A Piece of the Action (film)
| A Piece of the Action | |
|---|---|
 A Piece of the Action promotional movie poster | |
| Directed by | Sidney Poitier |
| Written by | Charles Blackwell Based upon a story by Timothy March |
| Produced by | Melville Tucker |
| Starring | Sidney Poitier Bill Cosby James Earl Jones |
| Cinematography | Donald M. Morgan |
| Edited by | Pembroke J. Herring |
| Music by | Curtis Mayfield |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release date | October 7, 1977 |
Running time | 135 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
A Piece of the Action is a 1977 comedy crime film starring Sidney Poitier and Bill Cosby. Poitier also directed the film. This was the third film pairing of Poitier and Cosby following Uptown Saturday Night and Let's Do It Again, and Poitier's last acting role for more than 10 years, as he focused his attentions on just directing. The film also stars James Earl Jones.
Plot synopsis
Dave Anderson (Cosby) and Manny Durrell (Poitier) are two high-class sneak thieves who have never been caught. Joshua Burke (Jones) is a retired detective who has enough evidence on the both of them to put them behind bars. Instead, he offers to maintain his silence if the crooks will go straight and do work at a youth center for delinquents. At first, the crooks are reluctant and unwilling (and so are the kids). As time goes by they gain the trust and admiration of the kids and they start to enjoy the job. All goes well until a past heist comes back to haunt them and they have to make up for it...or else...
Remakes
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.[1][2]
Cast
- Sidney Poitier - Manny Durrell
- Bill Cosby - Dave Anderson
- James Earl Jones - Joshua Burke
- Denise Nicholas - Lila French
- Hope Clarke - Sarah Thomas
- Tracy Reed - Nikki McLean
- Titos Vandis - Bruno
- Frances Foster - Bea Quitman
- Jason Evers - Ty Shorter
- Marc Lawrence - Louie
- Ja'net Dubois - Nellie Bond
- Sheryl Lee Ralph - Barbara Hanley
- Ernest Lee Thomas - John
- Estelle Evans - Alberta Ballard
Soundtrack
References
- ^ Reid, Shaheem (March 28, 2002). "Will Smith Secures Rights To Sidney Poitier/ Bill Cosby Flicks". VH1. Archived from the original on 11 January 2010. Retrieved January 17, 2010.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "Denzel Washington and Will Smith to Team Up in Uptown Saturday Night Remake?". Internet Movie Database. January 5, 2010. Retrieved January 17, 2010.