Truck Turner (1974)

Director: Jonathan Kaplan

Starring: Isaac Hayes, Yaphet Kotto, Nichelle Nichols, Scatman Crothers, Dick Miller, Alan Weeks

More Info: IMDB

Tagline: Black, bold and bloody mean!

Plot: Truck is a bounty hunter who gets a job to track down a vicious pimp named Gator. When he and his partner find him, a chase ensues and Gator is killed. This makes Gator's woman, Dorinda, very angry and she puts a hit on Truck. It's ON now.

My Rating: 9/10

Would I watch it again? As sure as I'm sittin' here

#16 on Blaxploiteasin' (part of the TRAILER TRASH PROJECT)

I don't know where to start. This movie completely took me by surprise. The first half of this 91 minute roller coaster just rips right out of the screen. You've got shoot outs, car chases, pimps, hoes, bar fights, the works. The action and comedy are ratcheted up to 11 and the entertainment value on this is priceless.


The acting is fantastic. Hayes has one of the most genuinely likable screen presences I've seen. He's not so much acting but just being himself reciting the lines he's given. His partner, Jerry (Weeks) is great, too. Their chemistry together is wonderfully playful and fresh. It's surprising that Weeks really didn't do many films given he's so good in this. What he did do in the 70s are a few Blaxploitation classics like SHAFT, WILLIE DYNAMITE and BLACK BELT JONES, all of which I'm on track to watch after seeing TT. Nichelle Nichols (Uhura from STAR TREK) is a fucking riot! She's one nasty bitch even before her pimp daddy's killed and then she turns into uber-bitch. The funny thing is...SHE'S REALLY GOOD! She's obviously having fun with this over-the-top performance but it's just really neat seeing her tackle something so fucking sleazy. She says "nigger" more times than a Richard Pryor concert. And her eye shadow takes the ever-lovin' cake.

"They call her Colonel Sanders because she's finger lickin' good."

I've always had such high regard for Yaphet Kotto since I was a kid so it was surprisingly awesome to see him in this gem as a badass pimp. He's a scream. This movie's just full of genuine talent. Then there's the always fun and great Scatman Crothers (with the worst hairpiece of all time) and B-movie staple, Dick Miller sportin' a salmon-colored suit jacket. WOW!

Here's a sample of the outrageousness of TRUCK TURNER. Truck & Jerry have Gator (one of the ugliest sumbitches to show his mug on screen) cornered. Truck's standing on the roof of Gator's small house and Jerry's on the ground firing a few rounds into Gator. Suddenly one of Gator's skanky hoes runs outside with the biggest pair of scissors/shears I've ever seen and her knockers knocking (in slow motion to boot)...


plants the shears into Jerry's back...



Truck jumps off the roof, clocks her in the face...


she's down for the count...


and Truck says, "BITCH"!!!


Sound like fun? It's a blast all the way around. Oh, and one of the most side-splitting, WTF moments happened during the big car chase near the beginning. Truck & Jerry are after Gator and Gator's hitting all kinds of shit lining the streets, pedestrians, garbage cans, hot dog stands, whatever's there he's nailin' it. There's a Hasidic Jew coming out of a store with a shopping cart full of something when Gator hits the cart and bagels are flying all over the place. It's so fucking out of nowhere that it got one of the biggest howls of laughter out of the entire picture.

Truck Turner: You Dorinda?
Dorinda: Who want to know?
Truck Turner: Since I'm asking, it must be me.

---------------

Dorinda: I haven't had to sell my pussy since I was fifteen and found out I could sell other bitches' instead.

---------------

Dorinda: We call her Turnpike, cuz you gotta pay to get on and pay to get off!

---------------

Annie: So, this is your idea of a good night, huh? Get me drunk and then screw me?
Truck Turner: Okay, okay, we'll get something to eat first.

After a solid first 45 minutes of badassery the film takes a tonal shift. After Gator is dead and buried (the pimp funeral is one of the funniest things you'll ever see) and Blue (Koto) has his contract killers on Truck's tail it slows down and becomes more of a crime thriller. It's great stuff! It's more entertaining than most movies could dream of being. The talent in front of and behind the camera is staggering. You just don't expect to get something this good. It's the icing on the cake.


I honestly can't say enough about TRUCK TURNER. It's a great film to watch with friends. I've seen quite a few Blaxploitation films over the years and this one it tops by a long shot. Besides, how many films do you know sport a bare-chested, scissor-wielding hoe out for blood? Drop what you're doing right now and watch this movie. It will seriously enrich your life.