The Slams (1973) User Reviews

The reason I love TCM underground

[bregund · 5/10 · 10 November 2013]

You don't watch this kind of film expecting Citizen Kane or Sunset Boulevard, you watch it with a group of friends because it's an experience. Imagine going to a drive-in theater circa 1973, Chicago music is playing on the car radio as you pull into the space, turn off your radio, and put the speaker on your car window. A film like this immerses you in the early 70s as if you were actually there: bell bottom pants, afros, big jewelry, flashy cars, and lapels as big as mudflaps. In today's overly sanitized world, The Slams is a wonderful look back at a time when nothing was digital, and editing was done by hand with film, actors did their own fight scenes, the settings aren't faux gritty (they ARE gritty), and Lurch (Ted Cassidy) throws a ladle of bleach into Jim Brown's face. It's all very ugly, violent, and badly acted, as the body count piles up.

In keeping with obscure films, there's always one weird actor that you can't get out of your mind afterwards, and here it is a prison guard who laughs at everything; the actor's name isn't even listed in the credits on IMDb, but it's a hilarious performance, especially when he refuses an order to get into a dumpster. You have to see it to understand what I'm talking about.

I can see why Quentin Tarantino is obsessed with 70s films because they have a realism that is sadly missing from today's movies; it's almost like they pulled people off the street, put them into their costumes, and fed them their lines. There might have been a script, but everything looks ad-libbed or improvised on the spot, the way real life is. If anything, watching a film like this gives you the impression that today's films are too carefully planned, too perfect to be real. Wouldn't it be nice to have a little bit of realism alongside your CGI robots and multiple explosions?

Excellent Prison Flick

[utgard14 · 7/10 · 13 November 2013]

First-rate prison crime drama with ample doses of action and humor. Exceptional of its type. Jim Brown stars with a great supporting cast including Ted Cassidy (Lurch from Addams Family) and Frank DeKova (Chief Wild Eagle from F Troop). Roland Bob Harris is great as the sleazy captain of the prison guards who meets a deservedly gruesome fate. Look fast for the legendary Dick Miller in a bit part as a carjacked taxi driver. For sensitive types be warned it's a violent movie with lots of foul language and racial slurs. Despite this, it somehow actually manages to be a fun movie that keeps you engrossed the whole time.

You don't mess with The Man!

[sol1218 · 5/10 · 11 December 2011]

***SPOILERS*** Big bad Jim Brown in what for him is a comedic part as convict Curtis Hook gets himself stuck in deep you know what by knocking off a hot heroin shipment that included 1.5 million in cold cash that belongs to the syndicate. It was in fact when Hook's two accomplices tried to knock him off in Hook refusing to have anything to do with the heroin, that's bad news for the brothers and sisters in the hood Hook told them, that Hook in beating them to the punch or trigger offed them. Cought running from the police with a near fatal bullet wound Hook ends up in the "Slams", convict word for prison, where he's soon to find out that his trouble has just begun.

The usual behind bars movie with Hook who hid the 1.5 million in an abandoned amusement park being attacked, as well as doing his own attacking, by the both convicts and prison guards, it hard to distinguish between the two,in where the stolen money is hidden. We also have the head of the white convicts the sadistic and almost seven foot tall Grover, Ted Cassidy, who's in fact working for "The Man" jailed Mafia boss Capiello,Frank DeKova, who ends up getting his, a couple of broken ribs, when he tries to mess with the take no BS Hook. It's in fact Capiello whom the 1.5 million dollars as well as the heroin,that Hook dumped in the Pacific Ocean, belongs to. Hook in knowing that as long a the missing cash isn't recovered that's his life insurance policy, in him being able to stay alive, keeps everyone in the prison, convicts and guards, guessing to just where the money is. It's later when Hook sees on the TV news that the amusement park that he hid the cash is to be demolished that he plans his escape to both get his hands on the cash and check out of the country to South America or the Caribbean!

