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Superfly (film)
Encyclopedia
Super Fly is a 1972 film directed by Gordon Parks, Jr.
, starring Ron O'Neal
as Youngblood Priest, a black cocaine dealer who is trying to quit the underworld drug business.
This film is known for its soundtrack, written and produced by soul singer
Curtis Mayfield
(see Super Fly (soundtrack)). Super Fly is one of the few films ever to have been outgrossed by its soundtrack.
Leading man O'Neal directed a sequel to the film that was released less than a year later, Super Fly T.N.T.
; Super Fly producer Sig Shore directed a second sequel in 1990, The Return of Superfly
.
) is an up-and-coming successful cocaine
dealer in New York City
. On his way to a meeting point in Harlem early one morning he is mugged by two junkies. Priest beats one up and gives chase to the other where he gets his money back and kicks him in an apartment. Afterwards, Fat Freddie and Nate Adams (Priest's main dealers) turn up at his apartment to make their payments. Fat Freddie is short and doesn't have his money. Priest warns him that either he is going to get his money by robbing someone or he will put his wife out on "whore's row". Priest gives them a gun and the pair go out to rob a Mafia member after they follow him to New Jersey
. Priest then goes to meet his partner in crime, Eddie (Carl Lee
), who is playing craps
downtown, to discuss his future plans. The pair go back to Eddie's apartment where Priest tells Eddie he wants out of the business but wants to make one last big score and to make one million dollars in four months. Eddie, who tries to talk him out of it as he loves the lifestyle, reluctantly goes along with Priest's ambitions and the pair agree to make one last big score.
Later that night, Priest and Eddie arrive at Scatter's restaurant. Scatter (Julius Harris
), is a retired drug dealer who was a mentor to Priest. After watching the band play (The Curtis Mayfield
Experience), the two go into the kitchen to discuss business with Scatter. Priest tells Scatter his plans and that he needs him to provide him with 30 kilograms of coke.
Scatter, who has retired from the cocaine business, gets frustrated at them and tells them he cannot help. After Eddie angers Scatter, Scatter puts a gun to his head. Scatter then agrees to supply Priest the 30 keys. The trio agree to a meeting time and Priest and Eddie leave to meet Fat Freddie and Nate. Freddie has Priest's money from the successful holdup and the three of them talk over a beer. Priest accidentally reveals to Freddie and Nate that he is picking up one key of coke from Scatter. Priest then goes home to a romantic evening with his girlfriend, Georgia (Sheila Frazier
).
The following day, Freddie is arrested in Harlem for assault and is questioned by narcotics detectives (cocaine was found on him) who beat him into a confession. Freddie rats out Priest and Eddie and tells the police that there are around 50 family members (dealers) and that Priest and Eddie are picking up a key of coke that night from Scatter (who pays off the same detectives). Freddie is released but tries to escape outside the police precinct and is hit by a car and killed. Meanwhile Priest and Georgia are in Central Park
discussing Priest's ambitions in getting out and leaving New York
and taking her with him.
Later that night, Priest and Eddie go to pick up one key of coke from Scatter but the detectives are waiting. Alerted, Priest walks away but one of the detectives follows him down a dark street where Priest is ambushed and held at gun point with Eddie who was already arrested. The detectives make a deal with the pair and tell them they can operate but must make payments of $10,000 a month. Priest obviously is uncomfortable with this but Eddie happily agrees saying that 'the man' is on our side.
The pair then goes on to sell a kilo of cocaine, which is shown in a classic photo montage scene with "Pusherman" playing. Priest and Eddie arrive in a bar in Harlem
to meet a potential buyer. While they are waiting, three black activists approach them who are trying to shake Priest down for money for their cause. Priest demands they leave as he has a meeting and will not be lured into their scam. Their buyer arrives and samples the cocaine and agrees to make a deal and to 'get it on!'
