Discussion about this post

User's avatar
David Perlmutter's avatar

-I understand that some people are uncomfortable about Cosby's past activities off-screen, but I do not feel it has any bearing on interpreting the true value of his on-screen and on-record ventures. In the mid-20th century, there were few Black performers as ubiquitous and influential as he was, and the manner in which he helped to transform the image of his race in everything from prime time TV drama to Saturday morning television animation is not to be ignored or dismissed easily by any means. Once he (and particularly his most virulent dissenters) are dead and gone, we can reassess him on terms that are far more objective and fair.

-"Amusingly, the chase takes place on a mountainous road, which is terrain that would not be found anywhere near the flat landscape surrounding Chicago." However, there is a considerable amount of said terrain in Los Angeles, California, which is likely where the movie was filmed.

-Poitier's ineptitude at comic acting in this film and its follow-ups ("Let's Do It Again" and "A Piece Of The Action") is offset wisely by his decision as the director to surround himself with performers who were much more accomplished at it. Meaning Cosby, Pryor and Wilson, but in particular Belafonte's scene-stealing turn as Geechie Dan, a Black mirror image of Don Vito Corleone who amusingly speaks things the latter would never have considered speaking...

Expand full comment
2 more comments...

No posts