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A REVIEW //SLAUGHTER//^ For some reason or the other, Black attiletes have permitted themselves to be used by the Celluloid boys: Rader Johnson consented to be a doomed marine in “Nor.e But the Brave;” in “Candy,” Sugar Ray Rob-i n 6 o a was a chauffeur named Zero, whose most memorable hne was “Tell it like it is, baby;” and Archie Moore doffed his heavyweight crown to scratch his head as n—Jim in “Huck Finn.”But not env have endured os long as Jim Brown, tr.o Conner Cleveland Brown otac*. Since .being. iptroduced_ in ,4Rio Conchos,” where he played a mum sergeant in the Union army. Brown has appeared in aj least ten films, most of which were comprised of narrow plots, plenty of heroics and sterile , characterizations.. In most. Brown has played a super hero who (seeks revenge, runs well and falls in love with white women.In “Slaughter,” the Celluloid boys stitch together all of Brown’s previous roles and create a being whose “business and pleasure” are slaughtering. Like the title character in “.Kenner,” Slaughter is a hostile adventurer (this time well-dressed) who. wants to find and kill the Italians whoearlier^Ued his family In an attempt to take over a iputer concern. (The Mafia apparently needs more accurate data). Like Robert T. Jefferson in The Dirty Dozen,” Slaughter performs super human feats: he successfully outruns and outmaneuvers a carload of would-be killers; later he comes flying through a stained glass window and kills a whole heap of bad guys. And like Luke in “El Condor.” Slaughter falls in love with-a white woman. In two separate sequences they waBow in bed as the ,camera 'probes his~ muscled parts.Put all this together and you have “Slaughter.” rated R and held over at the' Crest and New theatres. Put all this together and you wonder what exactly is the meaning of this. Why. in other words, have some financiers put up so much for so little ? But more importantly, why doesn’t Jim Brown put all this together and demand roles that project other than stereotypical images of Black people?Unfortunately, Slaughter, like his other roles, makes Jim Brown the actor ... a fine fullback.SAMUEL A. HAY
Newspaper Details
Baltimore Afro American
Baltimore, Maryland, US
Tue, Sep 12, 1972
Page 17
Full Page
Clipped by
Rotten T.
USA 24 Jun 2020
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