The Slams

Jim Brown is at his coolest as Curtis X. Hook, a criminal who rips off the mob and stashes his loot ($1.5 million) in a structure at an abandoned amusement park. But he is soon nabbed by the cops and sent to prison; there he gets caught up in various power plays by characters such as Macey (Frenchia Guizon, "Friday Foster") and white mobster Capiello (Frank DeKova, 'F Troop'). He learns that the park is scheduled for demolition, so he knows that he'll have to escape sometime very soon. Taking an interest in him is cheerfully corrupt captain of the guards Stambell (Roland Bob Harris, "Ray").

"The Slams" marks another capable effort by talented journeyman director Jonathan Kaplan, who handled a bunch of excellent exploitation flicks during the 1970s and graduated to major features such as "Heart Like a Wheel" and "The Accused" in the 1980s. The cast is filled with familiar faces: Judy Pace ("Cotton Comes to Harlem") as Hooks' lady, Paul Harris ("Across 110th Street"), Ted Cassidy ('The Addams Family'), John Dennis ("Soylent Green"), Quinn K. Redeker ("Spider Baby"), Robert Phillips ("The Dirty Dozen"), and Charles Cyphers ("Halloween"). The always welcome Dick Miller ("A Bucket of Blood") pops up briefly as a cabbie whose vehicle is briefly commandeered by Paul Harris as part of the escape plan. Brown and his co-stars are certainly easy enough to watch, although there's only so much they can do with a so-so script by Richard DeLong Adams ("I Escaped from Devils' Island"). The movie is certainly decently paced and competently made, but in the end "The Slams" is a rather standard prison movie. Roland Bob Harris and DeKova deliver the standout characterizations. Director Kaplan has a cameo as a port-a-potty delivery man.

Best of all is the tense, climactic prison escape, with a surprisingly grisly fate in store for one of the characters.

It's worth noting the variety of familiar names with technical credits: future director Andrew Davis ("Code of Silence") as the cinematographer, Luther Henderson as the composer of the music score, Jack Fisk as the art director, and actor Thalmus Rasulala ("Blacula") as an assistant director.

Six out of 10.

A robbery crew steals drugs and money from criminals. Curtis X. Hook (Jim Brown) beats his comrades to the double-cross and is the final survivor. He dumps the drugs and hides the money in an abandoned dock. He gets locked in prison and has to deal with many different sides. It's black against white. Others want him to work for them. Everyone who knows about the money wants it.

I'm not sure if this is considered blaxploitation. It's produced by Gene Corman, brother of B-movie legend Roger Corman. Blaxploitation is intended for a black audience. This is a more general B-movie. Legendary football player Jim Brown is not that great as an actor. He has some natural charisma and his size gives him just enough command. His amiability makes him a functional lead. This is undeniably a B-movie and it's a functional one.

(1973) The Slams ACTION

At the opening, showcases a sophisticated, blatant drug and money robbery involving three guys. And while driving away on their getaway truck, and because one of the guys didn't agree to also rob the syndicate's drug money, he demands that his share would only be in cash. So the other two decide to double cross him by getting rid of him altogether, except that he was already onto their intentions and successfully kills them both with a sawed off shot gun. After dumping the suitcase full of cocaine into the ocean, he then takes off driving again, but becomes nauseous because he was also shot as well who ends up crashing his vehicle on front of a police cruiser. And that was when the real movie starts is when anti-hero, protagonist, Curtis X. Hook (Jim Brown) ends up in the slammer (hence the title "The Slams") for connecting him to the robbery and murders, in which we're seeing him having to confront and clash with a corrupt chief's guard, racist inmates, and one of the Italian syndicates who also happens to be locked up as well. On his side, Hook has a successful African American girlfriend who happens to be a successful news reporter, and a likable pimp who Hook had used to saved his life during the war. If you want to see movies in which African Americans are not stereotyped as people who're incapable to hitting back if they're hit first, then this would be a great contender since how often are we going to see successful African American news anchors with the main star working with pimps! Not very often.

Despite having a lead actor who was one of the prominent actors in the 1970s blaxploiation film genre, "The Slams" has been all but forgotten since its theatrical release, not even getting a release on VHS or DVD. Watching the movie, it becomes pretty easy to figure out why no one has been clamoring for its resurrection. Even for 1973, I am sure audiences found nothing really that original here. Every plot turn will be familiar to people who have seen their share of prison films or prison television shows. As a result, there is no excitement, even though there are plenty of prison beatings and fisticuffs along the way. Jim Brown tries, but there is little he can do with such a flat script. Recommended only for die hard fans of the blaxploitation genre.

Jim Brown was such a stud. Retired as the NFL's all-time leading rusher, falling short of 1,000 yds/season only twice in 9 years and both times only barely. And that was back when they only played 12 (and then 14) game seasons.

He quit after one of his best seasons (and was named NFL MVP for the 3rd time) and headed to Hollywood. Everybody knows he was Jackson in The Dirty Dozen. But how many people have seen this little gem?

Heist goes wrong. Accomplices die but Brown manages to escape long enough to hide the loot before getting arrested and landing in jail. There rest is prison-drama fun between the whites, the blacks, the corrupt prison captain and the jailed mafioso. There are a bunch of good fights and some really good performances. It all climaxes in a clever escape attempt, which isn't a spoiler because Brown is hatching it from the get-go.

Doesn't make any big statements, but it sure is fun.