Let's Do It Again (1975 film)
| Let's Do It Again | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Sidney Poitier |
| Written by | Timothy March Richard Wesley |
| Produced by | Melville Tucker |
| Starring | Sidney Poitier Bill Cosby Calvin Lockhart Jimmie Walker |
| Edited by | Pembroke J. Herring |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release date | October 11, 1975 |
Running time | 110 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $70,000 |
| Box office | $11.8 million (rentals)[1] |
Let's Do It Again is a 1975 Action/crime film starring Sidney Poitier, Bill Cosby and Jimmie Walker[2] plus an all star black cast. The film, directed by Poitier,[2] is about blue-collar workers who decide to rig a boxing match to raise money for their fraternal lodge. The song of the same name by The Staple Singers was featured as the opening and ending theme of the movie, and as a result, the two have become commonly associated with each other. This was the second film pairing of Poitier and Cosby following Uptown Saturday Night, and followed by A Piece of the Action (1977). Although their characters have different names in each film, the three Poitier-Cosby pictures are considered to be a trilogy. Of the three, Let's Do It Again has been the most successful both critically and commercially. Calvin Lockhart and Lee Chamberlin also appeared in Uptown Saturday Night.
Plot
Set in Atlanta, it follows Clyde Williams (Poitier) and Billy Foster (Cosby) as a pair of blue-collar workers who are trying to raise funds for the Brothers and Sisters of Shaka. They decide to rig a boxing match in New Orleans. They use hypnotism to convince underdog boxer Bootney Farnsworth (Jimmie Walker) that he is a highly skilled prize fighter. He fights and defeats the champion, 40th Street Black (Rodolphus Lee Hayden). Williams and Foster clean up after betting Farnsworth. The pair return home, and all is fine until the gangsters who lost money betting on the other guy figure out the scam and come to Atlanta, to get the pair to do it again...or be killed. Unable to enter Farnsworth's training room to dehypnotize him, which in turn would cause him to win the fight, Williams and Foster decide to bet on the match being a draw, and place bets with both gangster groups. They then enter 40th Street Black's training room and successfully hypnotize him. Both fighters end up simultaneously knocking each other out, and Williams and Foster are able to collect their bets before the gangsters discover what happened.
Cast
- Sidney Poitier — Clyde Williams
- Bill Cosby — Billy Foster
- Calvin Lockhart — Biggie Smalls
- John Amos — Kansas City Mack
- Jimmie Walker — Bootney Farnsworth
- Ossie Davis — Elder Johnson
- Denise Nicholas — Beth Foster
- Lee Chamberlin — Dee Dee Williams
- Mel Stewart — Ellison
- Julius Harris — Bubbletop Woodson
- Billy Eckstine — Zack
- Paul Harris - Jody Tipps
- Rodolphus Lee Hayden — 40th Street Black
When the film premiered, John Amos and Jimmie Walker were starring as father and son in the CBS sitcom Good Times. George Foreman makes a cameo as a factory worker who challenges Billy to a fight in the beginning of the movie.
Influence in popular culture
- The late Brooklyn rap artist The Notorious B.I.G. took his alias, Biggie Smalls, from Calvin Lockhart's character in this film. However, the alias could not be used as his name due to ownership issues.
- East Coast rap group Camp Lo named their second album "Let's Do It Again" after their debut album was named "Uptown Saturday Night," a reference to the two Cosby and Poitier movies.
- Musician/MTV personality Fonzworth Bentley took his stage name from Jimmie Walker's character, Bootney Farnsworth.[3]
Reception
The film earned $6 million in theatrical rentals in North America.[4]
Remake
In 2002, it was announced that Will Smith and his production company, Overbrook Entertainment, had secured the rights to the trilogy for remakes to star Smith and to be distributed by Warner Bros. Smith stated that he hoped to get Eddie Murphy, Martin Lawrence and other famous African-American stars to be in the films.[5][6]
See also
References
- ^ Top 20 Films of 1975 by Domestic Revenue. Box Office Report via Internet Archive. Retrieved September 18, 2013.
- ^ a b "Let's Do It Again". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved May 21, 2016.
- ^ "The Bro's Code Interview: Fonzworth Bentley", The Bro's Code, July 9, 2008. Retrieved October 24, 2009.
- ^ "All-time Film Rental Champs", Variety, 7 January 1976 p 46
- ^ VH1.com : Will Smith : Will Smith Secures Rights To Sidney Poitier/ Bill Cosby Flicks - Rhapsody Music Downloads
- ^ Uptown Saturday Night (1974) - News