Uptight (film)
| Uptight | |
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Film poster
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| Directed by | Jules Dassin |
| Produced by | Jules Dassin Ruby Dee Jim Di Gangi |
| Written by | Jules Dassin Ruby Dee Julian Mayfield Liam O'Flaherty |
| Starring |
Raymond St. Jacques Ruby Dee Julian Mayfield Janet MacLachlan Roscoe Lee Browne |
| Cinematography | Boris Kaufman |
| Edited by | Robert Lawrence |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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104 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Uptight (also known as Up Tight!) is a 1968 American drama film directed by Jules Dassin. It was intended as an updated version of John Ford's 1935 film The Informer but the setting was transposed from Dublin, Ireland to Cleveland, Ohio, United States. The soundtrack was performed by Booker T. & the MG's. The film opens with documentary footage of the funeral procession of Martin Luther King, Jr., which is used as a backdrop for the film's fictional narrative.
The film was released on DVD by Olive Films on October 16, 2012.
In Cleveland, Ohio, at the time of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., protesters riot in the streets. Johnny Wells (Max Julien), a charismatic black revolutionary, leads a group of black men on a mission to steal guns from a warehouse as preparation for violent racial conflict. Johnny's best friend Tank (Julian Mayfield), who formerly worked at the steel mill with several of the men, is supposed to help with the robbery, but when the group goes to his house, they find him drunk and watching the television coverage of King's funeral. Tank is a middle-aged, unemployed alcoholic who supported King's non-violent approach, which the others have rejected in favor of violent revolution. It is later revealed that Tank lost his longtime job at the steel mill when he attacked a white co-worker who harassed the black mill workers. As a result, Tank was sent to prison and since being released, has been unable to find work. The black revolutionary group is going through a deeper radicalization, and they see Tank's inconsistent behavior as threatening to their cause.
Johnny tries to sober Tank up and talk him into coming along on the robbery, but Tank, drunk and upset, finally refuses to go. Johnny, noting that this isn't the first time Tank has let them down, leaves without him. At first things go smoothly because the white security guard is asleep, but since the robbers are short one man, Johnny needs to make a second trip into the warehouse to steal enough guns, and the guard wakes up and fires on the robbers. Johnny returns fire, killing the guard. In the melee, Johnny leaves behind his sweater with his name tag in it, and thus becomes a wanted man.
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