Flashback Friday: The Mack (1973)

Writer's Note: Had to postpone this one from Wednesday, as I didn't quite finish it in time to post it before it was too late. So, it's basically a "Wayback Wednesday" in disguise, which is to say, more action-oriented than my typical "Flashback Friday" fare.

For those new to the site, Mondays are typically "Monster Mondays," in which I cover creature features, including beasts gone wild, overgrown critters, crazed monsters and zombies and so forth.

"Wayback Wednesdays" are reserved for action movies from the past, with an emphasis on stuff from the 70's & 80's. "Throwback Thursdays" and "Flashback Fridays" are kind of catch-alls for any older movies, though I tend to focus on oddball cult and horror movies.

Finally, I also do "Retro Reviews," which are reviews I wrote while I was attending the University of Alabama in Birmingham, aka UAB, where I served as an Entertainment Critic and, later on, as an Editor, for several years.

As they are no longer available online for reasons we won't get into, I thought I'd reprint them here to preserve them for the ages. I tend to tie these articles into people's birthdays or the like, and they can crop up on any day, accordingly.

I also do random articles about the stuff I'm into, the first of which was a list of some of my favorite actresses. I have another one coming up soon of my favorite foreign starlets, with others in that vein coming up soon. I'll also be doing a Movie Franchise review in the next few weeks.

Got it? Cool. Let's get started!

Easily one of the best films of the so-called Blaxploitation era, The Mack is so good it practically transcends the sub-genre, at least in terms of camp value. I mean, don't get me wrong, there are some silly moments, but I'm pretty sure they're intentional, as opposed to some of the so-bad-they're-good type films that tend to get brought up by most aficionados, i.e. the Dolemite movies, T.N.T. Jackson, etc.

Indeed, the filmmakers and stars make a solid case for it not being a Blaxploitation film at all, but rather, a slice of life look at a very real phenomenon that's grounded in reality, down to its casting of actual IRL pimps, hookers, junkies and homeless people in supporting roles in the film. 

The film is dedicated to one such individual, Frank Ward, an actual pimp and drug dealer, who was murdered before the film was completed and served as a sort of liaison between the filmmakers and the people who actually lived in Oakland, where the movie takes place.

This lends the film an undeniably real sense of time, place and most importantly, realism that you don't often get in such movies, helped along by the fact that a lot of the dialogue was improvised. To put it in more modern terms for my younger readers, this film is more HBO's The Deuce  than Black Dynamite. 

I think the reason The Mack tends to be lumped in with the rest of the Blaxploitation era stuff is a combination of how the film was promoted and the presence of comedian Richard Pryor. If you look at the posters and VHS/DVD cover, it's pretty obvious it's being promoted as one of these sorts of films, but those who check it out expecting a camp fest might actually be surprised at how gritty and real it is. 


The initial "script" for the film was written by inmate Bobby Poole, a prisoner at the time it was written, who had to resort to writing his tale down on toilet paper, as he lacked access to paper at the time! 

Poole's story made its way to producer Harvey Bernhard, who would later go on to massive success with The Omen movie series and films like The Goonies and The Lost Boys. He was determined to cast actor Max Julien in the leading role, and was able to secure him by allowing him to rewrite the script and have a hand in the casting of the film.

With Michael Campus assigned to direct, Campus took it upon himself to move to Oakland for two months prior to shooting to acquaint himself with the city, being a native New Yorker. By chance, he met Frank Ward and befriended the pimp under decidedly oddball circumstances. 

After approaching him and pitching the idea of working together to make the film ring truer, Ward plopped down a massive bag of cocaine and all but dared Campus to do some, testing his willingness to truly immerse himself in the scene. Campus, who had never done the drug, promptly did so and the two were off and running.

This led to some amusing- and sometimes scary- moments, as both Campus and Ward alike found themselves marveling and often confused by the ins and outs of what was going on around them, leading to some arguments and/or misunderstandings. 

For instance, Ward was positively beside himself when Campus refused to let him be crowned "Player of the Year" in the film's infamous "Player's Ball" sequence (which was Pryor's idea), noting that it needed to be actor Max Julien, being as how he was the star of the film and the character the film revolved around.

In spite of all his arguments to the contrary as to why it should be him instead, Ward ultimately had to content himself with being first runner up in the film's fictional contest. Astonishingly enough, when the film was released, real pimps were so enamored with the idea that an actual Player's Ball came into being for real! 

