Three Tough Guys (1974)

Why so much hype?

Thanks for the memories!

Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

The Black Moses, The Hammer, and The Preacher Man. They've got their own kind of mean game.This film is directed by Duccio Tessari, assisted by a staff of other unknown Italians. What else has he done? A whole lot of things you never saw, including a film called "Sundance Cassidy and Butch the Kid".The opening theme sounds like a take on the "Shaft" theme, which is no surprise as it is sung by Isaac Hayes, who stars alongside Fred Williamson. Mysteriously, the song is about "two tough guys" (not three, as the title claims) and seems to be the inspiration for Hayes' later song about Beavis and Butt-Head.The picture quality, at least on the Fortune 5 DVD, is incredibly blurry or fuzzy at times, especially when light saturation is involved. Aside from that, it is pretty standard for the time, and almost good considering the notoriously awful quality Italian productions have.Seems to be set in America, but the priest has a thick accent. What is this?

A film like this never gets any respect from the industry it bankrolls. Someone tacked the title "Three Tough Guys" onto the film when it obviously should have been "Two Tough Guys" (as the title sequence song by Isaac Hayes accurately reflects). But someone wanted to the public to think that the film featured as much of Fred Williamson as it did the actual "two tough guys", when in fact, Williamson is barely involved. I would be surprised if analysis revealed that he was on-screen for more than 10 or 12 actual minutes. So if you want to see this film just for Williamson, you probably will be disappointed. But the film has a lot going for it - at least for a genre exploitation film. I could listen to Hayes read the phone book and enjoy it.He's not really an actor, but he's relaxed and comfortable on camera and he's fun to watch. It's a shame that his film career didn't go further. I've never seen the Italian guy before, but he is pretty convincing here as the world's toughest crime-fighting priest; he has a forceful presence that lets him pull off what is essentially a ridiculous role. A lot of actors couldn't make this part work (even some pretty good ones), but he mixes piety and punching in a way that carries the movie quite well.There isn't a lot of chemistry between the two leads, but the dialog is spare and unsentimental and it hardly ever seems forced. The screenwriter (and the Italian film industry) didn't indulge in their normal practice of having everyone talk way too much (especially in the English dub) for once, and the results are pretty good for American sensibilities. There's lots of punching, lots of gun-play, a bit of actual suspense, and some fairly good characterization (for an Italian exploitation flick) even for the minor parts. (One exception is the "bishop", who is forced to play the exasperated part usually reserved for the rogue cop's chief in standard cop thrillers. He sucks on toast, but it's not really his fault - it's the weakest and most contrived role in the movie and there isn't much he can do with it.) The DVD conversion in the "Grindhouse Experience" collection is pretty bad - lots of blurring, some scenes so dark you can hardly tell what's going on, some muffled sound here and there,etc. But I've seen worse conversions - even in this collection - and for once the English dub is pretty good. If you can't find this movie, don't fret - you aren't missing all that much. But as a representative choice for a "Grindhouse Experience", this is actually a very strong entry in the collection, easily in the top 5.

Uomini Duri aka "Three Tough Guys" is an Italian made action film from 1974. Isaac Hayes stars as Lee, a framed Chicago ex-cop who teams up with Father Charlie played by Lino Ventura. Together they fight for answers and revenge in a million dollar bank heist. Fred Williamson in a rare villain role plays Snake. This is a very entertaining film. While set in Chicago and the mob playing second fiddle to the plot, the film is very Italian. It has the feel of an Italian poliziotti film with in your face action and seedy locales. There are many veterans of Italian action films including Jess Hahn and William Berger. Lino Ventura is great as Father Charlie, the priest who can fight and does not hesitate in resorting to violence. Hayes is very underrated as an actor and its a shame he appeared in only one other seventies blaxploitation film (Truck Turner). The chemistry between Ventura and Hayes is excellent, a joining of American and Italian styles. Fred Williamson is good as Snake but his role could have been much more. He appears far too briefly and is pretty much a supporting villain in this film. Isaac Hayes scored the movie as well and the music does not disappoint! The theme "Tough Guys", "Joe Bell", and "Run Fay Run" (used in Kill Bill 1) are highlights on the soundtrack. Lots of shootouts and action are abound in this film but I would have appreciated a great long car chase in this film. It would have rounded out the action perfectly! All in all though a terrific film. -Note, this film is extremely hard to find as it was never released on video or DVD, worth seeking out.

Ten-speed-pedaling tough-guy priest (Ventura) and taciturn ex-cop (Hayes) team up to solve a million-dollar bank heist and capture Chicago mobster Joe Snake (Williamson) in Windy City-lensed but Italian-produced action flick. There isn't much here that you haven't seen before, but the production values are appropriately gritty, the action is fast-paced and bloody, and it's nice to see the image-conscious Hammer cast against type as a bad guy. Hayes wrote the musical score as well, and released the soundtrack on Enterprise Records.