Ossie Davis (1973)
Green Beret Gordon Hudson returns to New York from Vietnam to discover that his wife has died – she’s one of the many victims of the drug dealers who’ve taken over Harlem. Gordon determines to clean up the neighbourhood with the help of some vigilante mates. They set about accomplishing the task with violent aplomb. As in the following year’s Death Wish, there’s no insight into the characters but plenty of sentimentality. Paul Winfield, who plays Gordon, has been quoted as saying that he wants to be the best film actor in the world – ‘Not as good as Olivier or Brando – the best’. Winfield is going the wrong way about it.
[1970s]