****SPOILERS**** Ingenious plan concocted by Hook has him with the help of his good friend from the hood pimp Jackson Barney, Paul Harris, hide underneath or underground in a construction site portable toilet on the prison grounds as everyone thinks he in fact escaped over the prison walls. As it turned out it was the mob or Capiello controlled prison captain of the guards Capt. Stambell, Roland Bob Harris, who ended up paying the price in Hook pulling his "impossibe" escape, the first one in the "Slams", off successfully. That's in Capt.Stambell together with Hooks prison identity bracelet ended up being grounded into hamburger meat courtesy of Hook dumping him into a cement mixer!

P.S The film "The Slams" also has 28 year old Clement Von Franckenstein, no relations to Dr. Henry Frankenstein, in his motion picture debut as one of the inmates.

Pretty much EVERYONE is evil in this prison flick!

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 11 November 2013]

This film begins with a robbery. It's a nasty affair--as they use poisonous gas to get the money. After leaving with the loot, one of them Curtis Hook (Jim Brown), betrays his partners--shooting them and hiding the money. Unfortunately for Hook, he's soon caught and sent to prison. Hook plans on just doing his time on a minor charge and collecting the money after he is released. But when he learns that the place where he hid the money is about to be demolished, he decides he must escape and reclaim the money instead. Plus, if he doesn't get out of the slammer soon, someone is bound to kill him, as practically EVERYONE seems to have it out for him.

For fans of old-time TV, this is an interesting film, as two of the most deadly tough guys in this prison are played by Frank DeKova ("F-Troop") and Ted Cassidy ("The Addams Family"). However, it's not the sort of film you might expect from these guys---it is VERY rough--with foul language and lots of violence. Plus, EVERYONE seems bad in this one--everyone. While Hook is terrifically amoral, so is everyone else--the guards, the gangs, the blacks and the whites. Because of this and because Hook is affiliated with no one, it is clearly NOT a blacksploitation film--just a very gritty prison flick. While it's not a great film (mostly because I hated EVERYONE), it was very good and well worth seeing.

A Few Good Moments Can't Make Up for Weak Script

[Michael_Elliott · 13 January 2012]

Slams, The (1973)

** (out of 4)

Forgotten blaxploitation flick has Jim Brown playing Curtis Hooks, a man who ends up in prison on a small charge but once inside he has all sorts of hits on his life because everyone knows that he stole $1.5 million in drug money and has it hidden somewhere. THE SLAMS, to date, has never received a VHS or DVD release so it's one of the rarest films of its genre, which is somewhat surprising since it does feature one of the biggest stars. There's quite a bit of good stuff here but sadly we've seen everything countless times before and you just end up with one cliché after another. The screenplay is certainly prison-drama 101 as everything you'd expect to happen does just that in the exact order that you'd think it would happen. You get the typical gay jokes, the attacks in the laundry room, the sadistic white racist, the mafia boss, the crooked cops and of course every time the cops walk away you're going to witness yet another hit. The film really doesn't offer up any drama and you can't help but wish that you cared more than what you actually do. With that said, there are still some fine performances with Brown leading the way. This certainly isn't Oscar-worthy material but it's not meant to be. Brown simply shows up with that tough attitude and kicks some major butt. The supporting cast includes a nice performance by Ted Cassidy as the racist and Frank DeKova playing the mafia boss running the prison. Dick Miller appears briefly as a taxi driver and Charles Cyphers (HALLOWEEN) can be spotted playing a guard. Director Jonathan Kaplan at least keeps the film moving at a nice pace and makes it look very professional. He also manages to get a pretty good atmosphere out of the film and the prison has a very dirty feel to it as it should. Still, THE SLAMS can't be seen as anything other than a disappointment. There are a few good moments but not enough to recommend this to anyone but those who must see everything the genre offered up.

Uninspired but watchable prison flick.

[Hey_Sweden · 6/10 · 4 November 2021]

Jim Brown is at his coolest as Curtis X. Hook, a criminal who rips off the mob and stashes his loot ($1.5 million) in a structure at an abandoned amusement park. But he is soon nabbed by the cops and sent to prison; there he gets caught up in various power plays by characters such as Macey (Frenchia Guizon, "Friday Foster") and white mobster Capiello (Frank DeKova, 'F Troop'). He learns that the park is scheduled for demolition, so he knows that he'll have to escape sometime very soon. Taking an interest in him is cheerfully corrupt captain of the guards Stambell (Roland Bob Harris, "Ray").

