ISAAC HAYES, FRED WILLIAMSON & LINO VENTURA IN 'TOUGH GUYS'

Title: TOUGH GUYS Year: 1974 Pictured: Paula Kelly Rating: ****

The actual title is TOUGH GUYS and was then changed to THREE TOUGH GUYS after Fred Williamson, who plays a small but important role as the villain, gained popularity and the title song mentions TWO TOUGH GUYS, being that the film centers mainly on imported Italian star (and this movie's starring lead) Lino Ventura as a renegade, revenge-seeking, ten-speed riding priest who teams with rogue cop Isaac Hayes...

First first twenty-five minutes has the priest fighting various local crime joints (including crooked bartender Jess Hahn); then Hayes enters as a kind of guardian angel cop, wherein the strange pair hop from arcade to bar to empty warehouse beating up baddies or getting beat up, even kidnapped...

Isaac Hayes in TOUGH GUYS

Or trying to outwit a terrific street fatale in Paula Kelly where the lightweight find-the-killer plot blends neatly with sporadic, swift-paced action occurring between unimportant bouts of dubbed, but somewhat involving, dialogue...

And fans of Hayes the composer: if you want some superb instrumental music, check out Isaac's DOUBLE FEATURE: TRUCK TURNER AND THREE TOUGH GUYS, both albums full of soulful/jazzy/funky/rocking orchestrations far superior than the generic versions within either film.

Paula Kelly in TOUGH GUYS

Fred Williamson in TOUGH GUYS

Isaac Hayes in TOUGH GUYS and Lino Ventura