Willie Dynamite
Encyclopedia
Willie Dynamite is a 1974 (see 1974 in film
) blaxploitation
film starring Roscoe Orman, Joyce Walker, Thalmus Rasulala, and Diana Sands. Willie Dynamite is a pimp in NYC who strives to be number one in the city. As he is trying to become the top pimp, a social worker is trying to change his ways for the better.
Pashen is the newest hooker in the line of Willie. He gets mad at her for producing less of what is expected. Willie compares his business of hookers to that of a production line. “Seven girls out there, every ten minutes, one comes off the production line, like that...This is a business baby, a production line, and just like GM, Ford, Chrysler, Willie’s comin’ through.” He then explains his dreams of being number one, the top pimp in the city of New York. Bell, the current number one pimp, holds a pimp counsel, and explains that the heat is rising on them, meaning the police are cracking down on prostitution activities within the city. Bell proposes an idea that each pimp get his own turf to run instead of the pimps competing for territory. Everyone is for the idea except Willie. He argues that the new idea would hurt his business. He compares his women to the animals of the jungle, having the need to roam free and conquer all that can be controlled.
Later, Willie soon learns that Pashen, the new girl, has been sent to jail. Cora, a social worker, comes and visits Pashen in jail. She tries to educate Pashen on the dangers of being a prostitute. Cora encourages Pashen to change her life, to become a model and get paid for it. Pashen, naïve, dislikes the idea and believes she can make more money as a hooker for Willie. Willie then comes to post bail and rescue Pashen. Cora makes an unexpected visit to Willie's while he is away and tells the girls they are being ripped off from Willie. They ponder the thought as she leaves the room. When Willie comes back, he learns that Pashen has gone to jail again and the girls are reluctant to work. Willie threatens to put them in shape if they decide to not work. Cora visits the jail and tries to persuade Pashen to change again. Pashen argues that she makes a lot of money and she feels like she is somebody important when she is working. Cora then reveals that she was once a prostitute on the streets. She then sneaks in to Willie’s place to find evidence of bank accounts that can prove his dirty doings. The evidence she took would not be able to hold in court.
Pashen finally decides to pursue modeling. She takes a photo opportunity and gets paid. She tries to tell Willie that she wants out, but he tells her of dreams and hopes that she can’t refuse. Willie goes to the hotel convention, finding that his territory has been compromised and that his head hooker, Honey, has been killed after a territorial battle. His life is spiraling down as he finds all his bank accounts have been frozen and are under investigation by the Internal Revenue Service. The two detectives chase down Willie through New York. Willie’s seven hookers are sent to jail after the hotel riot and they cannot post bail. They are sent to a women’s detention center for holding. While in the detention center, Pashen’s face gets cut, and she gets traumatized by her loss of beauty. When Willie returns home, he is met by Bell and his men, and things get out of hand when Bell wishes for Willie to quit the game. Later Willie is caught by the two detectives for possession of narcotics. Willie is let off for evidence without a warrant. In the end, Willie thinks back on past events after his mother dies, leaves his car for good, and is seen walking happily on the streets.
In one of the scenes, Willie is aggressively detained by the police while driving. The charge is suspicion of armed robbery, fitting a description of wearing a brown coat. Willie is shouting that he is unlawfully charged and that it’s unconstitutional, while the police are laughing about the detainment. This is an example of blaxpoitation where white police are committing corrupt acts against black people. Willie is later let go after the police lineup proves his innocence.
As he exits the station, a police officer tells Willie that his car was parked, by the police from the detainment, in a no-tow zone. With trouble as it is, he then finds two detectives unlawfully searching his car without a warrant. They tell him a black female overdosed and believed it was Willie’s fault. The black detective tells Willie he should care, “Yeah Willie, she’s my sister. She’s your sister too.”
When the two detectives are chasing Willie Dynamite through New York, the white detective is seen on a rooftop telling the black detective what to do. This is a reflection of the 1970’s, where white men had higher power in society, as blacks were a minority. The two detectives represent the blaxpoitation images in film, the black detective as a hard working man going by the books, and the white detective looking anywhere for a shortcut.
