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Hotter Than Bond, Cooler Than Bullitt: Remembering “Shaft” On Its 50th Anniversary
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HOTTER THAN BOND, COOLER THAN BULLITT: REMEMBERING “SHAFT” ON ITS 50TH ANNIVERSARY
By Michael Coate
“It really was Shaft that proved the true value of the Black dollar. Up until then Hollywood hadn’t seriously considered the breadth, scope and power of the Black moviegoing audience.” – Josiah Howard, author of Blaxploitation Cinema: The Essential Reference Guide
“With Shaft, an underrepresented audience finally got the representation they were thirsty for.” – Chris Utley, Shaft fan
“While the Blaxploitation genre lasted less than a decade before burning out, I always thought the Shaft franchise could have endured indefinitely, as the Bond films did.” – Lee Pfeiffer, Cinema Retro
The Digital Bits and History, Legacy & Showmanship are pleased to present this multi-page retrospective commemorating the golden anniversary of the release of Shaft, the groundbreaking, franchise-inspiring, crime thriller directed by Gordon Parks (The Learning Tree) and starring then-newcomer Richard Roundtree as the titular character.
Shaft, also starring Moses Gunn (Roots, Ragtime) and featuring Isaac Hayes’ memorable and award-winning music, was released to theaters fifty years ago this month. For the occasion The Bitsfeatures a package of statistics and box-office data that places the movie’s performance in context, along with passages from some of its film reviews, a reference/historical listing of its original theatrical engagements, and, finally, a roundtable interview segment with a trio of film historians and Shaftauthorities who reflect on the movie (and franchise) five decades after its debut.
Shaft was among the earliest-produced entries in the Blaxploitation genre and, unless one considersLive and Let Die or Mandingo to be Blaxploitation, was also the genre’s most successful. In 2000 the Library of Congress selected Shaft for preservation in the National Film Registry as being “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.” Its most recent home media release (on Blu-ray Disc) was in 2012 (individual) and 2019 (three-film Archive Collection). The Bits reviewed the DVD release in 2000. Hey, Warner Bros… Since we’re on the subject, how ‘bout a 4K release?
SHAFT NUMBERS
1 = Box-office rank among 1970s era Blaxploitation movies
1 = Box-office rank among 1970s era Shaft movies
1 = Number of Academy Awards
1 = Rank among top-earning movies released by MGM in 1971 (legacy / lifetime / retroactive)
2 = Number of Academy Award nominations
2 = Rank among top-earning movies released by MGM in 1971 (calendar year)
10 = Number of theaters playing Shaft during its opening weekend
11 = Rank among top-earning movies released during 1971 (legacy / lifetime / retroactive)
12 = Rank among top-earning movies released during 1971 (calendar year)
21 = Rank among MGM’s all-time top-earning movies at close of first run
23 = Number of weeks longest-running engagement played (in a single-screen theater)
30 = Number of weeks longest-running engagement played (in a multiplex)
$1.2 million = Production cost
$6.1 million = Domestic box-office rental (earnings through 12/31/1971)
$6.8 million = Domestic box-office rental (earnings through 12/31/1972)
$7.1 million = Domestic box-office rental (earnings through 12/31/1973)
$7.1 million = Domestic box-office rental (revised earnings through 12/31/1991)
$7.8 million = Domestic box-office rental (earnings through 12/31/1976)
$8.0 million = Production cost (adjusted for inflation)
$12.0 million = Domestic box-office gross
$46.9 million = Domestic box-office rental (adjusted for inflation)
$79.8 million = Domestic box-office gross (adjusted for inflation)
PASSAGES FROM ORIGINAL FILM REVIEWS
“[Shaft is] one of the best action pictures in town. Take Bullitt out of San Francisco and put it into Harlem and you might come close to it. Both pictures are lean and hungry and very painstakingly done… The picture was directed by Gordon Parks which is something of a surprise. His last movie was The Learning Tree, which was a take of black-white conflict and concord—a message movie if you will but a soft-voiced one. In Shaft, Parks has a message too: Enjoy yourself.” — Bob Geurink, The Atlanta Constitution
“Despite its emphasis on contemporary blacks—including a faction hell-bent on revolution—Shaftsimply isn’t another message film. Directed by Gordon Parks—who pioneered films geared to the black community with his critically acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful The Learning Tree—Shaft is played strictly for kicks.” — Jack Lloyd, The Philadelphia Inquirer
“Shaft is a loner in the tradition of all cinema private eyes, but for the sake of the box office he manages a one night stand with a stupid white girl. Early in the film a plainly Jewish police sergeant is taken apart verbally by Shaft. Aside from these crumbs to a hungry audience, Shaft offers little more than a rousing opening fight and a chance to see Roundtree glower while he models some fancy leather outfits.” — Gene Siskel, Chicago Tribune
“Gordon Parks was the first black director to make a major studio film, and his The Learning Tree(1969) was a deeply felt, lyrically beautiful film that was, maybe, just too simple and honest to be commercial. It didn’t find a large audience, and I suspect that Parks turned next to Shaft for commercial survival.” — Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
“One of the best things about Shaft is screen newcomer Richard Roundtree, who plays the title role. Here is a black actor who has the strength, the dynamism and all the physical equipment to make him appear capable of accomplishing all the things he does while never kowtowing to either The Man or The Soul Brothers.” — John Neville, The Dallas Morning News
“Take a formula private-eye plot, update it with an all-black environment, and lace with contemporary standards of on-and-off screen violence, and the result is Shaft. The Stirling Silliphant-Roger Lewis presentation, very well produced in N.Y. by Joel Freeman, was directed by Gordon Parks with a subtle feel for both the grit and the humanity of the script. Excellent cast, headed by newcomer Richard Roundtree, may shock some audiences with heavy dose of candid dialog and situation. Strong [boxoffice] prospects loom in urban situations, elsewhere good.” — A.D. Murphy, Variety
“Shaft is not a good movie. In many ways, it resembles last year’s Cotton Comes to Harlem, which also seemed aimed at black audiences unused to seeing their urban experience portrayed on the screen; and its problems are similar. Like Ossie Davis, who directed Cotton, Parks doesn’t reveal any feeling for his material.” — Craig Fisher, The Hollywood Reporter
“’The truth of the matter is that most “black” films are really white films,’ wrote Ellen Holly in a recent issue of The New York Times. ‘We have a bit of a wait, I fear, before they are willing to portray the black man as arrogant, overwhelmingly superior, brilliant or in love with his own ethos.’ Gordon Parks’ Shaft is a topical detective thriller with a black man in the role of an arrogant, overwhelmingly superior, though not especially brilliant private eye. The whites are mostly sub-human flunkies. This reversal of stereotypes has made Shaft an enormous box-office hit, particularly with black audiences… Like last year’s Cotton Comes to Harlem and this year’s Sweet Sweetback’s[Baadasssss] Song, Shaft was made by a black director. Gordon Parks attempts to reflect the black experience from inside that experience, without the usual Hollywood-white-Anglo-Saxon touches. It is unfortunate that the impact of these films has so far been more social than artistic. Shaft fulfills most of Miss Holly’s requirements for a true ‘black’ movie, but artistically and as entertainment it leaves much to be desired.” — John Hartl, The Seattle Times
“Shaft may be a rather trashy film, but it achieves what I sets out to be, a fast, violent private eye action film with lots of shoot-‘em-up, and sex, a transference to black focus of a long familiar type of film. Its violence and foul language are overdone, but that’s the kind of a picture it is.” — Myles Standish, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
“Shaft is a window-rattling thriller! A fast-moving pleasure.” — Jay Cocks, Time Magazine
“Shaft is a disaster. Technically mediocre and, for the most part, poorly acted, it is a film that lacks both style and substance. Nothing is really examined—the lives of the characters and the texture of the Black experience go unexplored—and what we are left with finally is an extended lie, a distortion that simply grows larger and more unbelievable with each frame.” — Clayton Riley, The New York Times
“At last, if a little late, a black actor has ‘equal opportunity’ to do Bogey’s old hard-boiled number.” — Harry Haun, The Tennessean (Nashville)
“Shaft is a rather marvelous black put-down on white pretensions.” — Don Morrison, The Minneapolis Star
“The movie’s initial sequences are totally absorbing as Parks deftly sets the stage for the violent finale. The film’s worst flaw is its climax, which drags on too long and generates much less excitement than the earlier scenes.” — Jeanne Miller, San Francisco Examiner
“[T]here is formidable talent invested in Shaft. Richard Roundtree, bedding and brawling in the title role, forever defining himself solely in terms of color and function, makes a commanding screen starring debut. Moses Gunn, as the Harlem underworld boss who hires Shaft to retrieve his kidnapped daughter from a rival white syndicate and thus head off potential race war in the streets, is devilishly sinister and funny.” — John C. Mahoney, Los Angeles Times
“Shaft is the first good Saturday night movie I’ve seen in years! Like the recent Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song, which was a technically fancy, absolutely mindless and dirty political exploitation film, Shaft is well on its way to becoming one of the major box-office hits of the current season. This is not surprising since the two films, otherwise so dissimilar, share this kind of awareness of the audiences for whom they were made that eludes most other movie producers. However, where Sweet Sweetback exploited the common black experience through prejudice, Shaft recalls the experience in terms of its humor (there is an exchange between Shaft and the dense-minded bodyguard of the Harlem syndicate king that is pure Redd Foxx), in terms of its aspirations and, perhaps most important, in terms of its fantasies.” — Vincent Canby, The New York Times
“I think the conception of Shaft is a little peculiar, but then I’ve never cared much for the notion of private eyes who seem both fashionable and well-off. The Peter Gunn types somehow miss the romantic point of disreputable but independent and resourceful loners like Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe. Given the march of progress, Shaft should probably be even more corrupt in an even more corrupt big city milieu, but instead he’s rather like The Sort of Man Who Reads Playboy—and maybe takes it seriously.” — Gary Arnold, The Washington Post
“There’s a splendid gust of theatricality about Shaft that is doubly welcome because it’s what you’d logically expect from an action picture and so seldom get. Shaft is a story for the joy of it even though it tells of an irascible black man making his way in a world he resents. It avoids message in favor of entertainment.” — Emerson Batdorff, The Plain Dealer (Cleveland)
“Richard Roundtree makes an authentic star debut! Gordon Parks captures the life and bad breath of the city in exquisite terms!” — Judith Crist, New York Magazine
“[T]he story bogs down into the predictable somewhere past the half-way mark and is reminiscent in tone, at least, to lots of other private-eye formats. But the nitty-gritty New York settings caught with know-how by an understanding camera, the strong, often cryptic, tell-it-like-it-is dialogue and the characters depicted sustain interest throughout.” — Edgar Driscoll, Jr., The Boston Globe
“Shaft is mostly populated by black actors, a further departure for private-eye film picture; and it is an unusually good gangland film as it gets down to the sordid side of hoodlum life and shies away from the hoked-up glamor business. Philip Marlowe’s Raymond Chandler once said, anyway, that in real life a private detective usually runs around trying to find out where people have moved to. Not Shaft. Gamey as it is, Mickey Spillane probably would love it.” — Harvey Taylor, Detroit Free Press
THE ORIGINAL THEATRICAL ENGAGEMENTS
What follows are the first-run theatrical openings of Shaft in North America to provide the reader a sense of the film’s rollout and distribution model utilized.