Priest is at Cynthia's apartment (his other girlfriend who is from Manhattan and has corporate contacts). Priest is unsure about staying with her and the pair has an argument. Scatter arrives at the apartment with information about 'The Man' and asks Priest for $20,000 in cash as he must leave town. After Scatter leaves, he is arrested by the narcotics detectives. The police no longer need Scatter and dispose of him in his Rolls Royce
with a large dose of heroin to shut him up. Priest learns of this, and suspecting something is wrong, meets with two mafia
contractors in a café to discuss business. Although words are not said, it is clear that Priest is asking them for a contract for murder. This is his insurance policy.
Priest arrives at Eddie's apartment and discusses the murder of Scatter. Telling him the news that he was killed by the police, Priest suggests foul play and that the police were behind it in order to use him and Eddie to make larger buys and to stay in business. Priest demands his half of the money and wants to get out. Eddie tells him that he can't do anything else, especially pimpin' as he doesn't have the 'stomach' for it. Eddie gives him his share and then calls the detectives and tells them that Priest has left with a briefcase full of money. Priest then exchanges his briefcase in the elevator with Georgia who is in disguise. By the time he arrives to his car, the police have arrived. They detain him until the narcotics detectives come and then they all leave. Priest watches Georgia leave with his money knowing it's safe.
Priest is then escorted to the waterfront where Deputy Commissioner Reardon (Sig Shore
) is waiting for him. Reardon, who is running the extortion racket, chastises Priest for wanting to leave the business and tells him he will be "nothing more than another two-bit black junkie." A fight breaks out and Priest uses his karate
skills to overcome the detectives. Reardon then pulls his gun and the fighting stops. Priest then explains he has placed a murder contract on Reardon and his family if any harm comes to him from the police. He tells him that he's smarter than those other "niggers" and that he has contracted the best killers there are, "White ones, baby! White ones!" Reardon claims that Priest doesn't have any money for something like that as they open his briefcase. Dirty clothes fall out and Priest claims that doing his laundry will not help. Priest then hops into his customized Cadillac Eldorado
and drives off, victorious.
, Sr., who had just directed the cult classic Shaft
.
Sig Shore
, who produced Super Fly, plays Deputy Commissioner Riordan, or "The Man".
Nate Adams coordinated the fashion and wardrobe for the film. He had done several fashion shows prior to Super Fly. He still owns many of the suits, shoes and fedora hats.
Charles McGregor, who plays Fat Freddie, was released from prison before the film's production.
The film was shot by director of photography, James Signorelli, who would go on to become the film director at Saturday Night Live and is responsible for hundreds of the shows signature commercial parodies including 'Little Chocolate Donuts', 'Oops I crapped my Pants' and 'Mom Jeans'.
. This type of Eldorado had the largest V8 ever used in a production vehicle, an 8.2 L (500 in³) engine. The car belonged to K.C., an actual hustler and pimp from Harlem who plays a pimp in the film. K.C. met Nate Adams in a hotel lobby and was asked if his car could be used in the film. K.C. agreed but later telephoned Nate Adams accusing him of lying, stating, "No niggers are making no movies."
The car was customized by Les Dunham Coachworks of New Jersey, who modified the headlight covers, goddess hood ornament (Rolls Royce/Bentley style), lake pipes and circular porthole windows.
The film helped start a trend for car customization in America
known as the Pimpmobile
. Many aspiring drug dealers, gangsters, and pimps modified their cars during the 1970s as a result of watching Super Fly
However the filmmakers maintain that it was their desire to show the negative and empty aspects of the drug subculture. This is evident in the movie from the beginning as Priest communicates his desire to leave the business. Nearly every character in the film, with the notable exception of his "main squeeze," tries to dissuade Priest from quitting; their chief argument being that dealing and snorting are the best he ever could achieve in life.
The DVD includes a commentary track by Todd Boyd and the following features:
"One Last Deal: A Retrospective".
Interview with Ron O'Neal.