"The Slams" marks another capable effort by talented journeyman director Jonathan Kaplan, who handled a bunch of excellent exploitation flicks during the 1970s and graduated to major features such as "Heart Like a Wheel" and "The Accused" in the 1980s. The cast is filled with familiar faces: Judy Pace ("Cotton Comes to Harlem") as Hooks' lady, Paul Harris ("Across 110th Street"), Ted Cassidy ('The Addams Family'), John Dennis ("Soylent Green"), Quinn K. Redeker ("Spider Baby"), Robert Phillips ("The Dirty Dozen"), and Charles Cyphers ("Halloween"). The always welcome Dick Miller ("A Bucket of Blood") pops up briefly as a cabbie whose vehicle is briefly commandeered by Paul Harris as part of the escape plan. Brown and his co-stars are certainly easy enough to watch, although there's only so much they can do with a so-so script by Richard DeLong Adams ("I Escaped from Devils' Island"). The movie is certainly decently paced and competently made, but in the end "The Slams" is a rather standard prison movie. Roland Bob Harris and DeKova deliver the standout characterizations. Director Kaplan has a cameo as a port-a-potty delivery man.

Best of all is the tense, climactic prison escape, with a surprisingly grisly fate in store for one of the characters.

It's worth noting the variety of familiar names with technical credits: future director Andrew Davis ("Code of Silence") as the cinematographer, Luther Henderson as the composer of the music score, Jack Fisk as the art director, and actor Thalmus Rasulala ("Blacula") as an assistant director.

Six out of 10.

I like Jim Brown but I did not enjoy his latest entry into the action/crime (little action) genre

[Ed-Shullivan · 5/10 · 14 January 2021]

Jim Brown, plays a slick robber named Curtis X. Hook who helps two other thugs rob the mafia of both their cash and their dope. The two double crossing thieves are thwarted by the savvy action hero Jim Brown, who then hides the money stash, before he gets sent to prison for a vehicle theft but not for any robbery that went unreported by the Mafia, and not for any of the murders of the drug dealing Mafia mobsters or for the murder of his double crossing robbery partners. Oh and who doesn't like to see the six (6) foot nine (9) inch actor Ted Cassidy as the bad guy fighting Jim Brown in prison? Cassidy kind of reminds me of the seven (7) foot (2) two inch Richard Kiel who was the James Bond villain in (1977) The Spy Who Love Me and (1979) Moonraker. There is also the hip, sleek and petite love interest of Curtis X. Hook who is Iris Daniels played by the well known Judy Pace.

So with a deep cast of crime makers, hot girls and our former grid iron action hero Jim Brown what's not to like? I just felt that the film was a low budget entry that must have all been filmed on the first take whether the actors stuck to the script or adlibbed their parts. The musical score was so reminiscent of all those 1960-70's TV crime series that I thought I would have time to go out and refresh my drink and popcorn during the commercial break. No luck though, I sat through the film waiting for more, but I got less.

I give this Jim Brown entry a barely passable 5 out of 10 IMDB blaxploitation rating. It's an okay time waster, nothing more, nothing less.

Slama Bama Jama

[ArtVandelayImporterExporter · 7/10 · 6 February 2022]

Jim Brown was such a stud. Retired as the NFL's all-time leading rusher, falling short of 1,000 yds/season only twice in 9 years and both times only barely. And that was back when they only played 12 (and then 14) game seasons.

He quit after one of his best seasons (and was named NFL MVP for the 3rd time) and headed to Hollywood. Everybody knows he was Jackson in The Dirty Dozen. But how many people have seen this little gem?

Heist goes wrong. Accomplices die but Brown manages to escape long enough to hide the loot before getting arrested and landing in jail. There rest is prison-drama fun between the whites, the blacks, the corrupt prison captain and the jailed mafioso. There are a bunch of good fights and some really good performances. It all climaxes in a clever escape attempt, which isn't a spoiler because Brown is hatching it from the get-go.

