Trick Baby

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Trick Baby

R

1973

1h 29m

Crime

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

80%

Tomatometer

5 Reviews

42%

Popcornmeter

250+ Ratings

The son of a black prostitute and a white client, Johnny "Folks" O'Brien (Kiel Martin) spends his childhood in the ghetto hearing the hateful name "trick baby," only to realize as an adult just how useful it is to pass for white. Together with his mentor, con man "Blue" Howard (Mel Stewart), Folks succeeds in ripping off many of Philadelphia's wealthy whites with a clever diamond scam. The streak ends, however, when his latest victim turns out to be the father of a local Mafioso.

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Pauline Kael

The New Yorker

09/29/2023

It's an agreeable time-killer.

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Roger Greenspun

New York Times

09/29/2023

Larry Yust indulges in too much flashy sound montage and in the obtrusive cross-cutting into sequences that seems the curse of the newer movies. But he and Isidore Mankofsky have a lovely sense of place and perspective for the camera frame.

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Rossi Jackson

New Pittsburgh Courier

12/13/2021

[The filmmakers] have watered down, misadapted and ultimately messed up Iceberg Slim's original work.

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Brian Holcomb

Kinetofilm

10/01/2009

4/5

This wasn't the standard "pimp and ho show" but rather a smart, character based crime flick about two hustlers just trying to survive in the City of Brotherly Love.

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Sean Axmaker

St@tic Multimedia

05/08/2005

This confidence drama set on the streets of Philadelphia is charged with issues of race, racism, family, and trust in ways that no other blaxploitation film touches on.

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Ed .

Aug 29

This was a treat. Half black is beautiful too. I've read that Iceberg Slim's book is rougher and more powerful, but this filmed version was quite surprisingly poignant, especially for what is ostensibly a blaxploitation flick. It shows the griminess of both black and white neighborhoods of 1970s Philadelphia, including Rittenhouse Square and West Philly. There's no mention, however, of cheesesteaks or pretzels. The dinner conversation scene alone makes this one to watch. One lesson our Philly tricksters failed to learn: don't try to outcon a con.

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delysid d

08/28/2017

The film has great music and offers a glimpse into the world of 70s hustlers.

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08/27/2017

Not bad for the blaxploitation genre, not bad at all.

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07/28/2016

Horrible, ham-fisted adaptation of Iceberg Slim's novel. One of the worst in the blaxploitation cycle.

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ashley h

@ashleyhobgood87 12/28/2012

Trick Baby is an enjoyable film. It is about two Phildelphia con men try to evade gangsters they have conned and cops who are trying to put them in jail. Kiel Martin and Mel Stewart give excellent performances. The screenplay is well written. Larry Yust did a great job directing this movie. I enjoyed watching this motion picture because of the action and drama.

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08/26/2012

Interesting plot concept, but poorly executed.

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Larry Yust

Director

Kiel Martin

White Folks

Mel Stewart

Blue Howard

Dallas Edward Hayes

Dot Murray

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Synopsis

The son of a black prostitute and a white client, Johnny "Folks" O'Brien (Kiel Martin) spends his childhood in the ghetto hearing the hateful name "trick baby," only to realize as an adult just how useful it is to pass for white. Together with his mentor, con man "Blue" Howard (Mel Stewart), Folks succeeds in ripping off many of Philadelphia's wealthy whites with a clever diamond scam. The streak ends, however, when his latest victim turns out to be the father of a local Mafioso.

Director: Larry Yust
Rating: R
Genre: Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Runtime: 1h 29m

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