Truck Turner

• Director: Jonathan Kaplan
• AMG Rating:
• Genre: Action
• Movie Type: Blaxploitation, Action Thriller
• Themes: Hired Killers, Bounty Hunters
• Main Cast: Isaac Hayes, Yaphet Kotto
• Release Year: 1974
• Country: US
• Run Time: 91 minutes
• MPAA Rating: R

Plot

Isaac Hayes puts his gun where his groove is in his role as hard-case bounty hunter Mack "Truck" Turner, three years after composing the legendary score for Shaft (1971). Ex-football star turned skip-tracer, Turner specializes in bringing in the criminals police are too scared to chase, and when he's hired to capture sociopathic pimp Gator (Paul Harris), he finds himself confronted by the most vicious killers in the underground scene. Little does Turner know that Gator's woman, Dorinda (Nichelle Nichols), has a deep-running cold streak of vengeance, and has hired ruthless hit man Harvard Blue (Yaphet Kotto), as well as a legion of other like-minded and equally determined assassins, to snuff out Truck's supercharged motor once and for all. It's now up to Truck to keep his cool long enough to get to the source of the seemingly endless stream of bullets that come at increasingly unsettling intervals. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Review

Roger Corman alumnus Jonathan Kaplan delivers one of the best blaxploitation films of the era with Truck Turner. Commencing with a series of amusing vignettes, the "gentle but tough" nature of Mack "Truck" Turner is shown, which -- along with the camaraderie between our hero and his buddy -- lead to a more three-dimensional portrayal than most blaxploitation films offer. But Truck Turner has just as many laughs, both intentional and non-intentional (some of the clothing has to be seen to be believed). In 1974, car smashes and slow-motion violence were in vogue, and this high-octane ride delivers the goods on both counts. The acting is as good as one can expect in a B-movie: Nichelle Nichols (best known as Star Trek's Lt. Uhura) puts in a nice performance as a sexy, foul-mouthed whoremonger, and Yaphet Kotto plays his villain role with his usual engrossing professionalism. The plot, if a little slow, is actually pretty engrossing, and Issac Hayes is superb throughout as both actor and composer (the funky non-diagetic soundtrack adds much to the experience). It's amazing that this is Hayes' only real starring role: in his first try, he accomplished a standout film. ~ Jon Mills, All Movie Guide

Cast

Matthew "Stymie" Beard - Jail Guard; Annazette Chase - Annie; Scatman Crothers - Duke; Isaac Hayes - Truck Turner; Henry Kingi - Candy Man; Yaphet Kotto - Harvard Blue; Sam Laws - Nate; Earl Maynard - Panama; Don McGowan - Garrity; Dick Miller - Fogarty; Nichelle Nichols - Dorinda; Mel Novak - Doctor; Edna Richardson - Frenchie; Stan Shaw - Fontana; Esther Sutherland - Black Mama; Don Watters - Val; Alan Weeks - Jerry; John Kramer - Desmond; Lisa Farringer - Annette; Clarence A. Barnes - Toro; Larry Gabriel - Travis; Eddie Smith - Druggist; Robert Harris - Snow; Paul Harris - Gator; Annik Borel - Stalingrad; Jac Emil - Reno; Donnie Williams - Highway Man

Credit

Ann McCarthy - Costume Designer, Jonathan Kaplan - Director, Michael Kahn - Editor, Isaac Hayes - Composer (Music Score), Charles Wheeler - Cinematographer, Paul Heller - Producer, Fred Weintraub - Producer, Martin Hornstein - Producer, Darin Knight - Sound/Sound Designer, Leigh Chapman - Screenwriter, Oscar Williams - Screenwriter, Michael Allin - Screenwriter, Jerry Wilkes - Screenwriter

Similar Movies

Across 110th Street; Black Belt Jones; Black Caesar; Coffy; Cotton Comes to Harlem; Foxy Brown; The Mack; Superfly; Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song; Trouble Man; Original Gangstas; Black Shampoo