Shaft in Africa

Shaft in Africa is a 1973 film directed by John Guillermin, and is the third film of the Shaft series, starring Richard Roundtree as John Shaft. Stirling Silliphant wrote the screenplay.[4] The cost went up to $2,142,000, but the gross fell to $1,458,000. MGM quickly sold the property to television, but the television series was cancelled after just seven episodes.

Shaft in Africa
Original theatrical release poster by John Solie
Directed byJohn Guillermin
Produced byRoger Lewis
Written byStirling Silliphant
Based onShaft
by Ernest Tidyman
StarringRichard Roundtree
Frank Finlay
Neda Arnerić
Vonetta McGee
Frank McRae
Music byJohnny Pate
CinematographyMarcel Grignon
Edited byMax Benedict
Distributed byMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date
  • June 20, 1973 (1973-06-20) (New York)[1]
Running time
112 min.
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1.5 million[2]
Box office$1,395,000 (US/ Canada rentals)[3]

Plot

At home in his New York City apartment, John Shaft is drugged with a tranquilizer dart, then kidnapped and persuaded by threats of physical force, the promise of money, and the lure of a pretty tutor to travel to Africa, assuming the identity of a native-speaking itinerant worker. His job is to help break a criminal ring that is smuggling immigrants into Europe then exploiting them. But the villains have heard that he is on his way.

Shaft must pass a test before being hired for the job; the test involves him surviving in a small, overheated room without water, and a floor covered in deep sand, mimicking the supposed conditions of Africa. Shaft covers himself with the sand, thereby avoiding heatstroke and winning the contract from his employer. Shaft must then embark upon a mission to infiltrate and destroy a human trafficking and slavery ring in West Africa and France.

Cast

Production

The film was announced in October 1972.[5] The following month it was reported that Stirling Silliphant was writing the script, which would be about the modern day slave trade, and that John Guillermin would direct.[6]

Silliphant had been inspired by a newspaper article he read in 1971 about a truck crossing from Italy into France which was discovered with 30 Africans being smuggled inside; they were to be used for virtually unpaid labour.[7]

"We felt it was important to get Shaft out of New York for the third picture," said producer Roger Lewis. "But we still had to keep him in an area that had appeal - in a way this picture is a big gamble."[7] Richard Rountree said "the change in atmosphere is a very good thing a real shot in the arm. Also, the script's better in this one."[7]

It was Guillermin's second film in a row for MGM, following Skyjacked.[8]

It was decided to shoot the film in Ethiopia due to its access to locations such as Arba Minch, Massawa, Harar and Addis Ababa. There would also be filming Barcelona, Madrid, Paris and New York. Filming started on 11 December 1972. Richard Roundtree and Vanetta McGee were presented to Emperor Hailie Selassie shortly before filming.[2] Lewis said it was only the third film shot in Ethiopia, after The Sailor from Gibraltar and a French movie about Rimbaud.[7]

The film was made without the involvement of Ernest Tidyman. "All I do is get the cheques," he said. "I was to be co producer but I don't really like the idea. Africa's kind of a strange place for a New York boy to be; it didn't seem to fit in with the character."[9] However he still took one third of 29% of the film.[10]

In January 1973, before the film had been released, it was announced that MGM had sold a Shaft TV series to CBS which would be made after Shaft in Africa.[11] Filming was to begin in June.[7]

Soundtrack
Main article: Shaft In Africa (soundtrack)

Reception

Critical

Critics gave the film lukewarm reviews. New York Times critic Roger Greenspun wrote, "It is still quite good—fairly violent and very sexy. But it is less daring, less ethnically sophisticated, more antiseptic, more comfortably middle-class."[12][13] Arthur D. Murphy of Variety wrote, "Sterling Silliphant's script, from the Ernest Tidyman character trove, is surprisingly good, and holds up despite the inherent episodic perambulation of the plot."[14] Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film 2.5 stars out of 4 and called it "a curiously schizoid movie: On one hand, a solid streak of '70s kinky sex; on the other, a mess of '40s white dialog placed in the mouth of, on surface appearance, a contemporary black dude."[15] Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times wrote that "in addition to being fine escapist fare ... it offers pungent, pertinent observations of white exploitation of blacks outside the United States and suggests a need for international black solidarity."[16] Gary Arnold of The Washington Post wrote that "the latest Shaft episode does not find any more inspiration in Africa than it found in Harlem. Screenwriter Stirling Silliphant and director John Guillermin certainly cannot be accused of developing the undercover premise with any conviction, excitement or humor."[17]

Review aggregation website critic Dennis Schwartz gave the film a B−, describing it as "crude and slight but simplistically made entertaining adventure story" that resembles a James Bond thriller.[18] Rotten Tomatoes retrospectively gives the film a rating of 60% based on reviews collected from 8 critics, with an average rating of 5/10.[19]

Prior to the film's release there were hopes for more Shaft movies. Lewis said during filming, "You could literally take Shaft anywhere, almost like a James Bond, but everything in the future depends very much on this one. We couldn't have said 'no' to another one based on the countract we had, but now that Metro is going into the TV show, it could satiate the market to a degree. Nevertheless, if this one is really successful, I guess we'll have Shaft with us for a time to come."[7]

However, there would be no more sequels.

See also

References
  1. "Shaft in Africa - Details". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  2. A 'Shaft' Movie Filmed in Africa New York Times 12 Dec 1972: 62.
  3. "Big Rental Films of 1973", Variety, January 9, 1974, p. 60.
  4. "70s rewind: john guillermin's shaft in africa". Twitch Film. Archived from the original on 2011-06-14. Retrieved 2011-06-12.
  5. Carl Foreman Is 'Finding Ernie': Carl Foreman By A. H. WEILER. New York Times; 15 Oct 1972: D15
  6. Silliphant Writing a 'Shaft' Sequel Haber, Joyce. Los Angeles Times 2 Nov 1972: d26.
  7. Johnson, Molly (25 March 1973). "Roundtree Retraces Slavery Route for 'Shaft in Africa'". Los Angeles Times. p. o20.
  8. Vagg, Stephen (17 November 2020). "John Guillermin: Action Man". Filmink.
  9. MISCELLANY: Race reshuffles The Guardian 13 Feb 1973: 15.
  10. Ventilating Shaft: Alex Hamilton meets the man who made black box office Hamilton, Alex. The Guardian 17 Feb 1973: 10.
  11. Richard Roundtree in Shaft Warm-up Smith, Cecil. Los Angeles Times 2 Jan 1973: f12.
  12. Greenspun, Roger (1973-06-21). "Screen: And Now It's 'Shaft in Africa':Roundtree on Track of a Labor Smuggler". The New York Times. p. 53. Retrieved 2019-05-07.
  13. "Shaft in Africa". DVD Talk. Retrieved 2011-06-12.
  14. Murphy, Arthur D. (June 20, 1973). "Film Reviews: Shaft In Africa". Variety. 20.
  15. Siskel, Gene (July 10, 1973). "Shaft in Africa". Chicago Tribune. Section 2, p. 4.
  16. Thomas, Kevin (June 27, 1973). "Black Bond With Relevance". Los Angeles Times. Part IV, p. 11.
  17. Arnold, Gary (July 5, 1973). "'Shaft in Africa': Last Gasp". The Washington Post. C11.
  18. http://homepages.sover.net/~ozus/shaftinafrica.html
  19. "Shaft in Africa". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
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