Truck Turner

Synopsis

Mack "Truck" Turner (Isaac Hayes) is a former professional football player who becomes a Los Angeles-based bounty hunter after an injury. Truck visits his girlfriend, Annie (Annazette Chase), who is in jail and wants to leave L.A. when released. Truck and his partner Jerry Barnes go to collect their bounty from Nate Dimwiddie, a bail bondsman, who refers them to Fogarty (Dick Miller), a bail bondsman after a pimp who skipped bail named Gator.

The two visit Dorinda (Nichelle Nichols), who runs Gator's stable of prostitutes. Truck and Jerry wait for Gator to visit, and chase him, but Gator escapes. A tip from Truck's friend Duke (Scatman Crothers) allows them to locate Gator again, and kill Gator when he attempts to shoot Truck.

Dorinda threatens Gator's former whores to keep them in line. Dorinda offers Gator's competing pimps a deal: whoever kills Truck gets to replace Gator while she runs the stable. The only pimp interested in the violence is Harvard Blue (Yaphet Kotto). Truck survives multiple ambushes by Blue's goons.

When Blue points out that Dorinda won't be able to deal with Truck, they agree to share the cost of getting rid of Truck, and Blue will take over more control of Gator's stable. Blue's men force Nate to call Truck and tell him that there is a big job. Truck doesn't feel sober enough after a night of partying, so he calls Jerry, who dies in Blue's ambush.

Nate warns Truck of the hit out on him. Truck frames Annie for shoplifting, and the police arrest her. Truck visits Nate again in the hospital. Truck gives Nate Jerry's gun for protection, and then they shoot Blue's goons when they burst in. Blue flees, but Truck shoots him. Blue dies a few minutes later in the driver's seat of his car. Truck confronts Dorinda and more goons at her house, and kills her when she reaches for a gun.

Truck makes up with Annie as she gets out of jail. All of his belongings are packed in the car and promises he will go away with her, right away if she takes him back. They drive off together, leaving L.A. for good.

Cast

Production

Kaplan says the film was written for Lee Marvin, Robert Mitchum or Ernest Borgnine. "Larry Gordon at AIP said 'Well, we can't get any of them so now it's a black picture.' Isaac Hayes was cast and that's how that came about."

Home media

Attempted remake

In 2004, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Queen Latifah's production company, Flavor Unit Entertainment, attempted to remake the film, which was to have been written by Chris Frisina.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack for Truck Turner was composed by Isaac Hayes. Although many regard it as Shaft's equal composition-wise, the soundtrack never managed to reach the mass popularity of the Shaft soundtrack, mainly due to the financial decline of Stax Records and was originally released on a double record album on vinyl which are mostly found in the "bargain bins." However, in 1993, it was released in a double-CD album alongside Hayes' other lesser-known soundtrack for the movie Three Tough Guys and again released on its own CD in 2002. Some of the music score was used by filmmaker Quentin Tarantino in the Kill Bill series.

Track listing:

1. "Main Title (Truck Turner)"
2. "House Of Beauty"
3. "Blue's Crib"
4. "Driving In The Sun"
5. "Breakthrough"
6. "Now We're One"
7. "The Duke"
8. "Dorinda's Party"
9. "Pursuit Of The Pimpmobile"
10. "We Need Each Other Girl"
11. "A House Full Of Girls"
12. "Hospital Shootout"
13. "You're In My Arms Again"
14. "Give It To Me"
15. "Drinking"
16. "The Insurance Company"
17. "End Theme"