Black Gunn | |
---|---|
Directed by | Robert Hartford-Davis |
Produced by |
Jon Heyman Norman Priggen |
Screenplay by |
Franklin Coen Robert Shearer (original screenplay) |
Story by | Robert Hartford-Davis (original story) |
Starring |
Jim Brown Martin Landau Bernie Casey Herbert Jefferson Jr. |
Music by | Tony Osborne |
Cinematography | Robert H. Kline |
Edited by | Pat Somerset |
Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release date
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Running time
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96 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $1,015,000 (US/ Canada rentals) |
Black Gunn is a 1972 Neo Noir blaxploitation film starring Jim Brown and Martin Landau and directed by Robert Hartford-Davis.
In Los Angeles, a nighttime robbery of an illegal mafia bookmaking operation is carried out by the militant African-American organization BAG (Black Action Group). Though successful, several of the bookmakers and one of the burglars are killed. The mastermind behind the robbery, a Vietnam veteran named Scott (Herbert Jefferson Jr.), is the brother of a prominent nightclub owner, Gunn (Jim Brown). Seeking safe haven, Scott hides out at his brother's mansion after a brief reunion.
Meanwhile, mafia caporegime and used-car dealer Russ Capelli (Martin Landau) meets with a female West Coast crime boss, Toni Lombardo (Luciana Paluzzi), to report the theft of daily payoff records and monies. Though Capelli receives an unrelated promotion for years of loyal service, he nonetheless fears the consequences of a loss of face and status as well as incriminating mob financial information. He therefore orders his men, led by psychotic assassin Ray Kriley (Bruce Glover), to shake down anyone who might have a connection to the robbery and to recover the lost goods using any means necessary.
The film was released theatrically in the United States by Columbia Pictures in December 1972.
The film was given a VHS release by Goodtimes Home Video in the United States. It was later released on DVD in 2004 via Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. This release is anamorphic in 1.85:1 aspect ratio.