Note this section of the retrospective is not a complete citation of every cinema in which Shaft played during its original release. Instead, the emphasis has been placed on (1) bookings during the early months of the film’s release, (2) accounting for the most populated city in each U.S. state and most of the Canadian provinces, and (3) accounting for the principal cities of each state and Canadian province. A sprinkling of smaller locales has been included, as well, to illustrate how long the film was in release. Expansion waves, second-run, re-releases, etc. have not been cited in this work with the exception of the initial expansion-wave bookings in the Los Angeles/Southern California, greater New York City and San Francisco Bay Area markets. The entries are generally cited by market name with precise locale provided in parenthesis.
Many of the bookings included a co-feature, the titles of which have been abbreviated within brackets following the relevant entries. A co-feature title legend (with complete titles) is provided at the tail end of the playdate chronology.
Shaft was presented in 35mm (1.85:1) and monaural audio.
Opening Date YYYY-MM-DD … City – Cinema (duration in weeks) [co-feature/notes]
1971-06-04 … Los Angeles (Inglewood), CA – 5th Avenue [sneak preview]
1971-06-23 … Detroit, MI – Palms (9)
1971-06-23 … Lansing, MI – Starlite Drive-In (1) [w/ ST]
1971-06-24 … Baltimore, MD – Hippodrome (7)
1971-06-25 … Los Angeles (Hollywood), CA – Fox (2)
1971-06-25 … St. Louis, MO – Fox (5)
1971-06-25 … Toronto, ON – Downtown (1) [w/ KH]
1971-06-25 … Toronto (Pickering), ON – Tepee Drive-In (1) [w/ MW]
1971-06-25 … Toronto (Vaughan), ON – 7 & 27 Drive-In (1) [w/ MW]
1971-06-25 … Washington, DC – Lincoln (15)
1971-06-25 … Washington, DC – Town (23)
1971-06-30 … Atlanta, GA – Coronet (15)
1971-06-30 … Chicago, IL – Roosevelt (18)
1971-06-30 … Dallas, TX – Capri 7-plex (4)
1971-06-30 … Dallas, TX – King Drive-In (3) [w/ W]
1971-06-30 … Indianapolis, IN – Bel-Air Drive-In (1) [w/ WED, HP & 100R]
1971-06-30 … Indianapolis, IN – Twin-Theatair Drive-In (3) [w/ WED, HP & 100R]
1971-06-30 … Norfolk, VA – Lenox (3)
1971-06-30 … Oklahoma City, OK – Criterion (6)
1971-06-30 … Phoenix, AZ – Fox (1) [w/ GC]
1971-06-30 … Phoenix, AZ – Phoenix Drive-In (1) [w/ FLI]
1971-06-30 … Rochester, NY – Little (7)
1971-06-30 … Saginaw, MI – Bel-Air Drive-In (1) [w/ WED]
1971-06-30 … San Francisco, CA – St. Francis (4) [w/ TTT]
1971-06-30 … Syracuse, NY – Eckel (1)
1971-06-30 … Syracuse (Nedrow), NY – Salina Drive-In (1) [w/ DDM]
1971-06-30 … Tucson, AZ – Midway Drive-In (1) [w/ V]
1971-07-01 … Savannah, GA – Weis (1+)
1971-07-01 … Wilmington, NC – Colony (2)
1971-07-02 … Boston, MA – Gary (sneak preview Fri/Sat)
1971-07-02 … Charlotte, NC – Visulite (6)
1971-07-02 … Greenville, SC – Carolina (3)
1971-07-02 … Jacksonville, FL – Norwood Twin (#1 “Blue”: 1+)
1971-07-02 … Jacksonville, FL – Norwood Twin (#2 “Gold”: 1+)
1971-07-02 … New York (Manhattan), NY – 72nd Street Playhouse (14)
1971-07-02 … New York (Manhattan), NY – DeMille (7)
1971-07-03 … Greensboro, NC – Cinema (4)
1971-07-07 … Anaheim (Buena Park), CA – Buena Park (1) [w/ V]
1971-07-07 … Anaheim (Costa Mesa), CA – South Coast Plaza Twin (1) [w/ V]
1971-07-07 … Anaheim (Garden Grove), CA – Grove (1) [w/ LT]
1971-07-07 … Anaheim (La Habra), CA – La Habra Twin (1) [w/ V]
1971-07-07 … Anaheim (Orange), CA – Stadium Drive-In (1) [w/ V]
1971-07-07 … Anaheim (Santa Ana), CA – United Artists (1) [w/ V]
1971-07-07 … Chapel Hill, NC – Carolina (2)
1971-07-07 … Cincinnati, OH – Grand (6)
1971-07-07 … Dayton, OH – Loew’s (1)
1971-07-07 … Dayton, OH – Sunset Drive-In (3) [w/ SH]
1971-07-07 … Fresno, CA – Crest (1) [w/ PB]
1971-07-07 … Fresno, CA – Starlite Drive-In (1) [w/ V]
1971-07-07 … Los Angeles (Alhambra), CA – Garfield (1) [w/ V]
1971-07-07 … Los Angeles (Baldwin Hills), CA – Baldwin (3) [w/ V]
1971-07-07 … Los Angeles (Burbank), CA – San Val Drive-In (1) [w/ MCS]
1971-07-07 … Los Angeles (Chatsworth), CA – Cinema (1) [w/ V]
1971-07-07 … Los Angeles (Compton), CA – Compton Drive-In (3) [w/ MCS]
1971-07-07 … Los Angeles (Culver City), CA – Culver (1) [w/ V]
1971-07-07 … Los Angeles (Downey), CA – Showcase Twin (1) [w/ D]
1971-07-07 … Los Angeles (Downtown), CA – State (2) [w/ V]
1971-07-07 … Los Angeles (Duarte), CA – Big Sky Drive-In (1) [w/ MCS]
1971-07-07 … Los Angeles (East Los Angeles), CA – Golden Gate (1) [w/ Z]
1971-07-07 … Los Angeles (El Monte), CA – El Monte (1) [w/ MASH]
1971-07-07 … Los Angeles (Gardena), CA – Vermont Drive-In (2) [w/ MCS]
1971-07-07 … Los Angeles (Glendale), CA – Sands (1) [w/ V]
1971-07-07 … Los Angeles (Hollywood), CA – Vine (2) [w/ MCS]
1971-07-07 … Los Angeles (Huntington Park), CA – Warner (1) [w/ KH]
1971-07-07 … Los Angeles (Inglewood), CA – Academy (3) [w/ LT]
1971-07-07 … Los Angeles (Long Beach), CA – Lakewood (1) [w/ V]
1971-07-07 … Los Angeles (Long Beach), CA – Long Beach Drive-In (2) [w/ MCS]
1971-07-07 … Los Angeles (Long Beach), CA – State (1) [w/ MCS]
1971-07-07 … Los Angeles (Manhattan Beach), CA – La Mar (1) [w/ LV]
1971-07-07 … Los Angeles (Mid-City), CA – Picfair (1) [w/ V]
1971-07-07 … Los Angeles (Mid-Wilshire), CA – Four Star (2) [w/ V]
1971-07-07 … Los Angeles (North Hollywood), CA – El Portal (1) [w/ STGWNC]
1971-07-07 … Los Angeles (Pasadena), CA – Esquire (3) [w/ GC]
1971-07-07 … Los Angeles (Santa Monica), CA – Brentwood Twin (1) [w/ V]
1971-07-07 … Los Angeles (Sawtelle), CA – Olympic Drive-In (2) [w/ MCS]
1971-07-07 … Los Angeles (Van Nuys), CA – Capri (1) [w/ STGWNC]
1971-07-07 … Los Angeles (Whittier), CA – Whittier (1) [w/ D]
1971-07-07 … Muskegon, MI – North Drive-In (1) [w/ KH]
1971-07-07 … Portland, OR – Fox (2) [w/ DDM]
1971-07-07 … Portland (Tigard), OR – Family Drive-In (1) [w/ WED]
1971-07-07 … Riverside, CA – Golden State (1) [w/ V]
1971-07-07 … San Bernardino, CA – Studio (1) [w/ V]
1971-07-07 … San Bernardino (Montclair), CA – Mission Drive-In (1) [w/ V]
