WIllieDynamite

Willie Dynamite (1974)

Willie Dynamite is an up and coming pimp with a fine stable of ladies. But he makes a miscalculation when he decides not to join with the other pimps in an organization of mutual cooperation. Not only that but he runs afoul of a do gooder named Cora that tries to get his newest girl out of the business before it is too late. Between the other pimps and the cops suddenly pinching his girls and himself Willie’s life spirals out of control. In the end he loses everything from his life that he thought was important, but decides that maybe that those things weren’t really that important to begin with. Of course in learning his lesson he leaves at least one body and one terribly scarred girl behind him. Oh and his mom dies, so it really isn’t a happy ending.

This really is one of the better Blaxsploitation movies that I’ve seen. The story is solid and shows the downside to living the life. Most of the movies is spent watching Willie’s life be torn apart by the cops and the other criminals, until he has nothing left. The scenes where he is slapping the girls around are pretty rough and while Willie is the main character he isn’t all that sympathetic at times. In fact it isn’t until he learns the error of his ways that he becomes someone for the audience to root for. Here again the movie doesn’t pull any punches and when Willie leaves his old life behind (symbolically by leaving his pimped car at the curb) he still has issues and his life is still a mess. But the movie ends with the hope that he is on the right path to get it together. This is awfully deep for an exploitation movie and I really sort of dug it. The story and characters are very well fleshed out and interesting. This is only helped by an excellent cast of actors, including a wonderful performance by Roscoe Orman as Willie Dynamite.

From the first moment of the movie there is no doubt that this is vintage 70s the whole way. From the killer soundtrack that had my toes tapping right away to the wardrobe that has to be seen to be believed Willie Dynamite was a groovy movie. As far as special effects there isn’t much to be had. Other than a decent throat slashing I don’t think anyone dies on screen. But then this isn’t that kind of movie. The camera work is nicely done and captures the New York City locations really well.

Really I can’t recommend this movie enough to anyone who is a fan of Blaxsploitaiton movies. Sure it might not go for the “cool” over the top violence or have the traditional hero in the lead, but that is the movie’s strength. The fact that it isn’t your run of the mill predictable movie is why I love it so much. Again I highly recommend Willie Dynamite.

3 ½ out of 4

reviewed by John Shatzer