Trouble Man

R

Released Nov 1, 1972

1 hr. 39 min.

Crime

Drama

List

14%

7 Reviews

Tomatometer

65%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

T (Robert Hooks) is a slick detective who's done very well for himself, but still runs his operation from the same mean streets he grew up on in South Central Los Angeles. His latest case comes from local hoods Chalky (Paul Winfield) and Pete (Ralph Waite), who claim that someone's been robbing their dice games at gunpoint. As T searches for the perpetrator, he realizes the job is a setup. Chalky and Pete have pinned a murder on him, and both cops and criminals think T is to blame.

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Bewar S

It’s not so much a “sweet nothing” as a “nothing nothing” of a holiday movie, bearing evidence that it’s been cut and a lot has been left out. And judging from what made this release print, the edits were no great loss.انقر على مقطع للصقه في مربع النص.انقر على مقطع للصقه في مربع النص.استخدم رمز "التعديل" لتثبيت المقاطع أو إضافتها أو حذفها.المس مقطعًا مع الاستمرار لتثبيته. ستُحذف المقاطع التي تمت إزالة تثبيتها بعد ساعة واحدة.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/23/24

Full Review

stuart s

I think it's a film that's aged well. It's really groovy to take a trip back in time. Blaxploitation. Big 70's automobiles and iconic locations. It's probably not the world's best writing, but it's worth a look.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

07/03/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Robert Hooks is fabulous as the aptly named T, who stays cooler than a glass of iced tea while men with bad intentions on both sides of the law first try to frame him and then try to murder him. Because T is especially tough when people try to prey on the vulnerable, he's also easy to like. The movie differs slightly from other blaxploitation films in some small details and benefits from a great supporting cast.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/05/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Trouble Man (1972): 6 out of 10: Lovers of seventies high fashion will be in heaven in this blaxploitation film. All the most exquisite Italian suits (many of which still look good today unlike most seventies fashions) are on display as well as that horrible interior decorating (Mirrors as wallpaper seems to be a theme as well as burnt orange and brown.) Also on display is a wonderful sense of cool. Our protagonist Mr. T (a low key "cool" performance by Robert Hooks) finds himself up against both Chalky (the always watchable Paul Winfield) as well as Mr. Big. (Julius Harris) and assorted lowlifes that clearly don't have his fashion sense (Bad seventies fashion is copious on our antagonists.) The movie is a pretty straightforward affair and is filmed almost as a seventies television crime drama rather than an actual blaxploitation film. It has neither the intensity nor the plotting of a good 70's crime story such as Across 110th St or The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974 film) nor does it feature the sleaze of a Shaft in Africa or Coffy (Or dozens of lesser efforts.) There is no sex (despite Paula Kelly as the love interest), and the violence is subdued (fake blood gunshots are about it). The "R" rating is most likely theme or language induced. It really wouldn't be out of place as an ABC Movie of the Week. Trouble Man is generally well done (How this made Medved's The Fifty Worst Films of All Time book is beyond me) fast-paced, and it is certainly worth a rent. At the very least there are fun moments such as WKRP's Gordon Jump in dual roles as well as a shooting in front of a mirror that was lifted eight years later by Scarface. And of course, there are those $500 Italian suits. How can you not be cool wearing those?

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/13/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I'd say this it top tier blaxploitation. Mr. T is an absolute badass, and he keeps cool the whole time. All while being legendary around the community. These are the types of characters that guys like John Wick were born from.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

08/03/18

Full Review

Audience Member

Decent Blaxsploitation by Ivan Dixon which has held up over the decades. A few plot twists that are unexpected, with solid camerawork & editing.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/25/23

Full Review

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Ivan Dixon

Director

Robert Hooks

Mr. T

Paul Winfield

Chalky Price

Ralph Waite

Pete Cockrell

Joel Freeman

Producer

John D. F. Black

Screenwriter

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Vincent Canby

New York Times

Trouble Man is a horrible movie, but it's worth thinking about.

May 23, 2014

Full Review

Jimi Lawrence

Call and Post (Cleveland)

You can probably figure out the rest of the plot.

Mar 29, 2022

Full Review

Jas Keimig

The Stranger (Seattle, WA)

Trouble Man is a whole lot of fun. No, it's not the best blaxploitation film of all time, but the soundtrack is composed by none other than Marvin Gaye himself...

Jan 20, 2022

Full Review

Larry G. Coleman

New Pittsburgh Courier

It is surprising that [director Ivan Dixon] and Robert Hooks, a talented stage and television actor, would involve themselves in a film that does little justice to their talents.

Dec 13, 2021

Full Review

Samuel A. Hay

Baltimore Afro-American

Trouble Man is a tragedy. Not because of the blood and violence that makes up its body, but because two talented Blacks lent their prestige and talents to this nonsense.

Jul 15, 2020

Full Review

Dick Lochte

Los Angeles Free Press

If, like me, you didn't care for Shaft other than as prime example of future camp-trash, you would do well to stear clear of Trouble Man.

Jan 3, 2020

Full Review

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Synopsis

T (Robert Hooks) is a slick detective who's done very well for himself, but still runs his operation from the same mean streets he grew up on in South Central Los Angeles. His latest case comes from local hoods Chalky (Paul Winfield) and Pete (Ralph Waite), who claim that someone's been robbing their dice games at gunpoint. As T searches for the perpetrator, he realizes the job is a setup. Chalky and Pete have pinned a murder on him, and both cops and criminals think T is to blame.

Director: Ivan Dixon
Screenwriter: John D. F. Black
Production Co: JDF/B Productions
Rating: R
Genre: Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 1, 1972, Original
Release Date (DVD): Jan 17, 2006