Uptight – Imprint

Director: Jules Dassin
Screenplay by: Jules Dassin, Ruby Dee, Julian Mayfield
Based on a Novel by: Liam O’Flaherty
Starring: Julian Mayfield, Raymond St. Jacques, Ruby Dee, Frank Silvera, Roscoe Lee Browne, Janet MacLachlan
Country: USA
Running Time: 104 min
Year: 1968

Uptight was originally envisaged as a remake of John Ford’s 1935 film, The Informer, re-imagined to fit with the revolutionary movements of the late 60s. However, when the formerly blacklisted director Jules Dassin (a canny choice for a film about a ‘snitch’) was brought on board, he chose to specifically centre it around the black revolutionary movement.

To keep it authentic and to, subsequently, make it groundbreaking, on top of its nearly all-black cast, Dassin brought on black Civil Rights activists Ruby Dee and Julian Mayfield to co-write the script with him, on top of starring in the film. Dee and Mayfield, between them, were noted authors, playwrights and all-around inspirational legends (look them up).

During production, however, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, causing Dee and Mayfield to rewrite the script to centre around that moment, or more particularly its aftermath. The event also allowed Dassin and cinematographer Boris Kaufman to go out to Memphis and shoot genuine, powerfully moving footage of the funeral and the general mood of the city’s black neighbourhoods at the time.

Due to Paramount being worried about its incendiary political nature during this turbulent period (the FBI were even reportedly keeping a close eye on the production), they had tried to shut the film down whilst it was made but, somehow, Uptight was finished and made it to some theatres. With most chains too frightened to screen it though, the film was effectively buried.

If it had more of a release, it might have been better known as the first ‘blaxploitation’ movie, being as it came before Cotton Comes to Harlem, Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song and Shaft, but so small was its original release that it missed the boat on that genre classification. Plus it feels like a different beast to the ‘cooler’ titles that followed.

Uptight has since been rediscovered, thankfully, and touted as an important and powerful film that is developing a very strong reputation. To further bolster this, Imprint are releasing the film on Blu-ray. Intrigued, I got hold of a copy and my thoughts follow.

The film is set in Cleveland, Ohio, just days after the death of Martin Luther King Jr. The tragic event has led to a local revolutionary group becoming more radicalized. Johnny Wells (Max Julien) is part of this and plans to steal several crates of weapons and ammunition to arm their members.

Tank Williams (Julian Mayfield), a former militant but now an ageing alcoholic, is supposed to be part of Johnny’s operation. However, on the night of the heist, he’s too drunk and emotionally devastated after King’s death to join his friend.

The robbery ends up being botched though, as Johnny ends up killing a security guard and leaves some incriminating evidence on the scene. As such, the police immediately set their sights on the man.

Down and out, lost in an alcoholic haze and shunned by everyone he tries to reach out to, Tank finds himself giving up Johnny’s location to the authorities. This act gets him a handsome payout but throws him down a rabbit hole of guilt and betrayal that can’t end well.

There are many reasons why I should like Uptight. It’s beautifully shot by the great Boris Kaufman, it has an interesting setup and tackles powerful themes, for starters. However, it didn’t work for me on the whole. My main problem is simply how it’s presented. I don’t mean this in an aesthetic sense but in how heightened everything is. The performances, in particular, push things too far in my opinion, causing the drama to feel terribly overwrought. It also has a dialogue-heavy, often theatrical approach, with too many impassioned speeches for my tastes. Coming from a director probably most famous for a lengthy, wordless heist scene (in Rififi), I was disappointed with what I got here.

However, the theme of racial justice that’s being discussed is undeniably important, discussed with intelligence and still sadly relevant, so is deeply commendable, even if I felt the approach could have been subtler. I also appreciated how there are no clear ‘bad guys’ here. Everyone, from the activists who believe that violence is the only option, to those keen to maintain King’s peaceful approach, to the professional informant, and even the white police, to an extent, is shown to be somewhat sympathetic. They all have their flaws too, but you can understand where they’re coming from, at least.

The only totally unsympathetic characters are a bunch of rude and ignorant rich white people who show up at a funfair and try to poke fun at Tank. His retort is enjoyably sarcastic, though visualising his lengthy reply with shots of the group reflected in distorted mirrors is a little overdone. It doesn’t settle well amongst the rest of the film either, with it being surreally presented and out of character for Tank. Plus, it feels much more visually dated than anything else here.

As mentioned, the themes of the film are disturbingly still very relevant, with the question of whether or not peaceful protest has any impact and whether more aggressive means are necessary feeling particularly potent following the George Floyd protests and Black Lives Matter movement.

What I found particularly interesting in Uptight, is how it examines the divide that widened in the black community, following the assassination of King. This is a film that’s less about black vs white but rather how the tragedy of King’s death and other violent racist acts, such as the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, created a black vs black clash that served to set the Civil Rights movement backwards.

Whilst this is a talk-heavy, deeply political film, there are still a couple of chances for Dassin to show his skill at crafting an impressive set piece. Most notable is the sequence when the police ascend upon Johnny at his mother’s apartment. The showdown between the authorities and the block’s black residents is intensely portrayed with some powerful imagery, such as when a hail of bottles and glasses is thrown at the officers below.

Stylistically, Dassin’s noir roots show here too, with Kaufman’s stunning low-key lighting greatly adding to the moody tone. There are also a couple of interesting uses of POV shots and some creative camera movement.

Booker T and the M.G.’s provide an excellent, typically organ-heavy score that helps set the film firmly in the period it was made. The final cue is a particularly good piece of music, though it does seem slightly out of tune with the bleak mood of the moment.

Mayfield is the standout actor here, among the otherwise quite overbaked performances. He was primarily a stage actor, with only one minor film credit to his name prior to this and he never featured in any film roles following it. That’s a shame for film lovers like me because, whilst he still plays things big in places, he shows great depth and humanity in a role that could potentially be quite unlikeable. In essence, he’s the only villain in the film, due to his actions, but through the performance and the writing, we are able to understand why he does what he does.

So, whilst the approach wasn’t for me, Uptight is undoubtedly important and loaded with potent discourse that still strikes a chord today. Perhaps given a rewatch, where I would be expecting the theatrical leanings of the film and might accept its impassioned delivery, I would rate it higher but, as it stands, I felt a little let down. Others will likely disagree though and I wouldn’t argue against them. I’d say, give it a watch and make up your own mind.

Film:

Uptight is out now on Blu-Ray in Australia, released by Via Vision as part of their Imprint Collection. It looks very nice, with wonderfully rich colours, a crisp image and very little damage. I spotted a faint line in portions of the last half of the film but this was barely noticeable, even on a projector screen. I’ve used screengrabs throughout this review to give you an idea of how it looks, though these have been compressed.

Disc/Package:

Where to watch Uptight