Hit Man is a 1972 American Crime film

Crime film

Crime films are films which focus on the lives of criminals. The stylistic approach to a crime film varies from realistic portrayals of real-life criminal figures, to the far-fetched evil doings of imaginary arch-villains. Criminal acts are almost always glorified in these movies.- Plays and films...

 directed by George Armitage

George Armitage

George Armitage is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer who got his start as part of the stable of up-and-coming filmmakers who broke into the business thru Roger Corman's New World Pictures...

 and starring Bernie Casey

Bernie Casey

Bernard Terry "Bernie" Casey is a professional actor who initially had a career as an interscholastic, intercollegiate and professional football player. Casey was also a record-breaking track and field athlete for Bowling Green State University...

, Pam Grier

Pam Grier

Pamela Suzette "Pam" Grier is an American actress. She became famous in the early 1970s, after starring in a string of moderately successful women in prison and blaxploitation films such as 1974's Foxy Brown. Her career was revitalized in 1997 after her appearance in Quentin Tarantino's film...

 and Lisa Moore. It is based on the Ted Lewis

Ted Lewis (writer)

Ted Lewis was a British writer.He was born in Manchester, an only child. After World War II the family moved to Barton-on-Humber...

's novel Jack's Return Home

Jack's Return Home

Jack's Return Home is a 1970 novel by British writer Ted Lewis. An uncompromising novel of a brutal half-world of pool halls, massage parlours and teenage pornography, it was memorably brought to life in the cult film Get Carter, starring Michael Caine as Jack Carter...

, more famously adapted as Get Carter

Get Carter

Get Carter is a 1971 British crime film directed by Mike Hodges and starring Michael Caine as Jack Carter, a gangster who sets out to avenge the death of his brother in a series of unrelenting and brutal killings played out against the grim background of derelict urban housing in the city of...

, with the action relocated from Britain to the United States.

Plot

Tyrone Tackett, (Bernie Casey) travels to Southern California for the funeral of his brother, but becomes involved in the illegal underworld of drugs, prostitution and gambling that his late brother was also caught up in. Tyrone’s brother left behind his young daughter Rochelle Tackett, played by Candy All, and his prostitute wife. Tyrone visits the latter and forces her to buy some nice clothes and attend the funeral, after which she comes over for a drink with Tyrone and her late husband’s close friends. Tyrone meets his brother’s main partner in his car repossession business Sherwood Epps, played by Sam Law. Sherwood invites Tyrone to stay in town and the two become close friends.

Tyrone is threatened the following day by several individuals who had transgressions against Tyrone’s brother and make it known that Tyrone should now leave town and head to Oakland if he knows what’s good for him. Tyrone then visits Rochelle Tackett and offers his care and help to her, which she rejects. The film continues on with Tyrone making more acquaintances with his brother’s old friends and enemies until Rochelle is murdered after becoming involved in the pornography industry. Tyrone makes it his main objective for the rest of the film to hunt down and murder all those involved in Rochelle’s death.

Cast

• Bernie Casey
  Bernie Casey
  Bernard Terry "Bernie" Casey is a professional actor who initially had a career as an interscholastic, intercollegiate and professional football player. Casey was also a record-breaking track and field athlete for Bowling Green State University...
  
   - Tyrone Tackett
• Pam Grier
  Pam Grier
  Pamela Suzette "Pam" Grier is an American actress. She became famous in the early 1970s, after starring in a string of moderately successful women in prison and blaxploitation films such as 1974's Foxy Brown. Her career was revitalized in 1997 after her appearance in Quentin Tarantino's film...
  
   - Gozelda
• Lisa Moore - Laural Garfoot
• Bhetty Waldron - Irvelle Way
• Sam Laws - Sherwood Epps
• Candy All - Rochelle Tackett
• Don Diamond
  Don Diamond
  Donald Alan "Don" Diamond was an American radio, film, and television actor who portrayed "Crazy Cat", the sidekick and heir apparent to Chief Wild Eagle on the popular 1960s television sitcom, F Troop .-Career:...
  
  - Nano Zito

Reception

Due to Hit Man’s blaxploitation genre qualities and stereotypes the NAACP and many African American communities condemned it. The themes of overly sexualized women, violence as justice, drug abuse and negative stereotypes towards African Americans gives heed to the condemnation of this film. Critics reviewed it as lacking in plot and lengthy screen time filled with sexual encounters, violence and Tyrone’s errands.