In another scene, the two detectives are talking to each other before their performance review on the police force. Celli, the white detective, reads the newspaper and tells Pointer that he may have to leave the force for his religion. Celli complains that Pointer is too orthodox in his ways, another example of white police looking for a shortcut to make money.
Inside the courtroom, when Willie is detained for possession, he announces that the police have obtained evidence without a warrant. This is a recurring example in blaxpoitation films, where corrupt police use unorthodox ways to catch black criminals.
The movie was released on DVD on January 11, 2005.
1974 in film
The year 1974 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*February 7 - Blazing Saddles is released in the USA.*August 7 - Peter Wolf, lead singer of The J...
) blaxploitation
Blaxploitation
Blaxploitation or blacksploitation is a film genre which emerged in the United States circa 1970. It is considered an ethnic sub-genre of the general category of exploitation films. Blaxploitation films were originally made specifically for an urban black audience, although the genre's audience...
film starring Roscoe Orman, Joyce Walker, Thalmus Rasulala, and Diana Sands. Willie Dynamite is a pimp in NYC who strives to be number one in the city. As he is trying to become the top pimp, a social worker is trying to change his ways for the better.
Tag Line
- Ain't no one crosses WILLIE "D"
- He's tight, together, and mean.
- Chicks, Chumps, he uses 'em all.
- He's got to be Number-One.
Plot
Willie Dynamite a fancy pimp that has his girls working in business conventions attracting the many businessmen that need a break from work. The film starts with the girls walking into the Business International Association convention where all eyes are turned on to the girls. Willie has 7 women working the night, all dressed up with vibrant outfits. Many men take the girls to their hotel rooms and even the police are paying to have fun. Willie is first seen driving his “pimped” purple Cadillac on the streets of New York. The front license plate engraves the first part of his nickname, “Willie”, while the back license plate engraves the second part, “Dynamite”. Willie goes to the hotel to collect payment from his girls.Pashen is the newest hooker in the line of Willie. He gets mad at her for producing less of what is expected. Willie compares his business of hookers to that of a production line. “Seven girls out there, every ten minutes, one comes off the production line, like that...This is a business baby, a production line, and just like GM, Ford, Chrysler, Willie’s comin’ through.” He then explains his dreams of being number one, the top pimp in the city of New York. Bell, the current number one pimp, holds a pimp counsel, and explains that the heat is rising on them, meaning the police are cracking down on prostitution activities within the city. Bell proposes an idea that each pimp get his own turf to run instead of the pimps competing for territory. Everyone is for the idea except Willie. He argues that the new idea would hurt his business. He compares his women to the animals of the jungle, having the need to roam free and conquer all that can be controlled.
Later, Willie soon learns that Pashen, the new girl, has been sent to jail. Cora, a social worker, comes and visits Pashen in jail. She tries to educate Pashen on the dangers of being a prostitute. Cora encourages Pashen to change her life, to become a model and get paid for it. Pashen, naïve, dislikes the idea and believes she can make more money as a hooker for Willie. Willie then comes to post bail and rescue Pashen. Cora makes an unexpected visit to Willie's while he is away and tells the girls they are being ripped off from Willie. They ponder the thought as she leaves the room. When Willie comes back, he learns that Pashen has gone to jail again and the girls are reluctant to work. Willie threatens to put them in shape if they decide to not work. Cora visits the jail and tries to persuade Pashen to change again. Pashen argues that she makes a lot of money and she feels like she is somebody important when she is working. Cora then reveals that she was once a prostitute on the streets. She then sneaks in to Willie’s place to find evidence of bank accounts that can prove his dirty doings. The evidence she took would not be able to hold in court.