Every year since November of 1974, pimps have gathered in various locales, starting with Chicago- in part to celebrate the birthday of the legendary Bishop Don "Magic" Juan (aka Donald Campbell)- with a "Pimp of the Year" crowned at the end. Juan won thirteen years in a row, for whatever that's worth, before retiring in 1985 to become a preacher- hence the "Bishop" moniker. For more on the event and the pimp lifestyle, be sure and check out the fascinating documentaries Pimps Up, Ho's Down and American Pimp. 

Getting back to The Mack, the film revolves around Goldie (Max Julien), who is busted by cops after a deadly shoot-out that claims several lives, and imprisoned for five years. When he's released, he begins his quest to achieve money, power and success by becoming a pimp, with the help of best bud, Slim (Richard Pryor) and his prize ho, Lulu (Carol Speed).

This doesn't go over particularly well with his brother, Olinga (Roger E. Mosley), a Black Nationalist, looking to clean up Oakland from drugs and vice. Olinga was inspired in part by Black Panthers Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale, who were friends of Julien's at the time, with some of Olinga's speeches directly lifted from the Panthers for use in the film. 

Goldie's rise to power does not go unnoticed by his former employer, the Fat Man (George Murdock), a Mob Boss type who specializes in dealing heroin; or the corrupt local cops, Hank (Don Gordon) and Jed (William C. Watson), who want a cut of Goldie's action- or else. Things eventually come to a head as Goldie's enemies try to take him down by any means necessary, resulting in Goldie and his brother having to team up to take them down first.

The end result is one of the 70's best films- kind of a black Godfather. Granted, some of the acting is a bit ripe at times, and the dialogue occasionally silly (or, at the very least, dated), but overall, this is an effective, down-and-dirty, serious look at a certain element of society that was prevalent at the time, like it or not. 

Given the subject matter, some people will understandably be turned off from watching it in the first place, but it is well worth the effort if you can get past that. I will say that I hated that the women were given such short shrift after a certain point in the film.

This was something star Julien was well aware of and tried to rectify by giving the actresses, particularly Speed, some extended dialogue scenes that explained why they had turned to hooking to earn a living and gave the women in the movie more to do in general.

Alas, Julien's efforts were shot down by producer Bernhard, who, somewhat understandably, felt the focus should be on the pimps, not the hos, as it were. On the plus side, if you dig this and feel the same way, I can't recommend HBO's The Deuce enough.

While set in NYC, not Cali, The Deuce goes a long way towards rectifying The Mack's shortcomings, by giving the women equal screen time and considerably more depth, including their motivations for doing what they do. It also doesn't shy away from the dark side of things, even more so than The Mack, which is saying something, as the film doesn't exactly pull its punches, either. 

The writing and acting, including James Franco in dual roles and a career-best turn from actress Maggie Gyllenhaal, are top-notch as well, I might add. The Deuce returns this September with Season 2. Season 1 is readily available on HBO's streaming service, HBO-Go. If you dig The Mack, its most obvious source of inspiration, you should definitely check it out.

Let's take a closer look at The Mack's cast, starting with star Max Julien. Julien was a classically-trained actor that producer Berhard caught performing in off-Broadway shows like Shakespeare in the Park, which was why he was so intent to hire him. Julien moved to California, landing roles in the drug trip movie Psych-Out, alongside Jack Nicholson and Bruce Dern; and in Getting Straight, with Candice Bergen.

He also wrote the screenplay for and co-produced the Blaxploitation classic Cleopatra Jones, though he passed on participating in the sequel. He landed The Mack right around the time he was finishing up Jones, and agreed to take the lead in the film in exchange for cast approval and being allowed to rewrite the script. 

The Mack was Julien's biggest hit, but he dropped out of the business for a time after the following year's Thomasine & Bushrod, which he also wrote, co-produced and oversaw several key positions in, including the editing and costuming, the latter of which he also played a part in for The Mack as well. Goldie's infamous white fur coat, which Julien helped design, is now in the Smithsonian!

Julien then became a sculptor and author, writing poetry and novels, and was commissioned to start a West African film company by a group of Nigerian businessmen. After hand-picking a crew of professionals, he then trained a group of Africans in the art of film-making for several months, later returning to co-write and star in a film for them. 