1971-07-07 … San Diego, CA – Balboa (2) [w/ V]
1971-07-07 … San Diego (El Cajon), CA – Aero Drive-In (1) [w/ V]
1971-07-07 … San Diego (National City), CA – Harbor Drive-In (2) [w/ V]
1971-07-07 … San Diego (Oceanside), CA – Star (1) [w/ PF]
1971-07-07 … Santa Barbara (Goleta), CA – Santa Barbara Drive-In (1) [w/ V]
1971-07-07 … Santa Maria, CA – Hi-Way Drive-In (1) [w/ D]
1971-07-08 … Greer, SC – Greer Drive-In (1)
1971-07-09 … Charleston, SC – Terrace (3)
1971-07-09 … Columbia, SC – Atlantic Twin (8)
1971-07-09 … Edmonton, AB – Plaza Twin (2)
1971-07-09 … Houston, TX – Majestic (5)
1971-07-09 … Louisville, KY – Kentucky (6)
1971-07-09 … Montreal, QC – Capitol (1)
1971-07-14 … Austin, TX – Texas (2)
1971-07-14 … Boston, MA – Savoy (6)
1971-07-14 … Lancaster, PA – RKO Stanley-Warner Twin (1)
1971-07-14 … Lancaster, PA – Sky Vue Drive-In (1) [w/ TDD]
1971-07-14 … Lebanon, PA – State (1)
1971-07-14 … Napa, CA – River Park Twin (1)
1971-07-14 … Oakland, CA – Airport Auto Movie (4) [w/ PM]
1971-07-14 … Oakland, CA – Lux (2) [w/ L]
1971-07-14 … Oakland (Alameda), CA – Alameda (1) [w/ PB]
1971-07-14 … Oakland (Berkeley), CA – United Artists (3) [w/ EC]
1971-07-14 … Oakland (Concord), CA – Capri (1) [w/ TTT]
1971-07-14 … Oakland (Hayward), CA – Hayward (1) [w/ EC]
1971-07-14 … Oakland (Hayward), CA – Hayward Auto Movie (1) [w/ PM]
1971-07-14 … Oakland (Moraga), CA – Rheem (1) [w/ PM]
1971-07-14 … Oakland (San Pablo), CA – Rancho Drive-In (2) [w/ PM]
1971-07-14 … Palm Springs, CA – Palm Springs Drive-In (2) [w/ ADH]
1971-07-14 … Raleigh, NC – Ambassador (3)
1971-07-14 … Sacramento, CA – 49er Drive-In (1) [w/ PM]
1971-07-14 … Sacramento, CA – Crest (1) [w/ PM]
1971-07-14 … Sacramento, CA – Mather Drive-In (1) [w/ PM]
1971-07-14 … San Jose, CA – Capitol Drive-In (1) [w/ PM]
1971-07-14 … San Jose, CA – Jose (1) [w/ PM & IHHLHG]
1971-07-14 … San Jose, CA – Tropicaire Drive-In (1) [w/ PM]
1971-07-14 … San Jose (Palo Alto), CA – Fine Arts (2) [w/ PM]
1971-07-14 … San Mateo (Belmont), CA – Belmont (1) [w/ PM]
1971-07-14 … Santa Cruz, CA – Capitola (1) [w/ JM]
1971-07-14 … Santa Rosa, CA – California (1)
1971-07-14 … York, PA – Strand (1)
1971-07-15 … Galveston, TX – State (2) [w/ 5MA]
1971-07-15 … Galveston (Texas City), TX – Bayou Drive-In (1) [w/ KH]
1971-07-16 … Macon, GA – Bibb (1)
1971-07-16 … Macon, GA – Weis Drive-In (1) [w/ GC]
1971-07-16 … Richmond, VA – Loew’s (4)
1971-07-16 … Rome, GA – First Avenue (1)
1971-07-16 … San Antonio, TX – Majestic (2) [w/ CK]
1971-07-16 … South Bend, IN – Avon (3)
1971-07-21 … Asheville, NC – Biltmore (1)
1971-07-21 … Atlantic City, NJ – Apollo (1)
1971-07-21 … Bakersfield, CA – South Chester Drive-In (1) [w/ V]
1971-07-21 … Beaumont, TX – Jefferson (2)
1971-07-21 … Davenport, IA – Coronet (2)
1971-07-21 … Davenport (Moline, IL), IA – Sierra (1)
1971-07-21 … Denver, CO – Brentwood 4-plex (2) [w/ PM]
1971-07-21 … Denver, CO – Monaco Drive-In (2) [w/ PM]
1971-07-21 … Denver, CO – Village Square Twin (1) [w/ PM]
1971-07-21 … Denver (Broomfield), CO – Nor-West Drive-In (2) [w/ PM]
1971-07-21 … Denver (Lakewood), CO – West Drive-In (2) [w/ PM]
1971-07-21 … Denver (Littleton), CO – South Drive-In (1) [w/ PM]
1971-07-21 … Honolulu, HI – Hawaii (1) [w/ V]
1971-07-21 … Honolulu, HI – Kuhio (1) [w/ V]
1971-07-21 … Honolulu (Aiea), HI – Kam Drive-In (1) [w/ V]
1971-07-21 … Kansas City, MO – 63rd Street Drive-In (2) [w/ TTT & S]
1971-07-21 … Kansas City, MO – Empire 4-plex (30)
1971-07-21 … Kansas City, MO – Heart Drive-In (2) [w/ DS & S]
1971-07-21 … Kansas City (Kansas City, KS), MO – Boulevard Drive-In (2) [w/ TTT & S]
1971-07-21 … Kansas City (Kansas City, KS), MO – Cameo (2) [w/ HA]
1971-07-21 … Kenosha, WI – Mid-City Outdoor (1) [w/ PM]
1971-07-21 … Lawrence, KS – Hillcrest Triplex (1)
1971-07-21 … Milwaukee, WI – Riverside (5)
1971-07-21 … Milwaukee (Franklin), WI – 41 Drive-In (1) [w/ FP]
1971-07-21 … Philadelphia, PA – Fox (13) [w/ M&MM & PMFM]
1971-07-21 … Saskatoon, SK – Midtown (1)
1971-07-21 … Tallahassee, FL – State (2)
1971-07-21 … Wilmington, DE – Warner (2)
1971-07-21 … Wilson, NC – Colony (1)
1971-07-22 … Champaign, IL – Orpheum (2)
1971-07-23 … Miami, FL – Capitol (2) [w/ IHN]
1971-07-23 … Miami, FL – Dixie Drive-In (3) w/ PM]
1971-07-23 … Miami, FL – Miami Drive-In (10) [w/ SA]
1971-07-23 … Miami, FL – Midway (1) [w/ GC]
1971-07-23 … Miami, FL – Olympia (3) [w/ K]
1971-07-23 … Miami (Fort Lauderdale), FL – Southport (1)
1971-07-23 … Miami (Fort Lauderdale), FL – Village (1)
1971-07-23 … Miami (Hialeah), FL – Village (1)
1971-07-23 … Miami (Lake Worth), FL – Holiday (1)
1971-07-23 … Miami (Miami Beach), FL – Lincoln (1)
1971-07-23 … Miami (North Miami Beach), FL – Holiday (1) [w/ GC]
1971-07-23 … Miami (Riviera Beach), FL – Riviera (1)
1971-07-23 … Stamford, CT – Plaza (3)
1971-07-23 … Tampa, FL – Tampa (4)
1971-07-26 … Bloomington, IL – Kerasotes Twin (1)
1971-07-28 … Buffalo, NY – Buffalo (1) [w/ TTT]
1971-07-28 … Buffalo (Blasdell), NY – Star Drive-In (1) [w/ TTT]
1971-07-28 … Columbia, MO – Forum (1)
1971-07-28 … Corpus Christi, TX – Ritz (1)
1971-07-28 … Fort Wayne, IN – Embassy (1)
1971-07-28 … Harrisburg, PA – Keystone Drive-In (1) [w/ PM]
1971-07-28 … Salem, OR – North Salem Drive-In (1) [w/ V]
1971-07-28 … Scranton, PA – Circle Drive-In (1) [w/ MW]
1971-07-28 … Wilkes-Barre, PA – W-B Drive-In (1) [w/ SHY]
1971-07-29 … Asbury Park, NJ – St. James (3)
1971-07-29 … Fayetteville, NC – Miracle (1)
1971-07-29 … Flint, MI – Northland Drive-In (1) [w/ DDM]
1971-07-29 … Rockford, IL – State (2)
1971-07-30 … Pittsburgh, PA – Fulton (4)
1971-07-30 … Waco, TX – Waco (midnight preview)
1971-08-03 … Cleveland, OH – Shaker (3)
1971-08-04 … Albany (Colonie), NY – Mohawk Drive-In (1) [w/ KH]
1971-08-04 … Albany (Latham), NY – Towne (1) [w/ PM]
1971-08-04 … Albany (Menands), NY – Tri-City Drive-In (1) [w/ KH]
1971-08-04 … Albany (Rotterdam Junction), NY – Riverview Drive-In (1) [w/ KH]
1971-08-04 … Boulder, CO – Flatirons (1)
1971-08-04 … Carbondale, IL – Fox East Gate (1)
