Le Parrain noir de Harlem

The Black Godfather is boring. It has all the typical elements: the Black mobster who wants to protect the community from the evil white mobster, the corrupt white policeman, the mandatory sex scene between hero and love interest, etc. Unfortunately this movie suffers from a clunky script. The name may be intriguing but this movie is not.

The Black Godfather (1974) is a movie that I recently watched on Tubi. The storyline follows JJ, a rising drug dealer who can't stand what drugs are doing to his neighborhood. He decides he wants to change how he, and everyone else, do business his neighborhood and get crack off the streets. His business partners don't agree with his epiphany leading to a battle in the streets.

This movie is written and directed by John Evans (Speeding up Time) and stars Rod Perry (The Black Gestapo), Don Chastain (C. C. And Company), Tony Burton (Assault on Precinct 13) and John Alderman (Cleopatra Jones).

This movie had a classic blaxploitation storyline but all the charm that comes with this genre - a great soundtrack, fun attire and style, entertaining dialogue and characters that are easy to root for. There are some worthwhile nudity and sex scenes and the film does a great job of making the main character relatable despite his decisions and actions. The action is very average and the ending is as you'd expect.

Overall, this is an average addition to the blaxploitation genre that I would score a 5/10 and recommend seeing once.

This movie pretty much follows the same path of many others of it's ilk. A socially conscious hero (Rod Perry) tries to uproot evil in the neighborhood (i.e. drugs) through violent tactics and (of course) runs up against corrupt cops and the mob who (of course) are far more nasty than they are competent. The film has little to distinguish it. Most of the action is at the early 1970s TV show level. On the plus side, Rod Perry does occasionally manage to rise above the material and the opening theme song is pretty cool.

The Black Godfather (1974)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

The title to this Blaxploitation flick pretty much tells you all you need to know. Rising gangster J.J. (Rod Perry) wants to get his black brothers buying dope from their own kind and in order to do this he must battle the evil white gangster (Don Chastain) who keeps pushing into his neighborhood. THE BLACK GODFATHER is a pretty lame entry in the genre for a number of reasons but the biggest is that it's simply got a cash-in title and very little else. A lot of these Blaxploitation films were nothing more than cash-ins but every once in a while you'll come across one that's actually good. Sadly, this here isn't that type of film as this here is pretty boring from start to finish and there are only a couple campy scenes that keep it from being a real disaster. I think the biggest problem is the rather lackluster direction, which just never pumps any energy or excitement onto the screen. The film just seems to be going through the motions and there's nothing that happens that you won't see coming from a mile away. Even the lead character isn't all that interesting and not for a single second do you care about his cause, care about his friends or even care if he's killed or not. As with most of these films, all the blacks are hard-working people just trying to make some cash for themselves while all the whites are evil racists. This simple set up can be fun when it's done correctly but here it just seems tired and old. I actually thought Perry was good in the lead role but it's really too bad that the screenplay didn't give him something better to do. I also liked Chastain as the bad guy. The highlight of the film is when a group of blacks break in on a couple and the white woman is needing a fix and offers herself for one. This entire sequence is pretty hilarious and it's too bad we didn't get more moments like this.

With the help of Kingpin, Nate Williams (Jimmy Witherspoon), a smalltime crook named J. J. (Rod Perry) works his way up to the big time. Unfortunately, as is often the case in these films, mob types are trying to move in on Williams' turf. Their boss, Tony Burton (Don Chastain) has been pushing his dope on the local youngsters, and that will not stand.

THE BLACK GODFATHER is a solid entry in the urban action / crime subgenre. Mr. Perry's character seems to get tougher and wiser as the film progresses. There are several interesting characters, like the bada$$ Diablo (Damu King). He's definitely the sort of guy you'd want on your side.

The final confrontation contains a surprise for old Tony!...