Main Cast: Leroy Wallace, Richard Hall, Monica Craig, Marjorie Norman, Jacob Miller
Release Year: 1978
Country: US/JM
Run Time: 99 minutes
Plot
Rockers was made after the the stunning success of the independently made 1972 hit The Harder They Come, which introduced North Americans to reggae music and the Rastafarian lives of many Jamaicans. In the story, Leroy "Horsemouth" Wallace, who has been a drummer in reggae bands, decides to try and give his fellow musicians an even break by becoming a record distributor. When local gangsters rip him off and stop his budding music venture cold, his fellow musicians decide to rob the robbers. Practically everyone in this film, beginning with its star, were reggae musicians who were well known in Jamaica. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
Cast
Leroy Wallace - Horsemouth
Richard Hall - Dirty Harry
Monica Craig - Madgie
Marjorie Norman - Sunshine
Jacob Miller - Jakes
Gregory Isaacs - Jah Tooth; Winston Rodney - Burning Spear; Frank Dowding - Kiddus I; Robbie Shakespeare - Robbie; Manley Buchanan - Big Youth; Lester Bullocks - Dillinger; Ashley Harris - Higher; Leroy Smart - Himself; Peter Honiball - Honeyball; L. Lindo - Jack Ruby; Trevor Douglas - Leggo Beast; Herman Davis - Bongo Herman; Raymond Hall - Jeep Man; Junior Wilby - Natty Majesty; Errol Brown - Natty Garfield; Berris Simpson - Prince Hammer; Theophilus Beckford - Easy Snapping; Phylip Richards - John Dread; Burning Spear; Peter Tosh - Himself; Kiddus I
Credit
Lilly Kilvert - Art Director, David Streit - Associate Producer, Eugenie Bafaloukos - Costume Designer, Walter Rearick - First Assistant Director, Ted Bafaloukos - Director, Susan Steinberg - Editor, Peter Sova - Cinematographer, Patrick Hulsey - Producer, Nigel Noble - Sound/Sound Designer, Ted Bafaloukos - Screenwriter
Rockers was originally to be a documentary but blossomed into a full-length feature showing the reggae culture at its peak.
In this film, the culture, characters and mannerisms are authentic. The main rocker Leroy "Horsemouth" Wallace, for example, is shown living with his actual wife and kids and in his own home. The recording studios shown are the famous Harry J Studios where many roots reggae artists recorded during the 70s including Bob Marley. Samples of the film's dialogue were used in the early 1990's jungle track, "Babylon" by Splash. The Jamaican Patois spoken throughout the film is rendered with English language subtitles for a foreign audience.
Horsemouth, a drummer living in a ghetto of Kingston plans to make some extra money selling and distributing records. He buys a motorcycle to carry them to the sound systems around the island. The film starts as a loose interpretation of Vittorio de Sica’sThe Bicycle Thief and turns into a reggae interpretation of the Robin Hood myth.
