goldie must examine his life and is forced to make a huge decision.

If you are looking for great acting, a movie where you can hear what the people are saying (everyone speaks really softly), or good music, look elsewhere. Also, although Richard Pryor gets second billing in this movie, he is seen in the movie less than a pimp in daylight.

On the other hand, I think the strengths of this movie are the costumes and the "pimp insight" one can gain. If you want a crash course on what it takes to be a respected pimp (fine clothes, ability to wear sunglasses during all hours, have an unruly afro, kill people using dynamite, play a lot of craps and three card monty), then look no further than "The Mack". However, if that is not your intended goal, look further, look much much further.

This movie begins with a shootout in Oakland between the police and a group of black men. One of the black men named "Goldie" (Max Julien) is caught and sentenced to 5 years in a penitentiary. When he finally gets released he meets up with a childhood friend name "Lulu" (Carol Speed) who has since become a prostitute and laments to him how difficult her profession is without a pimp. He then makes the decision to accept the challenge and begins to actively recruit attractive women to oversee. One thing leads to another and soon he becomes the top "mack" in all of Oakland. Yet while this obviously translates into increased revenues for him it also attracts other undesirable elements who want a cut as well. So now he has to contend with crooked cops and an organized crime boss in addition to his rivals. Now, rather than reveal any more of the story and risk ruining the movie for those who haven't seen it I will just say that this was a fairly good "blaxploitation" film which seemed to get better as the movie progressed. Personally, I didn't think Max Julien fit the role that well because of his quiet demeanor but he still put in a decent performance all the same. Certainly worth a watch for those who enjoy films in this genre.

The Mack is not simply a 'blaxploitation' movie. You can take it seriously as a drama and it works very well. It depicts a time and place honestly, even as it is still making drama out of this world of pimps and hookers and cops and violence and money. It's crude, but it has a kind of inherent integrity that's hard to explain.

Max Julien may break out into a grin or smile once too much, but he can, and does, carry this movie really well. He makes this entire thing become alive in a way that he is likable and charismatic, and yet carries a level of authority. You don't doubt for a second that he can become this Mega-Pimp.

The scummy police men are played so slimy they transcend typical trash and become epically trash-tastic (the worst white cops maybe in any 70's movie?), and Richard Pryor as the not-really-comic sidekick helps a good deal too.

Great music, real dramatic conflict, and DAMN do some people get f****d up here! Most weird but enjoyable scene for me (and maybe the closest it gets to being so OUT-there exploitation-y) is when Goldie is giving his "orientation" bit to the hookers in the planetarium. I want to watch that on a loop.

Robert J. Poole deserves credit for writing clever and gritty lines. This movie was urban before people even referred to movies as urban. Pretty Tony: "You know the name of the game , your bitch chose me." Loved that exchange!!!!! The Mack showed that urban movies way back then had a broader appeal than thought by Hollywood. The whole subculture of pimping has been covered in books and movie. The Mack was far a head of it's time and place. I never understood why people would get offended over The Mack. Writer Robert J. Poole did not invent pimping. It's been there, Prostitution is the oldest profession. The Mack has intelligent writing.