''A Piece of the Action'' is a 1977 American

crime comedy film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

directed by and starring

Sidney Poitier Sidney Poitier ( ; February 20, 1927 – January 6, 2022) was an American actor, film director, and diplomat. In 1964, he was the first black actor and first Bahamian to win the Academy Award for Best Actor. He received two competitive ...

and co-starring

Bill Cosby William Henry Cosby Jr. ( ; born July 12, 1937) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and media personality. He made significant contributions to American and African-American culture, and is well known in the United States for his eccentric ...

. It was the third film pairing of Poitier and Cosby, following ''

Uptown Saturday Night Uptown may refer to: Neighborhoods or regions in several cities United States * Uptown, entertainment district east of Downtown and Midtown Albuquerque, New Mexico * Uptown Charlotte, North Carolina * Uptown, area surrounding the University of Ci ...

'' (1974) and '' Let's Do It Again'' (1975). The films are considered a trilogy, even though the actors play characters with different names in each film. It was also Poitier's last acting role for more than a decade, as he focused his attentions on directing.

Plot

Dave Anderson (

) and Manny Durrell (

) are two high-class sneak thieves who have never been caught. Joshua Burke (

James Earl Jones James Earl Jones (born January 17, 1931) is an American actor. He has been described as "one of America's most distinguished and versatile" actors for his performances in film, television, and theater, and "one of the greatest actors in America ...

) is a retired detective who has enough evidence on the both of them to put them behind bars. Instead, he offers to maintain his silence if the crooks will go straight and do work at a youth center for delinquents. At first, the crooks are reluctant and unwilling (and so are the kids). As time goes by they gain the trust and admiration of the kids and they start to enjoy the job. All goes well until a past heist comes back to haunt them and they have to make up for it or else.

Cast

* Sir Sidney Poitier as Manny Durrell *

as Dave Anderson *

as Joshua Burke *

Denise Nicholas Denise Donna Nicholas (born July 12, 1944) is an American actress, author, and social activist. Nicholas is known primarily for her roles as high-school guidance counselor Liz McIntyre on the ABC comedy-drama series ''Room 222'' and Councilwoma ...

as Lila French *

Hope Clarke Hope Clarke (born March 23, 1941) is an American actress, dancer, vocalist, choreographer, and director. Clarke performed as principal dancer with the Katherine Dunham Company and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, 1960s; actress on stage, ...

as Sarah Thomas * Tracy Reed as Nikki McLean *

Titos Vandis Titos Vandis ( el, Τίτος Βανδής; 7 November 1917 – 23 February 2003) was a Greek actor. Biography Vandis began his career on the Greek stage in the late 1930s. In 1962, he won the Best Actor award for the film ''Poliorkia'' at ...

as Bruno *

Frances Foster Frances Helen Foster (née Brown; June 11, 1924 – June 17, 1997) was an American film, television and stage actress. In addition to being an actress, Brown was also an award–winning stage director. Life and career Foster was born Fran ...

as Bea Quitman *

Pat Renella Pat Renella (March 24, 1929 – November 9, 2012) was an American actor. His motion picture debut was as an engineer in the space drama ''X-15'' (1961) starring David McLean and Charles Bronson. Renella acted in the stage play ''Bullfigh ...

as Nikos *

Jason Evers Jason Evers (born Herbert Everberg or as Herbert Everin; January 2, 1922 – March 13, 2005) was an American actor. He was the star of the 1963 ABC television drama '' Channing''. Early life Evers was born either as Herbert Everberg or Herbert ...

as Ty Shorter *

Marc Lawrence Marc Lawrence (born Max Goldsmith; February 17, 1910 – November 28, 2005) was an American character actor who specialized in underworld types. He has also been credited as F. A. Foss, Marc Laurence and Marc C. Lawrence. Early life Lawrence w ...

as Louie *

Ja'net Dubois Jeannette Theresa Dubois (August 5 – February 17, 2020), known professionally as Ja'Net DuBois, Ja'net DuBois, and Ja'Net Du Bois (), was an American actress and singer. She was best known for her portrayal of Willona Woods, the neighborhood g ...