Curtis Mayfield insights, memories and thoughts on "Super Fly"
"Behind The Threads"
Theatrical Trailer
Gordon Parks, Jr.
Gordon Roger Parks, Jr. was an American film director best known for the film Super Fly.Parks was the son of Sally Alvis and late photographer and director Gordon Parks...
, starring Ron O'Neal
Ron O'Neal
Ron O'Neal was an American actor, director and screenwriter...
as Youngblood Priest, a black cocaine dealer who is trying to quit the underworld drug business.
This film is known for its soundtrack, written and produced by soul singer
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
Curtis Mayfield
Curtis Mayfield
Curtis Lee Mayfield was an American soul, R&B, and funk singer, songwriter, and record producer.He is best known for his anthemic music with The Impressions during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's and for composing the soundtrack to the blaxploitation film Super Fly, Mayfield is highly...
(see Super Fly (soundtrack)). Super Fly is one of the few films ever to have been outgrossed by its soundtrack.
Leading man O'Neal directed a sequel to the film that was released less than a year later, Super Fly T.N.T.
Super Fly T.N.T.
Super Fly T.N.T. is a 1973 film directed, starring, and co-written by Ron O'Neal. O'Neal reprises his role of Youngblood Priest from the smash hit blaxploitation film Super Fly.The film is currently out of print.-Plot:...
; Super Fly producer Sig Shore directed a second sequel in 1990, The Return of Superfly
The Return of Superfly
The Return of Superfly is a 1990 blaxploitation film directed by Sig Shore as the second sequel to the 1972 film, Super Fly . The film starred Nathan Purdee and Margaret Avery and featured a performance by Samuel L. Jackson...
.
Plot summary
Priest (Ron O'NealRon O'Neal
Ron O'Neal was an American actor, director and screenwriter...
) is an up-and-coming successful cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
dealer in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. On his way to a meeting point in Harlem early one morning he is mugged by two junkies. Priest beats one up and gives chase to the other where he gets his money back and kicks him in an apartment. Afterwards, Fat Freddie and Nate Adams (Priest's main dealers) turn up at his apartment to make their payments. Fat Freddie is short and doesn't have his money. Priest warns him that either he is going to get his money by robbing someone or he will put his wife out on "whore's row". Priest gives them a gun and the pair go out to rob a Mafia member after they follow him to New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. Priest then goes to meet his partner in crime, Eddie (Carl Lee
Carl Lee (actor)
Carl Lee , born Carl Vincent Canegata, was an African-American actor. He was also the son of late pioneering African American actor/professional boxer Canada Lee .-Career:...
), who is playing craps
Craps
Craps is a dice game in which players place wagers on the outcome of the roll, or a series of rolls, of a pair of dice. Players may wager money against each other or a bank...
downtown, to discuss his future plans. The pair go back to Eddie's apartment where Priest tells Eddie he wants out of the business but wants to make one last big score and to make one million dollars in four months. Eddie, who tries to talk him out of it as he loves the lifestyle, reluctantly goes along with Priest's ambitions and the pair agree to make one last big score.
Later that night, Priest and Eddie arrive at Scatter's restaurant. Scatter (Julius Harris
Julius Harris
Julius W. Harris was an American actor who appeared in more than 70 movies and numerous television series in a career that spanned four decades.-Early life and career:...
), is a retired drug dealer who was a mentor to Priest. After watching the band play (The Curtis Mayfield
Curtis Mayfield
Curtis Lee Mayfield was an American soul, R&B, and funk singer, songwriter, and record producer.He is best known for his anthemic music with The Impressions during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's and for composing the soundtrack to the blaxploitation film Super Fly, Mayfield is highly...
Experience), the two go into the kitchen to discuss business with Scatter. Priest tells Scatter his plans and that he needs him to provide him with 30 kilograms of coke.
