Slaughter (1972 film)

Plot summary

The plot centers around ex-Vietnam veteran and ex-Green Beret Captain, Slaughter (Jim Brown). The film begins with a couple being killed by a car bomb. It then is revealed that the man was the father of Slaughter, who subsequently is obsessed with avenging the murder. He learns that it was arranged by a Cleveland mafia gang, and starts to track down the mobster who was personally responsible, killing a mafia member in the process. The murderer, however, manages to escape.

Slaughter gets arrested and charged with first degree murder, but Treasury Dept. official Price (Cameron Mitchell) offers to drop all charges if he agrees to go to an unnamed South American country in order to hunt down and capture the escaped mobster, who apparently has a super-computer that helps him run his crime empire. Slaughter readily accepts the deal.

Upon arriving, he meets up with two fellow agents, Harry (Don Gordon) and Kim (Marlene Clark), the latter of whom hed previously met. It turns out that the mobster responsible for the murder of Slaughters father is Dominic Hoffo (Rip Torn), the #2 to kingpin Felice (Norman Alfe). Hoffo, a blatant racist and sociopath, instantly hates Slaughter, especially when his comare Ann (Stella Stevens), a professional working for the organization, makes it clear shes delighted to have been ordered by Felice to present herself to Slaughter as a peace offering. Slaughter, having no intention of backing down from his vendetta, accepts her offer with pleasure, and her loyalties quickly transfer to him. Numerous fights and gun battles ensue, with the hot-headed Hoffo eventually killing the more reasonable Felice and assuming command. After a climactic shootout and lengthy car chase, Slaughter succeeds in killing Hoffo by incinerating him alive in his crashed vehicle.

Cast

Filming

Slaughter was generally a low-budget production film, which was typical of most blaxploitation films during this era. It was directed by Jack Starrett. Writers include Don Williams and Mark Hanna. Produced by Monroe Sachson. The filming of the movie was in Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico under the American International Pictures production company. Its release date in the United States of America was August 16, 1972 in New York City, New York (www.Hollywood.com). “ In a May 2, 1972 interview with Hollywood Reporter, producer Monroe Sachson noted that the films locale had to be changed from Mexico to a non-specified country at the request of the Mexican censorship board, even though the film had been partially financed by Estudios Churubusco. Sachson complained that the censorship board was totally against any reference to their country if it shows it in any bad light. The article reported that Churubusco provided one third of the films $850,000 budget, the rest of which came from Sachsons production company, JayJen II, AIP and Slaughter 1 Limited Partnership.�

Critics Review

“Slaughter is a decent mix of sex and violence, with particularly well-done action scenes. It also has just the right amount of comedy. Highlighted by a funky music score and Billy Prestons downright awesome theme song, Slaughter delivers solid blaxploitation goods.� “This release is a bucket of dumb fun that benefits hugely from Brown’s screen presence and by Starrett’s energetic direction,� according to a review made in May 2006.

“Slaughter features dated set-ups, stiff acting and horrifying dialogue. But it does have Jim Brown, who is on bada**. Brown has a lot of charisma and he is always interesting to watch. This is a guy who in the movie portrays the proper stare, walk, and sexual bravura for his role. In addition to the fact that this is a non-stop action flick , it Slaughter will please even the hardest fan of the exploitation films.�

“Featuring a dynamic theme song by Billy Preston, Slaughter was a major box-office hit in 1972 and one of the most popular films of Jim Browns screen career; it spawned a sequel, Slaughters Big Rip-Off, which appeared in 1973.�

“Just about every tough black actor was given the opportunity to create his own blaxploitation hero in the early 70s. Ron ONeal had Superfly, Richard Roundtree had Shaft, Fred Williamson had Hammer and Jim Brown had Slaughter. Although the football player turned thespian had a handful of film roles going back to the mid-60s, Slaughter represents his first real starring vehicle. While not critical favorites by any means, Slaughter and its sequel Slaughter’s Big Rip-off are action-jammed fun in the typical AIP (American International Pictures) tradition.�

Music

The music was principally done by Luchi De Jesus, as musical director/supervisor, for the original film. Manuel Topete was the sound designer. In addition, the famous theme song for Slaughter was by Billy Preston. The theme song associated with the film gives Slaughter its own unique sound that stuck around and made a significant presence in the Blaxploitation film genre. Ric Marlow also made contributions as a songwriter. Unfortunately no soundtrack LP was ever issued.

DVD

Slaughter was released on DVD in January 9, 2001 as an entertaining 70’s action movie. Subtitles for the DVD are available in Spanish and French. However, the DVD was only distributed in the U.S. and Canada by studio MGM (video and DVD). It has a runtime of approximately 90 minutes.