Other notable films include: The Black Klansman, The Savage Seven, Uptight (for which he got considerable Oscar buzz, though none ultimately materialized) and How to be a Player, as well as appearances in several TV shows, including Mod Squad, The Name of the Game and One on One. 

Julien was good friends with comedian Richard Pryor, which is how he became involved in the film, despite producer Bernhard's reservations over it, as Pryor had a bad reputation at the time for being unreliable. Unfortunately, he was proven right, as Pryor often showed up to the set high as a kite, not knowing his lines, and exhibiting iffy behavior.

His relationship with Bernhard was so strained that Pryor once went to his apartment with the express intent of assaulting him, but Bernhard was packing heat, so Pryor feigned that he was just joking around! 

Julien later managed to calm Pryor down and encouraged him to improvise his lines, which led to a looser atmosphere on the set and a slightly more focused performance. Indeed, the film led to a resurrection of Pryor's film career, in spite of his reputation.

Some of his most classic roles followed as a direct result of this film, including Uptown Saturday Night, Car Wash, Silver Streak, Greased Lightning, Which Way is Up?, Blue Collar, Stir Crazy, Bustin' Loose and Some Kind of Hero. He also co-wrote the screenplay to the Mel Brooks' comedy classic Blazing Saddles. 

Some bad choices in the 80's led to his career cooling in the years to come, though he did appear in the memorable Eddie Murphy vehicle Harlem Nights and the decent See No Evil, Hear No Evil, a re-teaming of Pryor and semi-frequent collaborator Gene Wilder, both in 1989.

A series of bad marriages, nasty divorces (two to the same woman!), ongoing struggles with drug addiction, and finally, being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, all but killed his career in the 90's, though he did make a brief-but-memorable cameo in David Lynch's bent Noir cult classic Lost Highway in 1997, which would prove to be his last role. 

His many stand-up comedy movies are considered to be amongst the finest ever committed to film, notably Live and Smokin', Live in Concert, Live on the Sunset Strip (my personal fave) and Here and Now. In addition, his short-lived TV series The Richard Pryor Show is well-worth seeing. All are readily available on DVD. 

As Goldie's brother, Olinga, there's Roger E. Mosley, an esteemed actor that will be readily familiar to those who grew up watching lots of TV in the 70's, 80's and 90's. Mosley's notable TV credits include Sanford and Son, Night Gallery, Kojak, Kung Fu, Baretta, The Rockford Files, Starsky & Hutch, The Love Boat, Night Court and Las Vegas. 

However, he is probably best known for his starring roles on Magnum P.I. as "TC" and as Coach Ricketts on Hangin' with Mr. Cooper. In film, some of his better-known roles include Hit Man, Terminal Island (also with Tom Selleck, pre-Magnum), McQ, Darktown Strutters, Stay Hungry, Semi-Tough, Roots: The Next Generations, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Steel, Pray TV, The White Lions, Unlawful Entry and A Thin Line Between Love and Hate.

Finally, there's Carol Speed, as Lulu. Speed was a likable Blaxploitation regular, who cropped up in some of the most beloved films of the era, including The Big Bird Cage, Savage!, Dynamite Brothers, Black Sampson and two of my personal faves of the sub-genre, Abby (aka the "Black Exorcist"- she was the titular terror who was possessed by a demon) and Disco Godfather, with Rudy Ray Moore, aka "Dolemite."


She was also in The New Centurions, with Mosley; the well-respected TV movie The Girls of Huntington House (featuring a young Sissy Spacek) and the oddball hippie Sexploitation melodrama Bummer, which lives up to its name in more ways than one, save Speed's solid performance. 

Other notable cast members include Don Gordon (Slaughter, Fuzz, Bullitt, The Towering Inferno) and William Watson (In the Heat of the Night, Roots, The Sword & The Sorcerer) as the corrupt cops; Dick Anthony Williams (The Anderson Tapes, Slaughter's Big Rip-Off, The Deep, The Jerk, Edward Scissorhands) as Pretty Tony; and George Murdock (Willie Dynamite, Earthquake, Star Trek V, TV's Battlestar Galactica and Barney Miller) as the notorious Fatman. 