1971-08-04 … Cleveland, OH – Cloverleaf Drive-In (1) [w/ ISZ]
1971-08-04 … Cleveland, OH – Hippodrome (3)
1971-08-04 … Cleveland, OH – Miles Drive-In (3) [w/ TTT]
1971-08-04 … Cleveland (Mentor), OH – Mentor Drive-In (1) [w/ ISZ]
1971-08-04 … Newport News (Hampton), VA – Hampton Drive-In (1) [w/ DS]
1971-08-04 … Huntsville, AL – Trans-Lux Twin (1+)
1971-08-04 … Las Vegas, NV – Fremont (2)
1971-08-04 … Lexington, KY – Circle Drive-In (2) [w/ FU]
1971-08-04 … Melbourne, FL – NASA (1)
1971-08-04 … Melbourne (Cocoa), FL – Pines (1)
1971-08-04 … Melbourne (Titusville), FL – Florida (1)
1971-08-04 … Morgantown, WV – Warner (1)
1971-08-04 … New Bedford, MA – State (1)
1971-08-04 … New London, CT – Capitol (1)
1971-08-04 … New Orleans, LA – Orpheum (4)
1971-08-04 … Providence, RI – Strand (1+)
1971-08-04 … Tuscaloosa, AL – Tide Twin (2)
1971-08-04 … Vallejo, CA – Crescent Auto Movie (1) [w/ PM]
1971-08-04 … Vineland, NJ – Delsea Drive-In (1) [w/ PM]
1971-08-04 … Vineland (Bridgeton), NJ – Bridgeton Drive-In (1) [w/ PM]
1971-08-05 … St. Petersburg, FL – 28th Street Drive-In (2) [w/ 100R]
1971-08-05 … St. Petersburg, FL – State (2)
1971-08-06 … Benton Harbor, MI – Liberty (1)
1971-08-06 … Evansville, IN – Sunset Drive-In (1) [w/ PM]
1971-08-06 … Gainesville, FL – Plaza Twin (1)
1971-08-06 … Nashville, TN – Crescent (3)
1971-08-06 … Ottawa, ON – Queensway Drive-In (1) [w/ M]
1971-08-06 … Ottawa, ON – Somerset (1)
1971-08-06 … Sarasota, FL – Florida (2)
1971-08-06 … Waco, TX – Waco (1)
1971-08-08 … Anchorage, AK – 4th Avenue (1) [w/ MLMS]
1971-08-11 … Akron (Cuyahoga Falls), OH – State (2)
1971-08-11 … Beaver, PA – Tusca Drive-In (1) [w/ ZZ]
1971-08-11 … Beaver (Aliquippa), PA – State (1)
1971-08-11 … Beaver (Beaver Falls), PA – Super 51 Drive-In (1) [w/ MW]
1971-08-11 … Cedar Rapids, IA – Twin Drive-In (1) [w/ DDM]
1971-08-11 … Hartford, CT – Strand (2)
1971-08-11 … Jacksonville, NC – Cardinal (1)
1971-08-11 … New York (Manhattan), NY – Lyric (1+)
1971-08-11 … New York (Manhattan), NY – Roosevelt (1+)
1971-08-11 … New York (Manhattan), NY – Victoria 125th St. (9)
1971-08-11 … Reading, PA – Mt. Penn Drive-In (1) [w/ MGSS]
1971-08-11 … St. Joseph, MO – Belt Drive-In (1) [w/ PM]
1971-08-11 … Springfield, MA – Fox (2) [ w/ TAR]
1971-08-11 … Springfield (Chicopee Falls), MA – Air-Line Drive-In (2) [w/ PM & LE]
1971-08-11 … Trenton, NJ – Mayfair (3)
1971-08-11 … Trenton (Bordentown), NJ – Dix Drive-In (1) [w/ F]
1971-08-11 … Trenton (Morrisville, PA), NJ – Morrisville Drive-In (1) [w/ PM]
1971-08-11 … Tulsa, OK – Rialto (1+)
1971-08-11 … Uniontown, PA – Starlite Drive-In (1) [w/ TE]
1971-08-11 … Washington, PA – Route 19 Drive-In (1) [w/ LAW]
1971-08-12 … Decatur, AL – Bowline Drive-In (1)
1971-08-12 … Eugene, OR – Oakway (1)
1971-08-12 … Memphis, TN – Malco (1+)
1971-08-13 … Augusta, GA – Imperial (2)
1971-08-13 … Calgary, AB – Capitol (1)
1971-08-13 … Danville, VA – Danville Plaza (1)
1971-08-13 … Des Moines, IA – Paramount (1)
1971-08-18 … Albuquerque, NM – Sunshine (1)
1971-08-18 … Allentown, PA – West End Drive-In (1) [w/ PM]
1971-08-18 … Altoona, PA – State (1)
1971-08-18 … Appleton, WI – 41 Outdoor (1) [w/ PM]
1971-08-18 … Binghamton, NY – Riviera (1)
1971-08-18 … Bridgeport, CT – Merritt (1)
1971-08-18 … Bridgeport (Fairfield), CT – County (1)
1971-08-18 … Columbus, OH – Palace (5)
1971-08-18 … Elmira, NY – Colonial (1)
1971-08-18 … Fall River, MA – Cinema I (1)
1971-08-18 … Fall River (Tiverton, RI), MA – Ponta Drive-In (1) [w/ PM and FU]
1971-08-18 … Fond du Lac, WI – Lake Park Outdoor (1) [w/ PM]
1971-08-18 … Hagerstown, MD – Leitersburg Twin (1)
1971-08-18 … Indiana, PA – Manos (1)
1971-08-18 … Jefferson City (Cedar City), MO – Bridge Drive-In (1) [w/ PM]
1971-08-18 … Joplin (Webb City), MO – Webb City Drive-In (1) [w/ TTT]
1971-08-18 … Kokomo, IN – Isis (1)
1971-08-18 … Lead, SD – Mile Hi Drive-In (1) [w/ 5MA]
1971-08-18 … Manchester, NH – King (1)
1971-08-18 … Manhattan, KS – Varsity (1)
1971-08-18 … New Haven, CT – Roger Sherman (2)
1971-08-18 … New Haven (Milford), CT – Milford Drive-In (1) [w/ DDM]
1971-08-18 … New Haven (West Haven), CT – Bowl Drive-In (1) [w/ K]
1971-08-18 … New York (Manhattan), NY – Trans-Lux West (10)
1971-08-18 … Ocala, FL – Florida (1) [w/ NBG]
1971-08-18 … Omaha, NE – Golden Spike Drive-In (1) [w/ DDM]
1971-08-18 … Reno, NV – Keystone (1)
1971-08-18 … Seattle, WA – Aurora Drive-In (1) [w/ V]
1971-08-18 … Seattle, WA – Broadway (1) [w/ V]
1971-08-18 … Seattle, WA – Rainier (2) [w/ SS]
1971-08-18 … Seattle (Lakewood), WA – Starlite Drive-In (1) [w/ V]
1971-08-18 … Seattle (Tacoma), WA – Roxy (1) [w/ V]
1971-08-18 … Seattle (Tukwila), WA – Duwamish Drive-In (2) [w/ V]
1971-08-18 … State College, PA – Cathaum (1)
1971-08-18 … Wichita, KS – Twin Lakes Twin (4)
1971-08-19 … Iowa City, IA – Astro (1)
1971-08-19 … Peoria, IL – Rialto (1)
1971-08-20 … Fort Worth, TX – Worth (2)
1971-08-20 … Kingsport, TN – State (2)
1971-08-20 … Kitchener, ON – Capitol (1) [w/ PM]
1971-08-22 … Birmingham, AL – Cinema (sneak preview w/ BJ)
1971-08-22 … Fairbanks, AK – Lacey St. (1) [w/ MLMS]
1971-08-22 … Mobile, AL – Roxy (4)
1971-08-22 … Tyler, TX – Liberty (1)
1971-08-24 … Gulfport, MS – Gulf (1)
1971-08-25 … Anderson, IN – State (1)
1971-08-25 … Cape Girardeau, MO – Esquire (1)
1971-08-25 … Cheyenne, WY – Paramount (1) [w/ KH]
1971-08-25 … Dubuque, IA – Dubuque Drive-In (1) [w/ KH & DD]
1971-08-25 … Erie, PA – Warner (1)
1971-08-25 … Fort Collins, CO – Campus West (1)
1971-08-25 … Great Falls, MT – Twi-Lite Twin (1) [w/ PM]
1971-08-25 … Greeley, CO –Motorena Drive-In (1) [w/ MCH]
1971-08-25 … Jackson, TN – Malco (1)
1971-08-25 … Kingston, NY – Community (1)
1971-08-25 … Knoxville, TN – Riviera (1)
1971-08-25 … Madison, WI – Orpehum (1)
1971-08-25 … Newark, NJ – Branford (4)
1971-08-25 … Newark, NJ – Newark Drive-In (3) [w/ GC]
1971-08-25 … Newark (Bloomfield), NJ – Royal (1)
1971-08-25 … Newark (Brick), NJ – Brick Plaza (1)
1971-08-25 … Newark (Elizabeth), NJ – Regent (?)
