5/20/2023

DIRECTOR JONATHAN KAPLAN LOCKS JIM BROWN INTO 'THE SLAMS'

Jim Brown in THE SLAMS Year: 1973 Director: Jonathan Kaplan Rates: ***1/2

A year before directing Isaac Hayes in the violent yet breezy blaxploitation TRUCK TURNER, director Jonathan Kaplan put Jim Brown in prison for a more sparse and serious THE SLAMS, mostly taking place behind bars but without relying on melodramatic prison tropes, since everything that goes down... from bullies to shiv-fights to mean guards... is tightly connected to the plot...

Where Jim Brown, an idealistic criminal from a groovy heist prologue, stole and hid loot from the mob, and, once locked-up, a gangster hires gigantic convict Ted Cassady to attempt getting the formidable Brown to confess...

Roland Bob Harris and Jim Brown in THE SLAMS

Making the more cerebral than physical, fast-talking prison captain Roland Bob Harris a far more effective villain (better than a stereotypical tyrannical warden), connecting to Brown's newscaster girlfriend Judy Pace while working with pimp Paul Harris (also a pimp in TURNER), to either locate the money or plan a mutual escape...

And while the predictably safe and self-contained Jim Brown's tough enough from any interior adversary, Jonathan Kaplan's creative 70's-style direction keeps the suspense on par with the non-stop action.

Jim Brown in THE SLAMS
Herbert Jefferson Jr. in THE SLAMS with Frenchia Guizon and Jim Brown
Roland Bob Harris in THE SLAMS
Jim Brown in THE SLAMS with Jack Cassidy
Ted Cassidy in THE SLAMS
Judy Pace in THE SLAMS
Jim Brown in THE SLAMS
Ted Cassidy in THE SLAMS
Roland Bob Harris and Jim Brown in THE SLAMS
Jim Brown in THE SLAMS
Paul Harris in THE SLAMS
Jim Brown in THE SLAMS
Herbert Jefferson Jr. in THE SLAMS with Frenchia Guizon
Jack Cassidy in THE SLAMS
Jim Brown in THE SLAMS
Jim Brown in THE SLAMS
Roland Bob Harris and Judy Pace in THE SLAMS
Roland Bob Harris and Jerry Jones in THE SLAMS
Judy Pace in THE SLAMS
Jim Brown in THE SLAMS
Jim Brown in THE SLAMS
Jim Brown in THE SLAMS
Herbert Jefferson Jr. in THE SLAMS with Frenchia Guizon
Paul Harris and Charles Cyphers in THE SLAMS
Jim Brown in THE SLAMS
Jim Brown in THE SLAMS
Jim Brown in THE SLAMS
Intro for THE SLAMS

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