Doesn't make any big statements, but it sure is fun.

Considering it's time, this entry starring Jim Brown is quite entertaining

[jordondave-28085 · 7/10 · 21 April 2023]

(1973) The Slams ACTION

At the opening, showcases a sophisticated, blatant drug and money robbery involving three guys. And while driving away on their getaway truck, and because one of the guys didn't agree to also rob the syndicate's drug money, he demands that his share would only be in cash. So the other two decide to double cross him by getting rid of him altogether, except that he was already onto their intentions and successfully kills them both with a sawed off shot gun. After dumping the suitcase full of cocaine into the ocean, he then takes off driving again, but becomes nauseous because he was also shot as well who ends up crashing his vehicle on front of a police cruiser. And that was when the real movie starts is when anti-hero, protagonist, Curtis X. Hook (Jim Brown) ends up in the slammer (hence the title "The Slams") for connecting him to the robbery and murders, in which we're seeing him having to confront and clash with a corrupt chief's guard, racist inmates, and one of the Italian syndicates who also happens to be locked up as well. On his side, Hook has a successful African American girlfriend who happens to be a successful news reporter, and a likable pimp who Hook had used to saved his life during the war. If you want to see movies in which African Americans are not stereotyped as people who're incapable to hitting back if they're hit first, then this would be a great contender since how often are we going to see successful African American news anchors with the main star working with pimps! Not very often.

Jonathan Kaplan locks-up Jim Brown

[TheFearmakers · 8/10 · 20 May 2023]

A year before directing Isaac Hayes in the violent yet breezy blaxploitation TRUCK TURNER, director Jonathan Kaplan put Jim Brown in prison for a more sparse and serious THE SLAMS, mostly taking place behind bars, and without relying on melodramatic prison tropes, since everything that goes down... from bullies to shiv-fights to mean guards... is tightly connected to the plot...

Where Jim Brown, an idealistic criminal from a groovy heist prologue, stole and hid loot from the mob, and, once in prison, a locked-up gangster hires gigantic convict Jack Cassady to attempt getting the formidable Brown to confess...

Making the more cerebral than physical, fast-talking prison captain Roland Bob Harris a far more effective villain (better than a typical tyrannical warden or henchman guard), connecting to Brown's newscaster girlfriend Judy Pace while working with pimp Paul Harris (also a pimp in TURNER), to either locate the money or plan a mutual escape...

And while the predictably safe and self-contained Jim Brown's tough enough from any interior adversary, Jonathan Kaplan's creative 70's-style direction keeps the suspense on par with the non-stop action.

functional B

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 19 December 2020]

A robbery crew steals drugs and money from criminals. Curtis X. Hook (Jim Brown) beats his comrades to the double-cross and is the final survivor. He dumps the drugs and hides the money in an abandoned dock. He gets locked in prison and has to deal with many different sides. It's black against white. Others want him to work for them. Everyone who knows about the money wants it.

I'm not sure if this is considered blaxploitation. It's produced by Gene Corman, brother of B-movie legend Roger Corman. Blaxploitation is intended for a black audience. This is a more general B-movie. Legendary football player Jim Brown is not that great as an actor. He has some natural charisma and his size gives him just enough command. His amiability makes him a functional lead. This is undeniably a B-movie and it's a functional one.

Obscure blaxploitation

[Wizard-8 · 12 January 2012]

Despite having a lead actor who was one of the prominent actors in the 1970s blaxploiation film genre, "The Slams" has been all but forgotten since its theatrical release, not even getting a release on VHS or DVD. Watching the movie, it becomes pretty easy to figure out why no one has been clamoring for its resurrection. Even for 1973, I am sure audiences found nothing really that original here. Every plot turn will be familiar to people who have seen their share of prison films or prison television shows. As a result, there is no excitement, even though there are plenty of prison beatings and fisticuffs along the way. Jim Brown tries, but there is little he can do with such a flat script. Recommended only for die hard fans of the blaxploitation genre.