1971-08-25 … Newark (Freehold), NJ – Mall Twin (1)
1971-08-25 … Newark (Hazlet), NJ – Plaza (1)
1971-08-25 … Newark (Howell), NJ – Country (1)
1971-08-25 … Newark (Jersey City), NJ – Hudson Plaza (2)
1971-08-25 … Newark (New Brunswick), NJ – State (1)
1971-08-25 … Newark (Orange), NJ – Palace (2)
1971-08-25 … Newark (Passaic), NJ – Central (2) [w/ PM]
1971-08-25 … Newark (Paterson), NJ – Fabian (2)
1971-08-25 … Newark (Plainfield), NJ – Strand (2)
1971-08-25 … Newark (Red Bank), NJ – Carlton (1)
1971-08-25 … Newark (Sayreville), NJ – Amboys Drive-In (2) [w/ GC]
1971-08-25 … Newark (Toms River), NJ – Community (1)
1971-08-25 … Newark (Totowa), NJ – Totowa Drive-In (1) [w/ GC]
1971-08-25 … Newark (Union), NJ – Union Drive-In (1) [w/ GC]
1971-08-25 … Newark (Wall), NJ – Shore Drive-In (1) [w/ TTT]
1971-08-25 … Portland, ME – Fine Arts Twin (1)
1971-08-25 … Poughkeepsie (Hyde Park), NY – Hyde Park Drive-In (1) [w/ DDM]
1971-08-25 … Regina, SK – Metropolitan (1)
1971-08-25 … Spokane, WA – Post (1) [w/ PM]
1971-08-25 … Toledo, OH – Franklin Park Drive-In (3) [w/ PM]
1971-08-25 … Toledo, OH – Pantheon (3)
1971-08-25 … Youngstown, OH – Sky-Hi Drive-In (2) [w/ PM]
1971-08-26 … Ann Arbor, MI – State (1)
1971-08-27 … Birmingham, AL – Cinema (1+)
1971-08-27 … Colorado Springs, CO – Ute 70 (2)
1971-08-27 … Fargo, ND – Fargo (1)
1971-08-27 … Lincoln, NE – Cooper/Lincoln (2)
1971-08-27 … Salt Lake City, UT – Capitol (1) [w/ PM]
1971-08-27 … Salt Lake City, UT – Woodland Drive-In (1) [w/ PM]
1971-08-27 … Sioux Falls, SD – State (1)
1971-08-27 … Waterloo, IA – Strand (1)
1971-09-01 … Athens, GA – Beechwood (1)
1971-09-01 … Barnstable (Buzzards Bay), MA – Buzzards Bay (4 days)
1971-09-01 … Burlington, VT – Flynn (1)
1971-09-01 … Burlington (Colchester), VT – Sunset Drive-In (1) [w/ ISZ]
1971-09-01 … Farmington, NM – Totah (1)
1971-09-01 … Grand Rapids, MI – Majestic (2)
1971-09-01 … Minneapolis, MN – Gopher (3)
1971-09-01 … Pittsfield, MA – Capitol (1)
1971-09-01 … Plattsburgh, NY – Stardust Drive-In (1) [w/ FU]
1971-09-01 … Portsmouth, NH – Cinema (1)
1971-09-01 … Saint John, NB – Grand Bay Drive-In (4 days) [w/ FU]
1971-09-01 … St. Paul, MN – Riviera (2)
1971-09-01 … Sandusky, OH – Ohio (1)
1971-09-01 … Worcester, MA – Lincoln Plaza (1)
1971-09-02 … Lawton, OK – Lawton (1)
1971-09-03 … Daytona Beach, FL – Masonova Twin (2)
1971-09-03 … Duluth, MN – Granada (1)
1971-09-03 … Fort Myers, FL – Arcade (1)
1971-09-03 … Kannapolis, NC – Trans-Lux Inflight (1)
1971-09-03 … Montgomery, AL – Empire (4)
1971-09-05 … Orangeburg, SC – Edisto (2)
1971-09-05 … Red Deer, AB – Paramount (3 days)
1971-09-08 … Canton, OH – Plaza (1)
1971-09-08 … Charleston, WV – Kearse (1)
1971-09-08 … El Paso, TX – Cinema Park Drive-In (1) [w/ M]
1971-09-08 … El Paso, TX – Pioneer Plaza (1) [w/ DS]
1971-09-08 … Leominster, MA – Searstown 4-plex (1)
1971-09-08 … Lima, OH – Ohio (1)
1971-09-08 … Norman, OK – Boomer (1)
1971-09-08 … Pueblo, CO – Cooper (1)
1971-09-08 … Provo, UT – Uinta (1) [w/ BSILY]
1971-09-08 … Utica (New Hartford), NY – New Hartford Drive-In (1) [w/ DDM]
1971-09-09 … Bowling Green, KY – Capitol (1)
1971-09-09 … Charlottesville, VA – Paramount (1)
1971-09-09 … Gastonia, NC – Village (2)
1971-09-10 … Abilene, TX – Paramount (1)
1971-09-10 … Rochester, MN – Chateau (1)
1971-09-10 … Winnipeg, MB – Metropolitan (1)
1971-09-10 … Winnipeg, MB – Pembina Drive-In (1) [w/ WED]
1971-09-13 … Lethbridge, AB – Paramount (3 days)
1971-09-15 … Anniston, AL – Ritz (1)
1971-09-15 … Defiance, OH – Defiance Drive-In (1) [w/ PM]
1971-09-15 … Hazleton, PA – Laurel Drive-In (1) [w/ WED]
1971-09-15 … Huntington, WV – Keith-Albee (1)
1971-09-15 … Myrtle Beach, SC – Rivoli (1)
1971-09-15 … Roanoke, VA – Terrace (1)
1971-09-15 … Victoria, TX – Uptown (1)
1971-09-17 … Amarillo, TX – State (1)
1971-09-17 … Eau Claire, WI – State (1)
1971-09-17 … Orlando, FL – Beacham (2)
1971-09-17 … St. Catharines, ON – Lake Shore Drive-In (1) [w/ BM]
1971-09-17 … St. Cloud, MN – Paramount (1)
1971-09-19 … Missoula, MT – Wilma (1)
1971-09-22 … Billings, MT – World (1)
1971-09-22 … Brookhaven/Suffolk County (Bay Shore), NY – Regent (1) [w/ TTT]
1971-09-22 … Brookhaven/Suffolk County (Copiague), NY – Johnny Drive-In (1) [w/ TTT]
1971-09-22 … Brookhaven/Suffolk County (East Northport), NY – Elwood (1)
1971-09-22 … Brookhaven/Suffolk County (East Setauket), NY – Three Village (1)
1971-09-22 … Brookhaven/Suffolk County (Huntington), NY – Huntington (1)
1971-09-22 … Brookhaven/Suffolk County (Lindenhurst), NY – Lindenhurst (1)
1971-09-22 … Brookhaven/Suffolk County (Patchogue), NY – Sunwave Twin (#1: 1)
1971-09-22 … Brookhaven/Suffolk County (Patchogue), NY – Sunwave Twin (#2: 1)
1971-09-22 … Brookhaven/Suffolk County (Shirley), NY – Shirley Twin (1)
1971-09-22 … Brookhaven/Suffolk County (Smith Haven), NY – Mall (1)
1971-09-22 … Eureka, CA – Midway Drive-In (1) [w/ NBG]
1971-09-22 … Harrisonburg, VA – Harrisonburg Drive-In (1) [w/ PB]
1971-09-22 … Hempstead/Nassau County (Bethpage), NY – Mid Island (1)
1971-09-22 … Hempstead/Nassau County (Freeport), NY – Grove (1)
1971-09-22 … Hempstead/Nassau County (Garden City Park), NY – Park East (1)
1971-09-22 … Hempstead/Nassau County (Glen Cove), NY – Glen Cove (1)
1971-09-22 … Hempstead/Nassau County (Plainview), NY – Morton Village (1)
1971-09-22 … Hempstead/Nassau County (Valley Stream), NY – Green Acres (1)
1971-09-22 … Lubbock, TX – Fox Twin (1)
1971-09-22 … New York (Brooklyn), NY – Alpine (1)
1971-09-22 … New York (Brooklyn), NY – Kings Plaza Twin (1)
1971-09-22 … New York (Brooklyn), NY – Mayfair (1)
1971-09-22 … New York (Brooklyn), NY – Rialto (1)
1971-09-22 … New York (Bronx), NY – American (1)
1971-09-22 … New York (Bronx), NY – Luxor (2)
1971-09-22 … New York (Bronx), NY – Wakefield (1)
1971-09-22 … New York (Manhattan), NY – 8th Street Playhouse (1)
1971-09-22 … New York (Manhattan), NY – Cinema Studio (1)
1971-09-22 … New York (Queens), NY – Colony (1)
1971-09-22 … New York (Queens), NY – Forest Hills (1)
1971-09-22 … New York (Queens), NY – Meadows (1)
1971-09-22 … New York (Staten Island), NY – Richmond (1)
1971-09-22 … Paducah, KY – Paducah Drive-In (4 days)
1971-09-22 … San Angelo, TX – Cinema Twin (1)
1971-09-22 … Terre Haute, IN – Indiana (1)
1971-09-22 … White Plains/Westchester County, NY – Colony (1)
1971-09-22 … White Plains/Westchester County (New Rochelle), NY – Mall (1)
1971-09-22 … White Plains/Westchester County (Ossining), NY – Arcadian (1)
1971-09-22 … White Plains/Westchester County (Peekskill), NY – Beach Twin (1)
1971-09-22 … White Plains/Westchester County (Yonkers), NY – Central Plaza (1)
1971-09-23 … Ames, IA – Century Twin (1)
1971-09-24 … Boise, ID – Broadway Drive-In (1) [w/ PM]
1971-09-24 … Lakeland, FL – Polk (1)
1971-09-24 … Windsor, ON – Palace (1)
1971-09-26 … Florence, SC – Carolina (1)
1971-09-26 … Panama City, FL – Florida (1)
1971-09-26 … Zanesville, OH – Cinema I (3 days)
1971-09-29 … Lafayette, LA – Pat (3)
1971-09-29 … Mansfield, OH – Midway Drive-In (1) [w/ PM]
1971-09-29 … Ogden (Layton), UT – Davis Drive-In (1) [w/ LFBH]
1971-09-30 … Kalamazoo, MI –Capitol (1)
1971-09-30 … Parkersburg, WV – Starlight Drive-In (1) [w/ PM]
1971-09-30 … Spartanburg, SC – Carolina (1)
1971-09-30 … Springfield, IL – Senate (2)
1971-10-01 … Halifax, NS – Paramount (1)
1971-10-01 … Halifax (Sackville), NS – Sackville Drive-In (1) [w/ DS]
1971-10-01 … Jackson, WY – Aspen Drive-In (3 days)
1971-10-01 … Lafayette, IN – Lafayette (1)
1971-10-01 … Shreveport, LA – Strand (2)
1971-10-03 … Alamogordo, NM – Sands (3 days) [w/ TTT]
1971-10-06 … Waycross, GA – Ritz (1)
1971-10-06 … Wichita Falls, TX – Strand (1)
1971-10-07 … Johnson City, TN – Capri (1)
1971-10-07 … Monroe, LA – Showtown USA Drive-In (1) [w/ DDM]
1971-10-10 … Hilo, HI – Palace (2 days) [w/ MN]
1971-10-13 … Chambersburg, PA – Capitol (1)
1971-10-13 … Green Bay, WI – Valley Drive-In (1) [w/ PM]
1971-10-13 … Little Rock, AR – Capitol (3)
1971-10-13 … Little Rock (North Little Rock), AR – Capri (3)
1971-10-13 … Manitowoc, WI – Mikadow (1)
1971-10-13 … Oshkosh, WI – Time (1)
1971-10-13 … Rocky Mount, NC – Cameo (1)
1971-10-13 … Wausau, WI – Grand (1) [w/ PM]
1971-10-14 … Jackson, MS – Jackson Mall (3)
1971-10-14 … Lake Charles, LA – Pitt (1)
1971-10-15 … Florence (Tuscumbia), AL – Tuscumbian (1)
1971-10-15 … Pensacola, FL – Saenger (2)
1971-10-15 … Winston-Salem, NC – Reynolda (1)
1971-10-17 … Fredericksburg, VA – Fredericksburg Drive-In (1) [w/ NBG]
1971-10-20 … Big Spring, TX – Jet Drive-In (4 days) [w/ TTT]
1971-10-21 … Baton Rouge, LA – Gordon (1)
1971-10-22 … Findlay, OH – Findlay Drive-In (3 days) [w/ PM]
1971-10-22 … Pocatello, ID – Crest (1)
1971-10-22 … Twin Falls, ID – Grand-Vu Drive-In (3 days) [w/ PM]
1971-10-22 … Vancouver, BC – Strand (2)
1971-10-22 … Vancouver (Burnaby), BC – Lougheed Drive-In (1) [w/ V]
1971-10-22 … Vancouver (Richmond), BC – Richmond Square Twin (1)
1971-10-29 … Battle Creek, MI – West Point Drive-In (3 days) [w/ KH]
1971-10-29 … Hattiesburg, MS – Cinema (1)
1971-11-01 … Stroudsburg, PA – Sherman Twin (2 days)