as Nellie Bond *

Sheryl Lee Ralph Sheryl Lee Ralph OJ is an American actress and singer. She made her screen debut in the 1977 comedy film '' A Piece of the Action'', before landing the role of Deena Jones in the Broadway musical ''Dreamgirls'' (1981), for which she received a ...

as Barbara Hanley *

Ernest Lee Thomas Ernest Lee Thomas (born March 26, 1949) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Roger "Raj" Thomas on the 1970s ABC sitcom ''What's Happening!!'', and its 1980s syndicated sequel, ''What's Happening Now!!'', and for his recurri ...

as John *

Estelle Evans Estelle Rolle Evans (October 1, 1906 – July 20, 1985) was a Bahamian American actress during the 20th century. Some of her most famous appearances were in the movies '' The Quiet One'' (1948), ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' (1962), and '' The Lea ...

as Alberta Ballard

Reception

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

gave the film two stars out of four and wrote, "It has its heart in the right place, I suppose, but its key situations are so unbelievable and its dialog so awkward that nothing helps."

Lawrence Van Gelder Lawrence Ralph Van Gelder (February 17, 1933 – March 11, 2016) was an American journalist and instructor in journalism who worked at several different New York City-based newspapers in his long career. Until 2010, he was senior editor of the Ar ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' wrote, "'A Piece of the Action' is firmly on the side of the angels. It is possible to criticize its lack of originality and its transparent slickness; but these are flaws that must be balanced against its evident craftsmanship, its entertainment and its social conscience." Arthur D. Murphy of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' noted, "The Warner Bros. release, easygoing and pleasant if longish at 134 minutes, looks good for the general market."

Gene Siskel Eugene Kal Siskel (January 26, 1946 – February 20, 1999) was an American film critic and journalist for the ''Chicago Tribune''. Along with colleague Roger Ebert, he hosted a series of movie review programs on television from 1975 until his d ...

gave the film two stars out of four and called it "a patronizing, simple-minded lecture on how young blacks can get jobs. You probably thought 'A Piece of the Action' was going to be a comedy. It is, but only as an afterthought." Kevin Thomas of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' praised the film as "uproarious yet poignant," with "generous, spirited direction" from Poitier. Gary Arnold of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' called the film "a winning light entertainment" with "an exceptionally effective screenplay, which achieves a spirited, tangy blend of conventional caper melodrama, conventional romantic comedy and elonquent propagandizing on behalf of measures intended to encourage self-reliance and self-respect in black juveniles."

Remakes

In 2002, it was announced that

Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor and rapper. He began his Will Smith filmography, acting career starring as Will Smith (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), a ...

and his

production company A production company, production house, production studio, or a production team is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, and ...

Overbrook Entertainment Overbrook Entertainment is an American production company based in Culver City, California. It was founded by partners Will Smith and James Lassiter in 1998, around the same time production for ''Wild Wild West'' (1999) was started. The name "Ov ...

, had secured the rights to the trilogy for

remakes A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the sam ...

to star Smith and to be distributed by

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

Smith stated that he hoped to get

Eddie Murphy Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and singer. He rose to fame on the sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'', for which he was a regular cast member from 1980 to 1984. Murphy has als ...

Martin Lawrence Martin Fitzgerald LawrenceStated in interview on ''Inside the Actors Studio'' (born April 16, 1965) is an American comedian and actor. He came to fame during the 1990s, establishing a Hollywood career as a leading actor. He got his start playin ...

and other famous

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

stars to be in the films.

Soundtrack

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Piece Of The Action, A 1977 films 1970s action comedy films 1970s buddy comedy films 1970s crime comedy films 1970s crime action films American action comedy films American buddy comedy films American crime action films American crime comedy films American heist films Blaxploitation films 1970s English-language films Films directed by Sidney Poitier First Artists films Warner Bros. films 1977 comedy films 1970s American films