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 BLACK
HEAT (Shock-o-Rama)
1976. Crime Drama/blaxploitation.
Approx 90 minutes. Rated R. Violence, brief nudity. Kicks Carter
(Timothy Brown) and his partner Tony are two badass cops hot on the trail
of a crime boss, Guido, dealing in guns and drugs. All is going seemingly
well until Guido’s top man, Ziggy, kills Tony, throwing Tony’s
girlfriend (I forget her name) into a fit of depression. Pushed over the
edge by her depression, Tony’s chick resumes her gambling addiction and
gets herself into all sorts of trouble. Meanwhile, Kicks uses his ghetto
contacts to track down Guido so he can kick his arse.
Although titled “Black Heat” and listing Kicks Carter as the
main character, Kicks doesn’t really do much in this movie besides a few
fistfights, talking, and one sex scene. If I didn’t know the title of
this movie, I would have guessed the two main characters as Ziggy and
Tony’s woman because they are way more “developed” than Kicks. I was
honestly confused as to what was going on, until I listened to the audio
commentary by producer Sam Sherman. Black Heat actually has three titles
and was shot to incorporate those titles; Black Heat, Girl’s Hotel, and
The Murder Gang. Therefore, the plot line does jump around an awful lot.
Monster movie fans will certainly recognize Russ Tamblyn, Ziggy, as the
American scientist in War of
the Gargantuas. The movie itself is your typical, in a most
entertaining way, Al Adamson/Sam Sherman stuff, i.e. lots ‘xploitaion
going on. Judging by the deleted scenes and outtakes, I really wish Sam
and Al stuck with the “Girl’s Hotel” plot. That being written, I
often found myself amused and laughing at Black Heat. Whether or not this
was the hoped intention, I do not know, but damn I had fun. As always, Sam
Sherman’s commentary is great. – Denis Sheehan
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