1971-11-03 … Gadsden, AL – Pittman (2)
1971-11-03 … Port Arthur, TX – Don Drive-In (1) [w/ NBG]
1971-11-03 … Rapid City, SD – State (2)
1971-11-04 … Fort Smith, AR – Malco (1)
1971-11-05 … Alexandria, LA – Paramount (2)
1971-11-05 … Greenville, MS – Showtown USA Drive-In (1) [w/ PM]
1971-11-05 … Owensboro, KY – Plaza (1)
1971-11-10 … Fort Walton Beach, FL – Palm (1)
1971-11-10 … Nashua, NH – D.W. (1)
1971-11-17 … Las Cruces, NM – Aggie Drive-In (2) [w/ CP]
1971-11-17 … Mason City, IA – Park 70 (4 days)
1971-11-17 … Springfield, MO – Hi-M Drive-In (1) [w/ PM]
1971-11-17 … Victoria, BC – Capitol (1)
1971-11-24 … Santa Fe, NM – El Paseo (2)
1971-11-25 … High Point, NC – Center (1)
1971-12-01 … Casper, WY – Rialto (1)
1971-12-01 … Chico, CA – El Rey (2) [w/ MDE]
1971-12-01 … Grand Junction, CO – Jerry Lewis (1)
1971-12-01 … Odessa, TX – Rio (2)
1971-12-01 … Salinas, CA – El Rey (1) [w/ MDE]
1971-12-01 … Salinas, CA – Salinas Drive-In (2) [w/ MDE]
1971-12-01 … Yuma, AZ – Mesa Drive-In (4 days) [w/ CP]
1971-12-05 … Flagstaff, AZ – Orpheum (3 days)
1971-12-08 … Bangor, ME – Bijou (1)
1971-12-10 … Sioux City, IA – Riviera Twin (1)
1971-12-15 … Bryan, TX – Palace (1)
1971-12-15 … Jonesboro, AR – Malco Triplex (1)
1971-12-15 … La Crosse, WI – Rivoli (1)
1971-12-15 … Rutland, VT – Movieland (1)
1972-01-07 … Muncie, IN – Rivoli (1)
1972-01-07 … Traverse City, MI – State (2)
1972-01-08 … Del Rio, TX – Rita (4 days)
1972-01-12 … Frederick, MD – Tivoli (1)
1972-01-12 … Gallup, NM – Chief (1) [w/ KH]
1972-01-12 … Sheboygan, WI – Sheboygan (1)
1972-01-12 … Statesville, NC – Newtowne (2)
1972-01-16 … Naples, FL – Gulf Gate (4 days)
1972-01-19 … Springdale, AR – Apollo (1) [w/ PM]
1972-01-27 … Fayetteville, AR – U-Ark (1)
1972-02-06 … Janesville, WI – Jeffris (1) [w/ PM]
1972-02-09 … Bismarck, ND – Plaza Twin (4 days)
1972-02-09 … McAllen (Pharr), TX – Cactus Drive-In (4 days) [w/ PM]
1972-02-09 … McAllen (Edinburg), TX – Pan Am Drive-In (4 days) [w/ PM]
1972-02-09 … Spearfish, SD – Cine (4 days)
1972-02-11 … Harlingen (San Benito), TX – Citrus Drive-In (1) [w/ PM]
1972-02-13 … Bend, OR – Tower (4 days) [w/ MDE]
1972-02-16 … Brownsville, TX – Charro (1) [w/ MDE]
1972-02-19 … Longview, TX – Twin Pines Drive-In (1) [w/ PM]
1972-03-22 … Ithaca, NY – Strand (1)
1972-04-21 … Salina, KS – 81 Drive-In (1) [w/ C]
1972-04-29 … Opelousas, LA – Yam Drive-In (4 days) [w/ KH]
1972-05-10 … Brownwood, TX – Commerce Square Twin (1)
1972-07-26 … Moncton, NB – Paramount (4 days) [w/ CP]
Co-Feature Legend
100R = 100 Rifles
5MA = The 5-Man Army
ADH = Angels Die Hard
BJ = Big Jake
BM = Brewster McCloud
BSILY = B.S. I Love You
C = Catlow
CK = The Cincinnati Kid
CP = Clay Pigeon
D = The Deserter
DD = The Dirty Dozen
DDM = Dirty Dingus Magee
DS = Dark of the Sun
EC = El Condor
F = Flap
FLI = For Love of Ivy
FP = Fools’ Parade
FU – Flareup
GC = Get Carter
HA = Halls of Anger
HP = The Haunted Palace
IHHLHG = If He Hollers, Let Him Go!
IHN = In the Heat of the Night
JM = John and Mary
K = Kenner
KH = Kelly’s Heroes
L = The Landlord
LAW = The Lawyers
LE = The Last Escape
LFBH = Little Fauss and Big Halsy
LT = The Learning Tree
LV = The Last Valley
M = Marlowe
M&MM = McCabe & Mrs. Miller (opening day only)
MASH = MASH
MCH = A Man Called Horse
MCS = A Man Called Sledge
MDE = Mad Dogs & Englishmen
MGSS = The Magic Garden of Stanley Sweetheart
MLMS = My Lover, My Son
MN = Man from Nowhere
MW = The Moonshine War
NBG = No Blade of Grass
PB = Point Blank
PF = Perfect Friday
PM = Pretty Maids all in a Row
PMFM = Play Misty for Me (final day only)
PP = Pit and the Pendulum
S = The Split
SA = Sabata
SH = The Scalphunters
SHY = Say Hello to Yesterday
SS = The Strawberry Statement
ST = A Stranger in Town
STGWNC = Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came
TAR = Texas Across the River
TE = The Traveling Executioner
TTT = …Tick…Tick…Tick…
V = Villain
W = Whirlpool
WED = Where Eagles Dare
Z = Zeppelin
ZZ = Zig-Zag
Note that in some cases a co-feature was added, dropped or changed during holdover week(s) or during late-night weekends screenings.
THE Q&A
Josiah Howard is the author of Blaxploitation Cinema: The Essential Reference Guide (FAB Press, 2008).
Lee Pfeiffer is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of Cinema Retro magazine.
Chris Utley is one of Shaft’s biggest fans.
The interviews were conducted separately and have been edited into a “roundtable” conversation format.
Michael Coate (The Digital Bits): How do you think Shaft ought to be remembered and/or celebrated on its 50th anniversary?
Josiah Howard: It’s the very first brand recognition Blaxploitation film—and the only franchise film from the genre—which includes more than 200 pictures. Over the past fifty years Shaft has been revisited four times: Shaft’s Big Score! (1972), Shaft in Africa (1973), Shaft (2000) and Shaft (2019). There was also a short-lived Shaft television series. That’s a pretty amazing accomplishment for what really was a standard detective drama that chose to feature a Black actor rather than a white one.
Lee Pfeiffer: Shaft was a groundbreaking film that was largely responsible for launching the so-called Blaxploitation genre, which burned briefly but very brightly and afforded showcase roles to Black actors and actresses who were generally relegated to nondescript parts in mainstream Hollywood films. Until the release of Shaft, there were precious few Black actors working in leading roles who were considered to be a good boxoffice draw. The most prominent were Sidney Poitier, Jim Brown and to a lesser extent Harry Belafonte, who primarily considered acting as a sideline to his main profession as a singer. With the avalanche of films geared to Black audiences, many African American veteran actors were finally able to thrive, and this pertained to behind-the-scenes talent as well. The film was a reflection of its time. The Civil Rights movement was becoming more aggressive in taking to the streets especially following the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968. King’s message of non-violent resistance was seen as a dead end by many young Black people who were fed up with the slow process of gaining equality. There were riots in the streets and an ugly period emerged in America. Shaft reflected that reality. Sidney Poitier was an often-underrated pioneer in blazing the trail for Black actors, but he was generally playing highly civilized, morally correct characters. Shaft, however, was cynical and operated on the edges of the law. He was on the right side morally, but his methods of achieving his goals were unconventional, to say the least. He had a strained relationship with the police, but they understood and needed each other—although Shaft always made sure the police needed him more than he needed them. He was a kickass action hero who surprised a lot of studio executives by appealing across racial lines and attracting white fans.
Chris Utley: Shaft is to be remembered as the catalyst to the 1970s Black film movement—oftentimes referred to as Blaxploitation. While many would give that title to Melvin Van Peebles' independently produced Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, which was released a couple of months prior to this film, Shaft was the bigger splash. Produced within the studio system by MGM, the film became an instant classic; revered and emulated within the African American community at large and respected with mainstream audiences as well. The success of the film, of course, led to several copycats and imitators which seemed to follow the same playbook: Handsome Black man (or woman) with a big gun on the poster, gritty urban theme, infectious theme music by Soul/R&B music stars of the time, rinse, repeat.
The Digital Bits: When did you first see Shaft?
Howard: I first saw Shaft on TV in edited form, so its impact was muted. I thought he was cool, and I loved the New York City travelogue, but I also thought he was relatively tame: a Black man working within the system—a hero: not an anti-hero. Looking back, the first film starring a modern looking/talking/acting Black man couldn’t have been any other way. It was shrewd to keep him relatively safe and palatable: they wanted a boxoffice hit after all!
Pfeiffer: I saw the film in my hometown of Jersey City when it opened in 1971. I was 15 years old and I recognized we were seeing a new kind of character and leading man in Richard Roundtree. I was hooked immediately. It would be an overstatement to call it a great film. It wasn’t. Much of it was workmanlike in its execution but it was very significant in its sense of style. I was aware of the fact that the predominantly white audience was cheering a Black hero. The only comparable experience I had in that regard was in Norman Jewison’s In the Heat of the Night when Sidney Poitier’s Virgil Tibbs slaps actor Larry Gates, who played an upper crust white bigot. The audience gasped when that happened in a 1967 movie but cheered outright when a Black hero stood up to snoots and bigots only four years later.