Also worth a mention is the legendary Juanita Moore, as Goldie's ill-fated mother. She was Oscar-nominated at a time when such things were relatively unheard of, for 1959's classic Imitation of Life. She also worked with both Julien and Williams in the aforementioned Uptight, which was what led her to be cast in this film. Moore went onto work with Julien again in his Thomasine & Bushrod and with Speed in Abby.

Then there's the exquisitely funky soundtrack by Willie Hutch, best-known for writing the lyrics to the Jackson Five classic "I'll Be There." He also wrote for Michael Jackson, Smokey Robinson and Marvin Gaye, among others, and composed the soundtrack for the Blaxploitation classic Foxy Brown as well. 

Remarkably, his score here, despite critical acclaim, was replaced with one by celebrated composer Alan Silvestri, with vocals by Gene McDaniels ("Compared to What," "Feel Like Makin' Love"), for the film's reissue in 1983, meant to capitalize on the super-stardom of Richard Pryor and Mosley's gig on Magnum P.I. This score was also used on the film's initial VHS release.

After complaints from fans of the original Hutch soundtrack, the original score was restored to the DVD release and the soundtrack re-released. Ironically, this led the Silvestri score to go out of print, resulting in it becoming a highly sought out collectors' item. Go figure. 

I hadn't heard that version since I first saw the film on VHS, but even though I was more used to it, having listened to both recently, I'd have to say I prefer the Hutch version, as its more period accurate- and just plain better, no offense to Silvestri and McDaniels, who are super-talented in their own right. Both are worth hearing, though, and can be found on YouTube here (Hutch) and here (Silvestri).

The Mack is one of the most hugely influential films of all time, particularly in the field of rap music, where it has been sampled/referenced by the likes of LL Cool J, Snoop Dogg, Public Enemy, Outkast, Ludacris, Chance the Rapper, Digital Underground, Mobb Deep, Raekwon, Big K.R.I.T., Too Short and Chief Keef, among many others. 


In addition, it's been spoofed in various films, notably in the Keenan Ivory Wayans (of In Living Color fame) flick I'm Gonna Git You Sucka and Black Dynamite, both parodies of the Blaxploitation sub-genre in general that are worth at least a watch. Also, the sitcom Martin spoofed it in an episode called "Do You Remember the Time?" 

The Mack is packed with great scenes. Some of my favorites include the Black Nationalist meeting early in the film (which is where the Black Panther quotes pop up), the completely mental Planetarium scene (everyone knows you have to get the hos in the right head "space" to control 'em, lol- j/k), Hank's strange rant about giraffes vs. elephants (which Julien reportedly objected to, due to how it was used in relation to the woman in the scene), the ever-quotable gambling and barber shop scenes and, of course, The Player's Ball.

You also gotta love Goldie's revenge against those who wronged him, even though he gets played by his enemies somewhat, what with Hank duping him into believing a pimp killed his mother. Ironically, that pimp gets it the worst, as he ends up having to stab himself repeatedly with his own sword-like cane (which was reportedly based on a real tale Pryor heard about- as was the bit with the rats), then getting tied up and a stick of dynamite detonated in his mouth. Ouch!

The film was a huge success in its time, especially with black audiences, out-grossing even one of its sources of inspiration, The Godfather, in the areas in which it screened. It also has grossed some $3 million in VHS rentals alone, making it one of the more profitable indies of the time as well. (Even before that, it was heavily bootlegged.) 

The Mack was ranked #20 on Entertainment Weekly's Top 50 Cult Movies of All Time, screened at the Cannes' Film Festival in 1983, and again for its 40th anniversary at the LA County Museum of Art. It's one of Quentin Tarantino's all-time faves and he has referenced it several times in his films, notably showing a clip of it in True Romance, a film he scripted.

All of which makes it an absolute must-see, IMHO. The film is readily available on DVD, but not on Blu-Ray as of yet. A new transfer would be most welcome, as would making both Hutch and Silvestri's soundtracks available as alternate audio tracks. The DVD does feature the option to listen to Hutch's score in the original mono, in addition to a remastered version, which is pretty cool.       

Also, there's a great documentary included, with interviews with many of the principals involved in the film, including Julien, Bernhard, Campus, Gordon and others. Last but not least, there's a great commentary track, which is where I got a lot of my info above, so credit where credit's due.

I can't recommend this one enough. Check it out, by all means!

(No Emoji Review this time, as The Mack is way too cool to be represented by any emojis, save maybe this one: 😎)