Bucktown (USA, 1975) 94 min color DIR: Arthur Marks. SCR: Bob Ellison. PROD: Bernard Schwartz. MUSIC: Johnny Pate. DOP: Robert Birchall. CAST: Fred Williamson, Pam Grier, Thalmus Rasulala, Tony King, Bernie Hamilton, Art Lund, Morgan Upton, Carl Weathers. (American International Pictures)
Writer-director-producer Arthur Marks clearly aspired to make more of his features than merely satisfying the requirements of exploitation films to sell tickets. Detroit 9000 and The Roommates give evidence that he had a great deal to say for himself within the conventions of genre filmmaking. One therefore assumes that he saw the potential in Bob Ellison’s script for Bucktown. The idea is completely wild: a black man returns to his hometown in the south, then calls in his pals to blow away all the corrupt white officials! Then they set up their own level of government which is also corrupt.
Still, it is a terrible movie. Its potential is sunk by the awful pacing and poor production. Only two years earlier, Pam Grier become the Queen of the Blaxploitation genre with her lead role in Coffy. Sadly, after that star-making effort, her subsequent efforts (including Friday Foster, also by Marks) quickly depleted in quality. Although second-billed here, it was a mistake to limit her to a weak “girlfriend” role. Sadly, Bucktown is evidence of how quickly the Blaxploitation genre was declining, even though the central idea is far less routine than the usual fare it offered at the time. Marks made a few other films in the genre (J.D.’s Revenge; Monkey Hu$tle) before quietly winding down his directorial career with episodic television. This was the sole feature credit for screenwriter Bob Ellison, who otherwise kept busy on television, as a writer or creative consultant on such shows as Cheers, Dear John, Caroline in the City and Becker. Bucktown was available on MGM’s “Soul Cinema” VHS series, and currently available as MOD DVD through MGM’s Screen Archives.