Utley: I was a year and a half away from being born when Shaft was first released in Summer 1971. Therefore, I first saw it on TV as a very little kid with my dad and my cousins sometime in the mid-1970s. I remembered bits and pieces of it before I saw it again from start to finish as a teenager on TV in the 1980s. What I remember more than anything is my father being obsessed over the film. His passing in 1985 ended up casting a grand mystique over the film in my eyes. That mystique ultimately led to Shaft becoming my favorite movie of all time; eventually seeing it twice at theatrical screenings in Los Angeles over the last twenty-five years.
The Digital Bits: In what way is Shaft a significant motion picture?
Howard: Well, although the Black-cast comedy Cotton Comes to Harlem was released a year earlier and was a tremendous success, it really was Shaft that proved the true value of the Black dollar. Up until then Hollywood hadn’t seriously considered the breadth, scope and power of the Black moviegoing audience. It was also one of the very first Black films to have product tie ins. There were Shaft playing cards, suits, sunglasses, towels, cologne; you name it. And it was also one of the very first A-list Hollywood films directed by an African American. Without a doubt Shaft changed things for Black people in front of—and behind the cameras.
Pfeiffer: The film is significant both culturally and from a sociological standpoint. Its success as the boxoffice provided an unexpected boon for MGM, which was struggling financially. More importantly, it gave Black moviegoers a new hero to identify with. In that sense, it broke a lot of barriers and launched a tidal wave of films with Black actors rising to varying degrees of prominence.
Utley: On the surface, Shaft is just another detective story. The hero is conned by a crime boss to rescue his kidnapped daughter from other mobsters who want to move in on his territory. No major significance there, right? But add to that the optics and the climate of the early 1970s. MLK is assassinated, the Black Power Movement is in full swing, and Black audiences wanted to see something more than the earnest, non-confrontational themes of Sidney Poitier's body of work. They wanted to see a hero that looked like them, walked and talked like them, carried and possessed their style and swagger. Richard Roundtree as John Shaft fit that bill and then some. He could stand toe to toe with NYPD brass without caving into subservient intimidation as well as maintain the respect and street cred within his community, as the lyrics of the theme song so eloquently state. This onscreen image of Black masculinity was how so many Black men saw themselves. With Shaft, an underrepresented audience finally got the representation they were thirsty for. And they ate it up!
The Digital Bits: What are your thoughts on the casting choices and performances in the film (in particular Richard Roundtree as John Shaft and Moses Gunn as Bumpy Jonas)?
Howard: Roundtree is really the only person one can imagine in the lead. Every Black actor in Hollywood auditioned for the John Shaft role including Jim Brown, Fred Williamson and Bernie Casey—all of whom would later have success in the Blaxploitation film genre. Roundtree was fresh, new and natural. His eagerness to please is palpable—it’s one of the many elements that make the film work. As for Moses Gunn: wow! He always brings it. I love everything about him: his voice, his demeanor, and his confidence. This is a man who operated in the world without being anybody’s first choice. He’s an everyman. You know him, you’ve seen him in your life. You need an actor like Gunn in a film striving for authenticity.
Pfeiffer: Richard Roundtree was a major “find” in terms of casting. He was incredibly handsome and had the ability to toss of quips in Bondian style, never letting the fact that he was facing death bother him very much. Roundtree fit the role like a glove, and he had great rapport with Moses Gunn, a respected character actor who had a meaty role to show off his considerable talents. Gunn’s performance as Bumpy was well-received and he would appear again in Shaft’s Big Score.
Utley: Legend has it that, for many years, Roundtree struggled with his success as the iconic main character. Some stories claim that he refused to sign autographs for Shaft memorabilia. It's a shame if that legend is true because, frankly, Roundtree is to John Shaft what Sean Connery is to James Bond. It's his role. It's his legacy. From the time he rises up from under the subway platform to the closing frame of him in the phone booth telling his NYPD contact to "Close [the case] yourself, SHITTY," Roundtree owns that movie top to bottom, start to finish, without question.
Now it is interesting to note that Moses Gunn is only in about four scenes in the entire film as Harlem crime boss Bumpy Jonas. Two scenes are brief phone calls but the other two are the drivers of the plot: One is the scene in Shaft’s office in when he tearfully hires Shaft to rescue his daughter. The other is the scene when Shaft arrives at Bumpy’s office with Ben Buford to uncover the truth that Bumpy hustled Shaft into the job in the first place. Gunn hits all the right emotional beats in the hiring scene and reveals his cunning deceitfulness via facial expression in the "hustle" scene. Effective work on all counts.
The Digital Bits: In what way was Gordon Parks suited to direct Shaft and where do you think the film ranks among his body of work?
Howard: You might know that Gordon Parks refused to talk to me for my book Blaxploitation Cinema: The Essential Reference Guide. He never liked the term “Blaxploitation” and didn’t want me to include Shaft it in my book; but that didn’t stop me! That said, Parks was chosen as director because of his already established history as an African American photojournalist and documentarian. At the time he was best known for his black-and-white photographs of working class and poor African Americans in everyday situations. His photographs of the Black American experience were sublime and made an impact. He also had previously directed 1969’s The Learning Tree, so he could play with the big boys. In my opinion Shaft and the follow-up Shaft’s Big Score! (1972) represent his best directorial work.
Pfeiffer: Gordon Parks was a celebrated photographer who, I believe, became the first Black director to helm a major Hollywood film production with his semi-autobiographical tale The Learning Tree in 1969. It was a sensitive coming-of-age movie set in the segregated South and wasn’t a major boxoffice sensation. However, it was well-received critically and MGM wisely hired him to direct Shaft. It was a gamble not only because of Hollywood prejudices that cast doubt on Black directors’ abilities but also because Parks was in his late fifties at the time and there was good reason to doubt he had his finger on the pulse of the younger viewers that the film was intended to reach. Nevertheless, while some of his scenes are shot in a clunky and uninspired manner, he proved to be very good with actors and his background as a photographer benefited the film immeasurably. The famed opening aerial shot of Shaft emerging from a subway station and walking through grungy Times Square is mesmerizing.
Utley: Shaft was Parks’ second film after 1969's The Learning Tree, but it's the film that he will be forever remembered for. Parks returned a year later to direct the first sequel Shaft's Big Score and had only a few more directing credits after that. But when we think of Gordon Parks, we'll always think of his work directing Shaft.
The Digital Bits: Care to share any thoughts on Isaac Hayes’ music?
Howard: The film would not have happened as big as it did without Hayes’ soundtrack album. At the time he was the Black community’s favorite singing star. More than that, he had the Black cred that the picture needed. The thought was: “If Isaac Hayes, ‘The Black Moses,’ is involved it’s got to be good!” Moreover, Hayes’ music, like Curits Mayfield’s, Marvin Gaye’s and James Brown’s (three other singers who recorded Blaxploitation soundtrack albums), tackled Black issues like urban strife and racism. Hayes was political, even though that was never his intention, and his philanthropy was common knowledge. Add that seductive baritone and his signature look—a bald head and chains (!)—and you’ve got a winning formula. He didn’t just bring the music; he brought the Hayes mystique.
Pfeiffer: Hayes’ theme was—and is—iconic. It fit the film perfectly, just as the James Bond Themedid with the 007 films. It was so innovative and popular that even the staid Academy had to shake off its barnacles and award Hayes an Oscar, making it the first hip song to achieve that status. Unfortunately, Hayes got into a dispute over his contract on the film and forbade MGM from using the main theme in the sequels. The absence of the music in those two movies is glaring.
Utley: Theme from Shaft is my favorite song of all time. To this day, when I imagine myself in the best of my strength, dignity and gravitas, that theme song is the soundtrack playing in my head. I would imagine that is true for so many African American men of a certain age. Again, I wasn't around for the impact of the song on the music charts in 1971, but we know it was Isaac Hayes' only #1 pop single and, of course, it won Best Original Song. For me, it's the ultimate theme song: pulse racing beat, three movements that weave in other portions of the score (if you listen closely, you'll hear hints of Bumpy's Lament and Ellie's Love Theme interspersed within the track) and those iconic lyrics! For those who choose to revisit the film on Blu-ray, the original 1971 making-of documentary features footage of Gordon Parks, Hayes and Hayes's band (The Issac Hayes Movement) creating the building blocks of that world-famous instrumental groove. It's a fun watch!
The Digital Bits: How do the Shaft sequels compare to the original film?
Howard: Aside from Shaft’s Big Score! (which I personally like better than the original) they don’t! They feel opportunistic: like Hollywood had no new “Black” film ideas so they just dipped back into the well. Don’t get me wrong, the follow-up films and remakes are useful in that they kept the franchise alive and brought the character to several new generations, but the original and the sequel are all one needs to see.
Pfeiffer: I recently revisited Shaft’s Big Score and Shaft in Africa for the first time in decades and was surprised how good they held up. In fact, I believe both are superior to the original film. Score, which was also directed by Gordon Parks, has more spectacular action scenes and Africa, which was directed by John Guillerman, has the best script of all as well as a memorably eccentric villain played by Frank Finlay, who has a kinky mistress who insists on seducing Shaft before she attempts to kill him. The movie’s script is the strongest of the trio of films and Roundtree had by then grown more comfortable in the role, giving his best performance. The movie also benefits from a much larger budget and exotic on-location photography in Ethiopia and France. I haven’t seen the Samuel L. Jackson reboots, so I can’t comment on them.
Utley: Shaft's Big Score! was bigger and bloodier but plays more like a straight up detective flick than the first. Gone is the dynamic of Shaft being able to stand toe to toe with his white counterparts and adversaries with his wit and charm. That alone makes the film lesser than the first.
Shaft in Africa was MGM's attempt to make the franchise a Black 007 flick. For the first two-thirds of the film Shaft is navigating through Africa without a gun, smuggling his way onto a modern-day slave trade. This kinda makes the film a little dull in my opinion. The action doesn't really heat up until the climax, which, by then, is too much, too little, too late.
The less said about the spayed and neutered TV show version of Shaft, the better.
Now the two reboots are interesting. Samuel L. Jackson, quite possibly the only actor worthy of Shaft's leather coat, brings the heat and swagger in the 2000 reboot. Roundtree returns as "Uncle John Shaft" in that version. The cast is loaded, the action is fierce, but the climax is lame, the result of too much studio interference.
