Out of many stars who headlinedblaxploitationgenre movies in the ‘70s,Billy Dee WilliamsandRichard Pryorwere just a few enduring talents who managed to crossover into mainstream cinema. Williams had theClark Gable-like heartthrob status that attracted female fans. Pryor was an edgy stand-up comedian who spoke the truth about the black experience in America. Both stars found themselves taking a unique performance turn in the 1973 thrillerHit!
Capitalizing primarily on the landmark success ofThe French Connection,Hit!was a fascinating studio film reuniting Williams and Pryor withSidney J. Furie, the director of their previous collaboration in theDiana Rossmusical dramaLady Sings the Blues. Written by screenwritersAlan Trustman(The Thomas Crown Affair) andDavid M. Wolf, theglobe-trotting revenge tale marked a sharp departure for its stars. Though it runs at a dense two and a half hours,Hit!would not only solidify Williams’ capability of leading an action picture but also establish the versatility of Pryor as a serious actor.
What Is ‘Hit!’ About?
Much likeThe French Connection,Hit!details the inner workings of wealthy French heroin manufacturers and distributors who funnel their supply out of the country and into the hands of low-level dealers on American street corners. One of those dealers sells to a young man in Washington D.C. who injects his teenage girlfriend Jeannie Allen (Tina Andrews) with the heroin, resulting in a fatal overdose. Jeannie’s secret government agent father, Nick (Williams), initially goes after the boyfriend untilhe realizes who the real target should be: the source.
Turning his back on his agency employers, Nick gets access to a top-secret file containing the names of seven individuals who had their lives affected by drugs or pressure from the government. Among them include a sex worker (Gwen Welles), a system-weary cop (Warren J. Kemmerling), a married pair of retired assassins (Sid MeltonandJanet Brandt), a Vietnam vet sniper (Paul Hampton) and an ex-navy officer (Pryor) haunted by his wife’s rape and murder. Within one week,Nick trains his team in a small Canadian coastal town to prepare for their complex assassination plotagainst the heroin suppliers in Marseille.
One of the Most Vicious, Controversial Revenge Thrillers of All Time Changed Movies Forever
This Sam Peckinpah crime thriller will stay with you.
Billy Dee Williams and Richard Pryor Shine in ‘Hit!’
Long before the world knew him for Lando Calrissian in theStar Warssaga, Williams played low-key with an undercurrent of anger as Nick. Within the first 20 minutes of the film, he says very little dialogue in his pursuit of answers and stands off against his government handlers. Though he retains his signature charm in the film’s lighter moments, he channels the quiet intensity ofSteve McQueenandCharles Bronson. To that end,race is not a factor in Williams’ performance. The actor toldEBONI Magazinein 1974 howHit!was written with McQueen in mind and that “I play a man. The fact that I’m black is never an issue”.
WhileHit!surrounds Williams with a colorful cast of allies,the clear standout in the ensemble is Pryor. He doesn’t play a traditional comic relief even though he manages to cut through some very intense moments with humor. During the training segment of the film, he witnesses Williams berate a high Welles when she proves unconvincing to seduce a potential target. Williams’ uncharacteristic meanness gets immediately cooled down when Pryor intervenes. The delivery of Pryor’s humor could easily have been a track from one of his legendary comedy albums.
Though Pryor still manages to fit some of histrademark humorinto an otherwise unfunny picture, some ofPryor’s best work as an actor shineshere. He continues to showcase his dramatic talents as he had done previously as Piano Man inLady Sings the Blues. Especially when Williams drives Pryor to a location to confront and lash out against his wife’s killer. It’s a rare violent intensity that Pryor would not be able to reach again by the time his career reached household name status in the latter part of the decade.
‘Hit’ Suffers From Its Dense Running Time
Even with the shining performances of Williams and Pryor,Hit!suffers from its slow pacing. Though this was an era beforeaction pictureswere non-stop rollercoaster rides, the film deliberately devotes a good chunk of screentime to Williams recruiting his team and training them as part of the narrative’s character development. Additionally,Hit!manages to squeeze in a forced romance plot between Williams and Welles that at times comes across as mean-spirited due to the latter character’s drug addiction and Nick’s expression of tough love.
Despite the dramatic moments dragging the overall story,Hit!succeeds in the action suspense department. Furie, whose previous credits includeThe Ipcress FileandThe Naked Runner, manages to craft moments that break up the slowness of the story, such as a shootout and car chase as Nick evades his government employers while failing to recruit a team member. By the timeHit!reaches its final act in Marseille, theHitchcockiantension of Williams’ team going after the suppliers one by one gets dialed up to make for a satisfying conclusion.
