''Hammer'' is a 1972 blaxploitation film directed by Bruce D. Clark. The film was released following the successes of ''

Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song ''Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song'' is a 1971 American blaxploitation film written, co-produced, scored, edited, directed by, and starring Melvin Van Peebles. His son Mario Van Peebles also appears in a small role, playing the title character ...

'' and '' Shaft'', notable 1971 films that popularized black cinema. It starred

Fred Williamson Frederick Robert Williamson (born March 5, 1938), also known as The Hammer, is an American actor and former professional American football defensive back who played mainly in the American Football League during the 1960s. Williamson is perhaps ...

as B.J. Hammer. Williamson went on to become a staple of the genre.

Plot

B.J. Hammer is a boxer who rises up the ranks with help from the

Mafia "Mafia" is an informal term that is used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the original “Mafia”, the Sicilian Mafia and Italian Mafia. The central activity of such an organization would be the arbitration of d ...

. However, Hammer doesn't realize that the help comes with a price: He is asked to throw a fight.

Gangster A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from '' mob'' and the suffix '' -ster''. Gangs provide a level of organization and ...

s threaten to harm his girlfriend in an attempt to force him to go through with their plan. Hammer is forced to figure out a way to save his dignity and the life of his girlfriend when she is kidnapped by the gangsters.

Cast

as B.J. Hammer * Bernie Hamilton as Davis * Vonetta McGee as Lois *

Charles Lampkin Charles Lampkin (1913–1989) was an American actor, musician and lecturer. Early life Charles Lampkin was born on March 17, 1913 in Ward 4 of Montgomery, Alabama. He was the third son of Edgar Lampkin and Sarah Bidell. His paternal lineage is ...

as Sid "Big Sid" * William Smith as Brenner * Elizabeth Harding as Rhoda *

Mel Stewart Milton "Mel" Stewart (September 19, 1929 – February 24, 2002) was an American character actor, television director, and musician who appeared in numerous films and television shows from the 1960s to the 1990s. He is best known for playing Hen ...

as Professor * Stack Pierce as "Roughhouse" *

John Quade John William Saunders III (April 1, 1938 – August 9, 2009), better known by the stage name John Quade, was an American character actor who starred in film and in television. He was best known for his role as Cholla, the leader of the moto ...

as Riley * D'Urville Martin as Sonny * Leon Isaac as Bobby Williams

Reception and legacy

The movie gained a positive reception. "The Hammer" has become Williamson's official nickname, earned during his time playing professional football. Williamson is also credited as playing "Hammer, the ladies man," in the 1980 martial arts film ''

Fist of Fear, Touch of Death ''Fist of Fear, Touch of Death'', also known as ''The Dragon and the Cobra'', is a 1980 martial arts film set at the "1979 World Karate Championships" at Madison Square Garden that will supposedly determine the "successor" to Bruce Lee. The fil ...

'' and as "The Hammer" in a 2006 direct-to-video release called ''

Spaced Out ''Spaced Out'' (known in French as ''Allô la Terre, ici les Martin'') is an animated series, co-produced by Alphanim Productions, Tooncan Productions and Cartoon Network Europe, in association with several other companies and television networ ...

.''

Releases on DVD & HD

* In 2004 it was released on DVD. * In 2010 it was digitized in High Definition (1080i) and broadcast on

MGM HD MGM HD was an all high-definition television cable network owned by the MGM HD Productions subsidiary of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), a division of Amazon's MGM Holdings, Inc. It featured movies from the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer library of 1,200 movie ...

. * In 2015 it was released on Blu-Ray DVD by Olive Films.

References

External links

* * 1972 films Blaxploitation films 1972 crime drama films United Artists films American crime drama films Films directed by Bruce D. Clark 1970s English-language films 1970s American films {{1970s-crime-drama-film-stub