The 2019 edition I have mixed feelings about to this day. While it's always great to see a new round of your favorite movie, the filmmakers' choice to devolve Shaft's antics into comedy rubs me the wrong way. I showed up to the theater to see the next generation of a BAAAAD MUTHA...not a FUNNY MUTHA!
The Digital Bits: Where do you think Shaft ranks among the Blaxploitation genre/era of filmmaking?
Howard: Shaft may rank No. 1 because it was the first: Roundtree was on the cover of Newsweek, Hayes’ single and album were chart toppers and award winners, and it remains a lasting Black brand. But Shaft isn’t the best Blaxploitation film; it’s the most popular one, the one that everyone’s heard of. To me Super Fly, Coffy and Black Caesar do what Shaft does more memorably, more daringly, and with less desire to appeal to a general (white) audience. They advance the themes put forward in Shaft and go places that Shaft didn’t… or couldn’t.
Pfeiffer: The films are probably at or near the top of the genre. That may sound like faint praise, since so many of the Blaxploitation movies were quickly turned out for a fast profit with little concern about overall quality. The Shaft films are different. They were carefully constructed and were slickly produced and directed. That’s why they stand the test of time, as opposed to most films in the genre.
The Digital Bits: What do you think is the legacy of Shaft?
Howard: Shaft’s legacy is that it ignited America’s very first Black motion picture boom. It wasn’t just a film; it was a phenomenon. And it translated internationally: Shaft was just as popular in France, Mexico, Brazil and Japan as it was here in America. Released in tandem with what was going on at the time—the Black Power movement, the Black Panther Party, the popularity of black music, TV shows and black sports stars—it came along at the right time. It also created the Blaxploitation film template. Almost every picture that followed duplicated Shaft’s major elements: a young good-looking Black star, action, sex, car chases, and a slamming soundtrack by a well-known and respected black artist. That’s a pretty big accomplishment!
Pfeiffer: While the Blaxploitation genre lasted less than a decade before burning out, I always thought the Shaft franchise could have endured indefinitely, as the Bond films did. However, there was a bone-headed decision to turn it into a weekly TV series. Given the censorship policies of the 1970s, it only ensured that Shaft’s crustier character traits had to be watered down for popular consumption. The show flopped and we didn’t hear any more about the character until the reboot in 2000. Yet, the character endures and just about everyone recognizes the reference of the Shaft name. The films have also aged well and remain enjoyable viewing today. I think the original three films will always be popular—but I sure wish MGM had found a way to include Isaac Hayes’ theme song in those sequels.
Utley: Its legacy extends far beyond the reaches of 1970s Blaxploitation. I would go so far as to say that every expression of Black masculinity and force on screen—from Jim Brown and Fred Williamson making their own variants in the 1970s, to Wesley Snipes in Blade and New Jack City in the 1990s, to Will Smith and Martin Lawrence in the Bad Boys franchise from the mid 90s to today, and every major Black action star in between—owes all their gratitude to Shaft. As we celebrate the film's 50th birthday, we cannot forget how it paved the way for Black artists to prove that they can carry a film to boxoffice success. We also can't forget how its success kept MGM afloat for a few more years after its release as well. Above all else, as I stated before, it gave Black audiences a hero that belonged exclusively to us. As we saw John Shaft stroll across New York in that superbad leather, we, Black men over the last 50 years, saw a glimpse of ourselves—our pride, our honor, our dignity. Seeing that man who risked his neck for his brother man onscreen was what we sought to become in real life.
And, again, when I think of Shaft, I think of my dad. He was bold like John Shaft was. He was fearless like John Shaft was. He was complicated too. My dad was my real-life hero. And, in my mind, John Shaft was his onscreen alter ego. Two BAAAAD MUTHAS!
The Digital Bits: Thank you—Josiah, Lee, and Chris—for sharing your thoughts about Shaft on the occasion of its 50th anniversary.
IMAGES
Selected images copyright/courtesy Detroit Free Press, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, National Screen Service, Shaft Productions, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Warner Home Video.
SOURCES/REFERENCES
The primary references for this project were the motion picture Shaft, regional newspaper coverage and trade reports published in Boxoffice, The Hollywood Reporter and Variety, and interviews conducted by the author. All figures and data pertain to North America (i.e. United States and Canada) except where stated otherwise.
SPECIAL THANKS
David Ayers, Don Beelik, Ray Caple, Chris Chiarella, Sheldon Hall, Josiah Howard, Mark Lensenmayer, Adam Martin, W.R. Miller, Scott Neff, Lee Pfeiffer, Chris Utley, and a very special thank-you to the librarians, genealogists and private researchers who assisted with this project, in particular Nick Abrahamson (Tulsa City-County Library), Jennifer Andrew (Grand Rapids Public Library), Ann and Sara (Champaign County Historical Archives), Ann Marie (Dauphin County Library System), Anne Marie (Boise Public Library), Courtney Baran (Erie County Public Library), Leah Barbee (Stephens Central Library), Stephanie Barnwell (Durham County Library), Deb Bier (Peoria Public Library), Linda Bridges (Live Oak Public Libraries), Diane Buckley (Virginia Beach Public Library), Amy Cantu (Ann Arbor District Library), Charles (Buffalo & Erie County Public Library), Scott Clark (Kitchener Public Library), Clara (Providence Public Library), Caitlyn Cook and reference staff (New Jersey State Library), Jamie Corson (Memphis Public Library), Jessica Cosgrove (Wyoming State Archives), Tabitha Davis (Pueblo-City-County Library), Margaret Dunlap (Richland Library), Dyron (Roanoke Public Library), Erin Edwards (Carnegie Library for Local History), Lunden England (Norman Public Library), Sandra Enskat (St. Catharines Public Library), Laura Fazekas (Chapin Memorial Library), Elizabeth Fraser (Kanawha County Public Library), Anne Girouard (Daniel Boone Regional Library), Ian Holmes (Poudre River Public Library), Caroline Huguet (Alachua County Library District), Jason (Birmingham Public Library), Leigh Anne Johnson (Indiana State Library), Julia and Vicky (Halifax Public Libraries), Justin Kau (Athens-Clarke County Library), Kaylie (Greater Sudbury Public Library), Jim (Parkersburg & Wood County Public Library), Patrick Kilmer (Jefferson-Madison Regional Library), Tammy Kiter (Jacksonville Public Library), Kristin and Abby (Bristol Public Library), Stacy LaVres (Duluth Pubic Library), Michael Lara and Shane Curtin (San Jose Pubic Library), David Lilly (Huntsville-Madison County Public Library), Alex Merrill (Kalamazoo Public Library), Dylan May (Albany County Public Library), Stacy McNally (Public Libraries of Saginaw), Nancy Miller (Rochester Public Library), Sana Moulder (Cumberland County Public Library), Katherine Muto (Osterhout Free Library), Nick (Falmouth Public Library), Nicole (Moorhead Public Library), James O’Neal (Middle Georgia Regional Library), Jody Osicki (Saint John Free Public Library), Debra Jean Pfendler (Stark Library), Roxanne Puder (Onslow County Public Library), Alison Purgiel (Muskegon Area District Library), Reference Staff (Cabell County Public Library), Reference Staff (Jonesboro Public Library), Reference Staff (Knox County Public Library), Reference Staff (Portland Public Library), Reference Staff (Stockton-San Joaquin County Public Library), Reference Staff (Worcester Public Library), Stephen Rice (Connecticut State Library), Tim Rohe (New Hampshire State Library), Amy Ruhe (Forsyth County Public Library), Emily Rundle (Jervis Public Library), Russ (New Bedford Free Public Library), Mary Schaff (Washington State Library), Desirée Sharland (Thompson Library, University of Michigan-Flint), Daniel Sheahan (Fall River Main Library), Joyce Sonnier (Calcasieu Parish Public Library), Sean Sutcliffe (Waco McLennan County Library), Beth Swenson (Idaho Falls Public Library), Meneka Thiru (Anchorage Public Library), Nathaniel A. Thomas (Reading Public Library), Kate Towers (Stanislaus County Library), Laura Treat (University of California Santa Barbara Library), Sarah J. Wagner (Chapel Hill Public Library), Galen Webb (Fort Smith Public Library).
IN MEMORIAM
Emanuel Gerard (art director), 1926-1973
Edmund Hashim (“Lee”), 1933-1974
Urs Furrer (director of photography), 1934-1975
Shimen Ruskin (“Dr. Sam”), 1907-1976
Ernest Tidyman (novel and screenplay), 1928-1984
Roger H. Lewis (producer), 1918-1984
David Golden (associate producer), 1907-1985
Steven Skloot (unit production manager), 1943-1985
Drew Bundini Brown (“Willy”), 1928-1987
Hugh A. Robertson (editor), 1932-1988
Jon Richards (“Elevator Starter”), 1904-1988
Lee Steele (“Blind Vendor”), 1913-1990
Dennis Tate (“Dotts”), 1931-1993
Hal Watkins (sound), 1914-1993
Moses Gunn (“Bumpy Jonas”), 1929-1993
Cle Kent (script supervisor), 1921-1996
Stirling Silliphant (executive producer), 1918-1996
Robert Drumheller (set decorator), 19??-1998
Arnold Johnson (“Cul”), 1921-2000
J.J. Johnson (composer), 1924-2001
Joseph Leon (“Byron Leibowitz”), 1918-2001
James Hainesworth (“Brother #2”), 1945-2002
Rex Robbins (”Rollie”), 1935-2003
Gordon Parks (director), 1912-2006
Paul Nevins (“Elevator Man”), 1912-2006
Donny Burks (“Remmy”), 1939-2008
Isaac Hayes (composer), 1942-2008
Sylvia Fay (extras casting), 1917-2008
Ed Barth (“Tony”), 1931-2010
Victor Arnold (”Charlie”), 1932-2012
Alan Weeks (“Gus”), 1948-2015
Damu King (“Mal”), 1939-2017
Joel Freeman (producer), 1922-2018
Gertrude Jeannette (“Old Lady”), 1914-2018
John D.F. Black (screenplay), 1932-2018
Dominic Barto (“Patsy”), 1930-2019
Gonzalo Madurga (“Counterman”), 1932-2020