Pashen finally decides to pursue modeling. She takes a photo opportunity and gets paid. She tries to tell Willie that she wants out, but he tells her of dreams and hopes that she can’t refuse. Willie goes to the hotel convention, finding that his territory has been compromised and that his head hooker, Honey, has been killed after a territorial battle. His life is spiraling down as he finds all his bank accounts have been frozen and are under investigation by the Internal Revenue Service. The two detectives chase down Willie through New York. Willie’s seven hookers are sent to jail after the hotel riot and they cannot post bail. They are sent to a women’s detention center for holding. While in the detention center, Pashen’s face gets cut, and she gets traumatized by her loss of beauty. When Willie returns home, he is met by Bell and his men, and things get out of hand when Bell wishes for Willie to quit the game. Later Willie is caught by the two detectives for possession of narcotics. Willie is let off for evidence without a warrant. In the end, Willie thinks back on past events after his mother dies, leaves his car for good, and is seen walking happily on the streets.
Cast and Characters
- Roscoe Orman as William Andrew ‘Willie Dynamite’ Short, an ambitious pimp in New York City wanting to become the top, always shown with a vibrant sense of fashion
- Diana Sands as Cora, the social worker, who was once a prostitute on the streets, trying to reform Willie Dynamite in his ways
- Joyce Walker as Pashen, the newest prostitute of Willie, who strives to make good money after being rescued from Willie
- Norma Donaldson as Honey, Willie’s head hooker, whose job is to make sure the other hookers are working, and dies after a fight with hookers from another pimp
- Roger Robinson as Bell, the top pimp of New York, fighting with Willie and his hookers to maintain control of his top status
- Thalmus Rasulala as Daniels, the District Attorney, lover of Cora, also fighting to put Willie Dynamite in jail
- Albert Hall as Pointer, the black detective chasing Willie, an orthodox man
- George Murdock as Celli, the white detective who would do anything for a shortcut and to get paid
Blaxpoitation Theme
The film produces many of the qualities seen in blaxpoitation films, popular in the 1970’s. Blaxpoitation films would present a black character, usually shown in the ghetto, characterized by poverty, drugs, and violence. These black characters would be seen pitted against white characters of power, usually the police, as seen in this movie.In one of the scenes, Willie is aggressively detained by the police while driving. The charge is suspicion of armed robbery, fitting a description of wearing a brown coat. Willie is shouting that he is unlawfully charged and that it’s unconstitutional, while the police are laughing about the detainment. This is an example of blaxpoitation where white police are committing corrupt acts against black people. Willie is later let go after the police lineup proves his innocence.
As he exits the station, a police officer tells Willie that his car was parked, by the police from the detainment, in a no-tow zone. With trouble as it is, he then finds two detectives unlawfully searching his car without a warrant. They tell him a black female overdosed and believed it was Willie’s fault. The black detective tells Willie he should care, “Yeah Willie, she’s my sister. She’s your sister too.”
When the two detectives are chasing Willie Dynamite through New York, the white detective is seen on a rooftop telling the black detective what to do. This is a reflection of the 1970’s, where white men had higher power in society, as blacks were a minority. The two detectives represent the blaxpoitation images in film, the black detective as a hard working man going by the books, and the white detective looking anywhere for a shortcut.
In another scene, the two detectives are talking to each other before their performance review on the police force. Celli, the white detective, reads the newspaper and tells Pointer that he may have to leave the force for his religion. Celli complains that Pointer is too orthodox in his ways, another example of white police looking for a shortcut to make money.
Inside the courtroom, when Willie is detained for possession, he announces that the police have obtained evidence without a warrant. This is a recurring example in blaxpoitation films, where corrupt police use unorthodox ways to catch black criminals.
Willie's Dressrobe
Willie Dynamite is always shown with a bright colored outfit, stereotypical outfit for the pimp. He is always wearing a hat that matches the rest of his outfit. He is first seen wearing a bright candy red suit with a white-striped red jacket and matching white-striped red hat. The second outfit that he is seen in is a clover green suit with a red scarf. With this, he is also wearing a large fur coat and hat. When he is detained by the police for the first time, he is wearing a white fur-striped brown lamb coat, which he loudly announces, “Brown coat? This is lamb! I paid over a grand for it!” after he is under suspicion for armed robbery for wearing a “brown coat.” The next outfit he is dressed in is shiny and gold.Release
Willie Dynamite was released in two states at separate times. It was released on January 23, 1974 in New York and in San Francisco, it was released on April 3, 1974.The movie was released on DVD on January 11, 2005.