Black Samson

Summary

“Business is business.’” 

Warner Archive has done a terrific job curating their line over the last year with a wide range of releases. I have picked up pretty much every release from Warner in the genre of Blaxploitation, and their label has shown a real talent for restoring those pictures beautifully. Recently, Warner released the crime-mystery film Melinda starring Calvin Lockhart and Rockne Tarkington. Tarkington was a lot of fun to watch in that film, but with his build it was a bit strange to watch him cower to the diminutive Calvin Lockhart. Thankfully, Warner has now given us the Rockne Tarkington star vehicle we all wanted to see in Black Samson. This is a fun little movie that showcases Tarkington well, and makes you wonder just how big of a career Rockne Tarkington would have had if he had not lost out the role to Jim Kelly in Enter the Dragon just before it began filming.

As the film begins, two Italian mobsters, Johnny Nappa (William Smith) and his pal, come into the topless bar Samson’s. The club is owned by Samson (Rockne Tarkington) who also inexplicably owns a lion named Hoodoo that he keeps at the end of the bar. When one of the two mafiosos tries to get handsy with a dancer, Samson intervenes. When the patron continues to threaten Samson, he beats him with his large wooden quarterstaff and throws him out of his club. He asks Johnny that he and his buddies not come back. Later on, Samson catches a junkie hustling smack in his neighborhood. He approaches his childhood friend turned funeral home owner Arthur (Michael Payne) to make sure that he is not dealing smack on his streets. Arthur deals drugs out of his funeral home and has a crew that protect him. He explains that Johnny is going to come into Samson’s neighborhood, and when he does Arthur will be waiting in the wings to get the scraps. Johnny goes back to his boss Milo (Nick Dimitri) to see if he can go to Samson’s neighborhood and take it over, but Milo does not see the point. Milo sees unnecessary trouble. Johnny comes to the bar and begins to intimidate Samson and his girlfriend Leslie (Carol Speed.) Johnny sends a businessman to offer Samson 15% of the gross to hand over the neighborhood. Samson almost throws the man off a rooftop. Johnny wants his turf and is frothing at the mouth with rage that Samson will not give him what he wants. This conflict will eventually lead to a showdown between the two men on the streets of Samson’s neighborhood.

Black Samson gives the viewer exactly what a viewer probably hopes it would offer. It is purely a product of its time. The script is paint-by-numbers, but it is enjoyable. Like many of the heroes of the Blaxploitation genre, the lead character is cool as a cucumber, but unlike many of those characters Samson seems to prefer if none of the violence had come his way. Samson is a lot more peace loving than most action heroes of these films. The moral compass of the lead character is also intriguing because he owns a strip joint, but he is kind to women and is devoted to keeping pushers from selling drugs in his neighborhood. The film succeeds either in spite of or because of some of its more ridiculous attributes. For example, there is no logical reason for Samson to have a lion named Hoodoo at the end of his bar. There is also no reason for most men to brandish a quarterstaff to protect themselves, but this movie embraces the wild decisions it makes. The styles of clothing and hair in this film are out of this world. Whether it is the numerous darshikis that Samson wears, the huge Afro sported by Leslie, or the truly amazing sideburns of Arthur – this film has a lot of fun styles to take in.

The acting in the picture is appealing. None of these folks were going to win an Oscar, but nobody phoned it in. Rockne Tarkington is a little more stiff in fight scenes than some of his counterparts, but he is an immensely likable leading man. It was fun to see him in a starring role instead of as a support. Carol Speed plays Samson’s girlfriend Leslie, and she does well enough in the role. Former Playmate Connie Strickland plays Johnny’s girlfriend Tina, whom Johnny tries to use to get to Samson. Michael Payne steals every scene he is in as funeral home owner/drug kingpin Arthur. William Smith has the right build to play an intimidating hood as the fiercely racist and woman hating Johnny.

In terms of other good attributes, there is a pretty well made car chase sequence in which mobsters keep crashing their car and then stealing cars to continue the chase. That sequence was engaging and surprising. The finale is inventive and pretty damn fun to watch. The stuntmen for this sequence definitely earned their paychecks because everything that happens at the end of the film looks dangerous for all the performers involved. In terms of negatives, the film has a lot of scenes where women are beaten up by mafiosos, so that may hurt its appeal. Obviously, the film is not incredibly realistic, but fans of this genre will probably not mind.

Director Charles Bail did a fine job overall with the picture. His cinematographer Henning Schellerup is better known as a camera operator for films such as Death Race 2000 and A Nightmare on Elm Street, but he was more than capable of lending his talents to this B-movie. With solid pacing, the film is an easy way to spend 88 minutes. The picture also benefits from excellent musical stylings by Allen Toussaint. Fans of this genre will find a lot to like, as long as they can allow themselves to simply be entertained without putting too much thought into the picture.

Video

Warner have done a terrific job on the restoration of Black Samson working from a new 4K scan from the original camera negatives. Presented in 1.85:1 aspect ratio in 1080p with an MPEG-4 AVC encode, the film could not look any better on Blu-ray than it does here. There is a fine level of grain. Fine detail is handled well. The Warner crew can hang their hats on the great job they are doing restoring these films.

Audio

Warner have provided a great DTS-HD MA 2.0 track that presents the original Mono track in split channels. Dialogue is very clear. I did not detect any notable hiss or distortion. The score by Allen Toussaint is clearly rendered and sounds great. Overall, it is another winning track from Warner.

Supplements:

Theatrical Trailer

Overall Scores:

Video – 4.5/5

Audio – 4.5/5

Supplements – .5/5

Overall – 3.75/5

Black Samson is an enjoyable star vehicle for Rockne Tarkington. Director Charles Bail does the most that he can given the thin script, and he keeps the pace of the film moving. There are some good moments, such as an inventive car chase and a well executed finale on the streets of Samson’s neighborhood, and the styles in the picture are fantastic. The music by Allen Toussaint adds to the allure of the movie. The film is ultimately somewhat forgettable, but I had fun watching it. Warner Archive has done a great job on the technical specs. Fans of the genre will almost certainly enjoy Black Samson.