"Lieutenant Danny Bassett" (Alex Rocco) has just been handed an extremely volatile case involving some burglars who have stolen approximately $4 million in cash and jewels from a fund-raiser being hosted of a black Detroit congressman. There is no way he can win because if the suspects turn out to be black the mostly black population will think it's a cover up. If the perpetrators are white then the white population will think it's a whitewash to appease the black community. And obviously if he fails to find the culprits the public will want his head on a silver platter. To make things even worse a black police sergeant named "Jesse Williams" (Hari Rhodes) is also assigned to the case who Lt. Bassett believes will get all of the credit for apprehending the suspects instead of him. Anyway, for a "blaxploitation" film this movie wasn't too bad. While the film was a little rough around the edges I liked the selection of Detroit for the movie which was a refreshing change from the usual locations (New York, Los Angeles and Chicago). I also liked the addition of Vonetta McGee as the prostitute "Roby Harris". Again, this wasn't a bad blaxploitation film and I rate it as about average.
Detroit 9000
1973
Action / Crime / Drama
Plot summary
Police procedural movie set in Detroit during the early 1970s. At a fundraiser for a black Congressman held at a downtown Detroit hotel, a group of heavily armed masked men bursts on the scene demanding the fund-raised fund. The fund consisting of gold, jewels and cash is estimated to be around 400,000 dollars. The donors mostly are rich black supporters of Congressman Aubrey Hale Clayton who intends to run for state governorship. After the armed robbery, the criminals disappear in a white getaway van. The police arrives at the scene but no one has any description of the suspects. Some speculate that white men committed the crime in order to sabotage the election efforts of a black candidate but others suggest it was black-on-black crime. The Detroit Police Department is careful not to place blame on any racial or ethnic group in order to avoid controversy and criticism. The Department assigns two cops to the case. One cop is Lieutenant Danny Bassett who's white and the other cop is Sergeant Jesse Williams who's black. The two cops work well together and start getting some leads but their potential witnesses are killed before they can talk to the investigators. Eventually, the trail leads to a high-price black call girl, Roby Harris, and her pimp-lover Ferdy Sloan. Also, the police finds the mutilated body of a man in a trunk. The victim, a Native-American called Indian Tom, is a fence for stolen goods operating between Detroit and Canada. Clues start piling up and they lead the detectives and the police forces to a derelict church, which is surrounded by abandoned buildings, including an old railroad station. There, the final shootout between the robbers and the cops takes place.
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A Little Rough Around the Edges
A remarkable thriller, full of action and groovy music!
I saw this movie because of Quentin Tarantino's initiative to bring back classics like this to the video stores. This movie is just terrific. First of all the story is very well done and it is still original today. This is remarkable considering that this movie is 26 years old! The actors might be a little weak at times but the cool dialogs and the raw action scenes are the best ones I've ever seen. There aint no special effects here but it still is pretty spectacular. Of course, this movie is not an Hollywood super production but it still is an excellent movie that one should see at least once. The music is also fantastic, seeing those guys shoot each others and thoses cars explode with some 70's era funk music is just too entertaining.
I recommend this movie to any action or thriller movie fans. Tarantino fans might also be surprised..this movie obviously influenced Tarantino a lot. See for yourself.
Fond, fond memories of Detroit 9000
I would leave college early everyday just to find what Detroit street they would be filming at that particular day. It was an exciting time seeing such local personalities as Dick Purtan, Woody Willis, Laura Lee, Mike Lucci of the Detroit Lions, John Nichols, and the one and only Martha Jean "The Queen" Steinberg. This was a great time for me and for the city of Detroit. I have a copy of this film and watch it whenever I can. A must see movie for all Detroiters. A favorite of Quinton Tarrentino.