Sheila Frazier
Sheila Frazier is an American actress and producer most noted for her co-starring role in the film, Super Fly.-Biography:Sheila Elaine Frazier was born in the Bronx, New York to Dorothy Dennis and Eugene Cole Frazier...
).
The following day, Freddie is arrested in Harlem for assault and is questioned by narcotics detectives (cocaine was found on him) who beat him into a confession. Freddie rats out Priest and Eddie and tells the police that there are around 50 family members (dealers) and that Priest and Eddie are picking up a key of coke that night from Scatter (who pays off the same detectives). Freddie is released but tries to escape outside the police precinct and is hit by a car and killed. Meanwhile Priest and Georgia are in Central Park
Central Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
discussing Priest's ambitions in getting out and leaving New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and taking her with him.
Later that night, Priest and Eddie go to pick up one key of coke from Scatter but the detectives are waiting. Alerted, Priest walks away but one of the detectives follows him down a dark street where Priest is ambushed and held at gun point with Eddie who was already arrested. The detectives make a deal with the pair and tell them they can operate but must make payments of $10,000 a month. Priest obviously is uncomfortable with this but Eddie happily agrees saying that 'the man' is on our side.
The pair then goes on to sell a kilo of cocaine, which is shown in a classic photo montage scene with "Pusherman" playing. Priest and Eddie arrive in a bar in Harlem
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
to meet a potential buyer. While they are waiting, three black activists approach them who are trying to shake Priest down for money for their cause. Priest demands they leave as he has a meeting and will not be lured into their scam. Their buyer arrives and samples the cocaine and agrees to make a deal and to 'get it on!'
Priest is at Cynthia's apartment (his other girlfriend who is from Manhattan and has corporate contacts). Priest is unsure about staying with her and the pair has an argument. Scatter arrives at the apartment with information about 'The Man' and asks Priest for $20,000 in cash as he must leave town. After Scatter leaves, he is arrested by the narcotics detectives. The police no longer need Scatter and dispose of him in his Rolls Royce
Rolls-Royce (car)
This a list of Rolls-Royce motor cars and includes vehicles produced by:*Rolls-Royce Limited *Rolls-Royce Motors , which was owned by Vickers between 1980 and 1998, and after that by Volkswagen...
with a large dose of heroin to shut him up. Priest learns of this, and suspecting something is wrong, meets with two mafia
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
contractors in a café to discuss business. Although words are not said, it is clear that Priest is asking them for a contract for murder. This is his insurance policy.
Priest arrives at Eddie's apartment and discusses the murder of Scatter. Telling him the news that he was killed by the police, Priest suggests foul play and that the police were behind it in order to use him and Eddie to make larger buys and to stay in business. Priest demands his half of the money and wants to get out. Eddie tells him that he can't do anything else, especially pimpin' as he doesn't have the 'stomach' for it. Eddie gives him his share and then calls the detectives and tells them that Priest has left with a briefcase full of money. Priest then exchanges his briefcase in the elevator with Georgia who is in disguise. By the time he arrives to his car, the police have arrived. They detain him until the narcotics detectives come and then they all leave. Priest watches Georgia leave with his money knowing it's safe.
Priest is then escorted to the waterfront where Deputy Commissioner Reardon (Sig Shore
Sig Shore
Sig Shore was an American film director and producer. His 1972 film Super Fly is considered one of the first "blaxploitation" films.-Biography:Shore was born in Harlem, New York and grew up in the Bronx...
) is waiting for him. Reardon, who is running the extortion racket, chastises Priest for wanting to leave the business and tells him he will be "nothing more than another two-bit black junkie." A fight breaks out and Priest uses his karate
Karate
is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...
skills to overcome the detectives. Reardon then pulls his gun and the fighting stops. Priest then explains he has placed a murder contract on Reardon and his family if any harm comes to him from the police. He tells him that he's smarter than those other "niggers" and that he has contracted the best killers there are, "White ones, baby! White ones!" Reardon claims that Priest doesn't have any money for something like that as they open his briefcase. Dirty clothes fall out and Priest claims that doing his laundry will not help. Priest then hops into his customized Cadillac Eldorado
Cadillac Eldorado
The 1953 Eldorado was a special-bodied, low-production convertible . It was the production version of the 1952 El Dorado "Golden Anniversary" concept car, and borrowed bumper bullets from the 1951 GM Le Sabre show car...
and drives off, victorious.
