Five on the Black Hand Side

Five on the Black Hand Side (1973) is a movie that I recently watched on Tubi. The storyline follows a barber and his macho, controlling and overbearing ways. He jokes at the shop that the success to marriage is based on the ability to train and develop your wife into what you want. He's about to be in for a surprise when his wife isn't going to take it any longer and she is going to leave him. Is the barber willing to change to keep a happy home or will his life be ripped apart because he's stubborn?

This movie is directed by Oscar Williams (Hot Potato) and stars Godfrey Cambridge (Cotton Comes to Harlem), Glynn Turman (Gremlins), Dick Anthony Williams (The Jerk), Clarice Taylor (Smoke), Ja'net DuBois (Good Times) and D'Urville Martin (Sheba, Baby).

This is a unique addition to the 1970s blaxploitation genre. The acting is fantastic and I adored the depiction of the family dynamics, how different the brothers were, and how the family had to find ways to stick together to face the world despite their differences in perspectives. There was more depth to this than I anticipated. The acting was out of this world and the characters were a lot of fun and easy to root for (and against). There is worthwhile storytelling with great subplots and some small doses of comedy sprinkled in here are there. The barbershop scenes are legendary.

Overall, this is an underrated blaxploitation film that is an absolute must see. I would score this an 8/10 and strongly recommend it.

Just watched this on Netflix Streaming. John Henry Brooks (Leonard Jackson) is the patriarch of the family that includes wife Gladys (Clarice Taylor), and his grown children-Gail (Bonnie Banfield), Preston (Glynn Turman), and Booker T. (D'Urville Martin) though he prefers to be called Sharif. In a nutshell: Gladys is tired of her husband's treatment of her and vows to leave him to her friends Ruby (Virginia Capers) and Stormy Monday (Ja'net DuBois), Preston is in touch with his African roots, so is Gail who's about to marry Marvin (Carl Franklin) while Booker T...oops, I mean Sharif, gets hassled by his brother about dating white women. Most of what I just mentioned happens while John Henry is at the barbershop he owns cutting the breeze with his co-horts like Sweetmeat (Sonny Jim Gains) and male only customers which we're reminded of whenever a female tries to enter. I'll stop there and just say this was quite a refreshing change of pace compared to the mostly blaxploitation pics I watched the last several days. And while the characters seem mostly certain types, there's enough humor and love that one associates with them immediately. So on that note, I recommend Five on the Black Hand Side. P.S. Player Dick Anthony Williams-who's Preston here-is someone I was first familiar with when he played servant Abe Davis on "Homefront" some 20 years ago. I also just watched him in The Mack as Pretty Tony. He's a native of my birthtown of Chicago, Ill. Another one I just watched was D'Urville Martin in The Legend of N!gger Charlie. Virginia Capers was born in Jacksonville, Fla. which was where I once lived from 1987-2003. And I recognized Ms. DuBois from when she was Willona Woods on "Good Times" which she would portray a year after this movie. She's also recognizable to me as the singer of "Movin' On Up" theme of "The Jeffersons" of which Leonard Jackson once played Louise's father. And Ms. Taylor would eventually portray Cliff Huxtable's mother on "The Cosby Show"

I like "5 on the black hand side" because it is a real cool movie from the past. I liked everything about the movie which were the studio(s), the theme song, the actors who starred on it & etc. I especially liked the humour in it which was really good through the jive talk & etc. I even watched this movie with my Mother whom was 8 when this film was released & I hafta tell you, Even though I was born 27 years, 49 days & a month after its release, I can still appreciate it. This film is so good that If I were to have a smartphone, computer or any other technological device, I'd stream it if it was available on any streaming service (e.g. Netflix, Prime Video, YouTube, etc.). I give props to everybody who had something to do with this including United Artists, Metro Goldwyn Mayer, Oscar Williams & etc.

The blaxploitation genre continued with Oscar Williams's "Five on the Black Hand Side", based on a play by the recently deceased Charlie L. Russell. Watching it I was reminded of "All in the Family": the old-school patriarch, the mousy mom, and the rebellious offspring. While the plot centers on the mom's finally standing up to her domineering husband, there's more. A truly outstanding scene takes place in the dad's barbershop. One of the patrons recites some poetry that sounds like comedic rap! The overall point is that this is one enjoyable movie. Every blaxploitation movie that I've seen has been fun, but this one manages to be so without a bunch of high action. It's all about the humor, and it's a flick that you just gotta love.

PS: producer Brock Peters did background vocals on Harry Belafonte's "Day-O" and most notably played Gregory Peck's client in "To Kill a Mockingbird".

A light comedy that touched on subjects very real at the time. The production seems rough around the edges by todays standards but in comparison to others at the time typical. The setting could be in the northeast, or the west, or the south. The actors are originals whose parts were copied and polished over and over for the next ten years. What might be considered a little corny today was closer to actuality then. Perhaps we are more cynical now but on the other hand I see similarities Between this films underlying themes and a couple of the newer films of this type. Maybe we could go back to warm comedies that speak of our issues, maybe we have. See it while it is still available. One of my favorites. A classic of the time.