Maniacal Movie Poster Monday #47!

It's time for a theme week - and this time you're getting the SHAFT!





Shaft  (MGM, 1971)

Man, what a cool movie! Starting off with Isaac Hayes's incredible score, this one hits it out of the park. Richard Roundtree is amazing, and kudos to director Gordon Parks for introducing one of the great movie Tough Guys in this one.







Shaft's Big Score  (MGM, 1972)

A year later, here comes a sequel that brings back pretty much everybody in the same jobs - and turns into a fine sequel that is another good time.








Shaft in Africa  (MGM, 1973)

Another year later, and this one is the least of the three - with a change of writer and a change of director, something is lost - but Roundtree's screen presence keeps the movie on track and the movie is definitely watchable. I never saw the brief TV show that followed this one, but with the R rated elements scrubbed for The Tube, I doubt I was missing much.



I always liked Richard Roundtree, even moreso when I discovered we had both attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, although a couple of decades apart.




A few years later, I managed to get Shafted when I worked with Richard Roundtree on the movie Once Upon a Time...When We Were Colored. He was a joy to work with, totally professional and easygoing and I got to mention we both had attended SIU-C, which was fun. It was 1994, and we were shooting at an ice factory in downtown Wilmington NC.

There was a Shaft bonus working on this movie too - it also had Isaac Hayes in it! Sadly, my aging camera kinda crapped out on me, and although I did get a picture with Mr. Hayes, the focus is off and we look like we're being shot through gauze, so we'll skip that one.




Until next post, you Can Poke Me With A Fork, Cause I Am Outta Here!