Cast
- Ron O'NealRon O'NealRon O'Neal was an American actor, director and screenwriter...
.... Priest - Carl Lee .... Eddie
- Sheila FrazierSheila FrazierSheila Frazier is an American actress and producer most noted for her co-starring role in the film, Super Fly.-Biography:Sheila Elaine Frazier was born in the Bronx, New York to Dorothy Dennis and Eugene Cole Frazier...
.... Georgia (as Shiela Frazier) - Julius HarrisJulius HarrisJulius W. Harris was an American actor who appeared in more than 70 movies and numerous television series in a career that spanned four decades.-Early life and career:...
.... Scatter - Charles McGregorCharles McGregorCharles McGregor was an African American film actor probably best known for his role as Fat Freddie in Super Fly. In his youth, he spent a number of years in prison. During the 1970s, he became an actor and played supporting roles in several blaxploitation films...
.... Fat Freddie (as Charles MacGregor) - Nate Adams .... Dealer
- Polly Niles .... Cynthia
- Yvonne Delaine .... Mrs. Freddie
- Henry Shapiro .... Robbery Victim
- K.C. .... Pimp
- James G. Richardson .... Junkie (as Jim Richardson)
- Make Bray .... Junkie
- Al Kiggins .... Police
- Bob Bonds .... Police
- Fred Rolaf AKA Fred Ottaviano .... Police
- Alex Stevens .... Police
- Harry Manson .... Police
- Floyd Levine .... Police
- Sig ShoreSig ShoreSig Shore was an American film director and producer. His 1972 film Super Fly is considered one of the first "blaxploitation" films.-Biography:Shore was born in Harlem, New York and grew up in the Bronx...
(billed as Mike Richards) .... Deputy Commissioner Reardon - Chris Arnett .... Coke Buyer
- Cecil Alonzo .... Militant
- Gene Chambers .... Militant
- John WilliamsJohn WilliamsJohn Towner Williams is an American composer, conductor, and pianist. In a career spanning almost six decades, he has composed some of the most recognizable film scores in the history of motion pictures, including the Star Wars saga, Jaws, Superman, the Indiana Jones films, E.T...
.... Militant - E. Preston Reddick .... Karate Instructor
- Lorraine Horn .... Mother In Apartment
- Nick Sands .... Contracted Man
- Bob Richards .... Contracted Man
- Nita Michaels .... Hooker
- Vicki McLaughlin .... Hooker
- Curtis MayfieldCurtis MayfieldCurtis Lee Mayfield was an American soul, R&B, and funk singer, songwriter, and record producer.He is best known for his anthemic music with The Impressions during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's and for composing the soundtrack to the blaxploitation film Super Fly, Mayfield is highly...
.... Himself (The Curtis Mayfield Experience) - Master Henry GibsonMaster Henry Gibson"Master" Henry Gibson is the world's most recorded percussionist, appearing on about 1200 albums, spanning a career of four decades....
.... Himself (The Curtis Mayfield Experience) - Lucky Scott .... Himself (The Curtis Mayfield Experience)
- Craig McMullen .... Himself (The Curtis Mayfield Experience)
- Tyrone McCullough .... Himself (The Curtis Mayfield Experience)
Production
The film was financed by two black dentists and Gordon ParksGordon Parks
Gordon Roger Alexander Buchanan Parks was a groundbreaking American photographer, musician, poet, novelist, journalist, activist and film director...
