Review: Three Tough Guys

A pugilistic priest with a delinquent past (Lino Ventura) teams up with a framed ex-cop (Isaac Hayes) to investigate a bank robbery and subsequent series of machine-gun murders. Both men have a personal stake in the case, with one of Ventura’s parishioners being among the victims, and Hayes lost his job when he was too busy getting busy with Paula Kelly instead of foiling the robbery. Fred Williamson is the aptly named Joe Snake, a manipulative sleazebag bar owner who happens to be the criminal our starring duo are ultimately looking for. William Berger plays a police captain who doesn’t trust Hayes as far as he can throw him.

 

There’s a bit of false advertising going on here in this 1974 French-Italian-American co-production from director Duccio Tessari (co-writer of the iconic “Fistful of Dollars”). For one thing, despite the presence of Blaxploitation veterans Isaac Hayes, Fred Williamson, Bob Minor, and Paula Kelly (who sadly passed away in early 2020), this isn’t really a Blaxploitation film. Made almost entirely by Italians (uber-producer Dino De Laurentiis among them) but partially shot in the U.S., it’s a mixture of Blaxploitation and ‘poliziottesco’, the subgenre of Italian crime/cop flicks predominantly from the 70s. Secondly, the title is a bit deceptive itself. Isaac Hayes’ supposed title song only refers to ‘Two Tough Guys’, which is more on the money here, as it’s a stretch to really call Fred Williamson’s character one of the tough guys here. He’s barely in the film, he’s the villain, and he’s a snaky piece of shit, not really a ‘tough guy’ like Lino Ventura’s pugilistic priest or Isaac Hayes’ volatile ex-cop. Putting the slight dishonesty/deception aside, the film is OK but with enough drawbacks to prevent it from being a full recommendation. As I said, Williamson is barely in the film, and that does hurt it quite a bit. You kinda need your villain around a bit more to make an impact on the story. Screenwriters Nicola Badalucco (Visconti’s “The Damned” and “Death in Venice”) and Luciano Vincenzoni (“For a Few Dollars More” and the masterful “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly”) put far too much emphasis on the protagonists at the disservice of not only Williamson, but the film overall.

 

As the bicycle riding, tattooed ex-con priest handy with his fists (!), Lino Ventura may not be the most exciting actor in the world, but his eccentric character (more detective than priest, really) sure is fun to have around. I also think he may be one of the few people here who isn’t dubbed outside of the Americans. Even better is musician/singer Isaac Hayes in his acting debut as a disgraced ex-cop (he was framed) with a whole lot of resentment for his current predicament. It takes 30 minutes of skulking about for Hayes to get his first line of dialogue, but once he does he makes his every minute count. Well, I could’ve done without the scene where he basically pummels Paula Kelly. I get it, she’s the reason he’s in this predicament in the first place, but did he really need to go that far? It leaves quite a sour taste in the mouth. Otherwise, Hayes gives a really nice, sad-sack performance as a former cop now driving a beat-up white piece of shit car and frying eggs on an iron. He steals the film through sheer force of charisma and personality, despite acting not being his primary occupation. He and Ventura make for an interesting rough, unrefined starring duo here. Also fine is veteran exploitation character actor William Berger as a cop who reprimands Hayes and Ventura for getting involved in business they don’t belong in. Paula Kelly is also effective as a duplicitous woman under Williamson’s spell. Look out for veteran stuntman and bit player Bob Minor (“Coffy”, “Foxy Brown”, “Drum”, “Commando”) getting the snot slapped out of him by Ventura at one point. In addition to acting and performing the theme song, Hayes also composed the music score, and it’s funky as hell. It’s a big highlight of the film, for sure. Also adding to the film is the gritty location shooting, largely Chicago and some of it in Rome. It’s a real shame Fred Williamson isn’t in the film much, because not only does the film really need a strong villain, but Williamson proves to be rather effective when fleetingly called upon. More of him could’ve really elevated this one beyond diverting curio status. Points off for that and the rushed, anti-climactic finale.

 

More Italian crime pic than funky blaxploitation flick, this one’s got an interesting pairing in Lino Ventura and Isaac Hayes, but Fred Williamson’s charisma is left too much on the sidelines in the crucial role of the villain. As such, it’s never quite as enjoyable as you’d like it to be. Great music and locations, however and the sight of Ventura and Hayes punching the crap out of people takes it a fair way.

 

Rating: C+