, Sr., who had just directed the cult classic Shaft
Shaft (1971 film)
Shaft is a 1971 American blaxploitation film directed by Gordon Parks, released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. An action film with elements of film noir, Shaft tells the story of a black private detective, John Shaft, who travels through Harlem and to the Italian mob neighborhoods in order to find the...
.
Sig Shore
Sig Shore
Sig Shore was an American film director and producer. His 1972 film Super Fly is considered one of the first "blaxploitation" films.-Biography:Shore was born in Harlem, New York and grew up in the Bronx...
, who produced Super Fly, plays Deputy Commissioner Riordan, or "The Man".
Nate Adams coordinated the fashion and wardrobe for the film. He had done several fashion shows prior to Super Fly. He still owns many of the suits, shoes and fedora hats.
Charles McGregor, who plays Fat Freddie, was released from prison before the film's production.
The film was shot by director of photography, James Signorelli, who would go on to become the film director at Saturday Night Live and is responsible for hundreds of the shows signature commercial parodies including 'Little Chocolate Donuts', 'Oops I crapped my Pants' and 'Mom Jeans'.
Car
Priest's car is a 1971 customized Cadillac EldoradoCadillac Eldorado
The 1953 Eldorado was a special-bodied, low-production convertible . It was the production version of the 1952 El Dorado "Golden Anniversary" concept car, and borrowed bumper bullets from the 1951 GM Le Sabre show car...
. This type of Eldorado had the largest V8 ever used in a production vehicle, an 8.2 L (500 in³) engine. The car belonged to K.C., an actual hustler and pimp from Harlem who plays a pimp in the film. K.C. met Nate Adams in a hotel lobby and was asked if his car could be used in the film. K.C. agreed but later telephoned Nate Adams accusing him of lying, stating, "No niggers are making no movies."
The car was customized by Les Dunham Coachworks of New Jersey, who modified the headlight covers, goddess hood ornament (Rolls Royce/Bentley style), lake pipes and circular porthole windows.
The film helped start a trend for car customization in America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
known as the Pimpmobile
Pimpmobile
Largely an American phenomenon, pimpmobile is a term used to describe a large luxury vehicle, usually a 1960s or early 1970s-model Lincoln or Cadillac vehicle, that has been customized in a garish, extravagant and kitsch or camp style...
. Many aspiring drug dealers, gangsters, and pimps modified their cars during the 1970s as a result of watching Super Fly
Reception
The movie was controversial. At least one critic has suggested that the film's glorification of drug dealers serves to subtly critique the civil rights movement’s failure to provide better economic opportunities for black America and that the portrayal of a black community controlled by drug dealers serves to highlight that the initiatives of the civil rights movement were far from fully accomplished.However the filmmakers maintain that it was their desire to show the negative and empty aspects of the drug subculture. This is evident in the movie from the beginning as Priest communicates his desire to leave the business. Nearly every character in the film, with the notable exception of his "main squeeze," tries to dissuade Priest from quitting; their chief argument being that dealing and snorting are the best he ever could achieve in life.
DVD Release (Standard Definition)
A standard definition DVD was released by Warner Brothers in 2004. The original red and black logo warner logo is replaced by the updated AOL/Warner logo used at the time to DVD release. Additionally, the end credits on the original film release and video cassette, differs from the DVD. On the original release and videocassette the film ends credits roll with a shot of the top of the Empire State building and the title track ("Superfly") plays. After "The End" is displayed, the film fades to black but Mayfield's "Superfly" continues to play for a few minutes until the track ends. In the DVD release, Warner Brothers decided to fade out the track midway right as "The End" is shown, and again brings up the AOL/Warner logo.The DVD includes a commentary track by Todd Boyd and the following features:
"One Last Deal: A Retrospective".
Interview with Ron O'Neal.
Curtis Mayfield insights, memories and thoughts on "Super Fly"
"Behind The Threads"
Theatrical Trailer