Gordon's War

1973 film by Ossie Davis

August 9, 1973 (1973-08-09)

Running time

90 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishBudget$1.6 million^[1]Box office$1,250,000 (US/ Canada rentals)^[2]

Gordon's War is a 1973 action film written by Howard Friedlander and Ed Spielman, and directed by Ossie Davis. It stars Paul Winfield as Gordon Hudson.

Plot

A Vietnam veteran returns home to find drug dealers and addicts now rule his old neighborhood, and that even his own wife has fallen victim to drugs. Together with three of his buddies from Vietnam, he fights back.

Using tactics borrowed from war that involve them not using the cops, they find that the culprit to all of the trouble is a couple of white salesmen.

Cast

Paul Winfield as Gordon Hudson
Carl Lee as Bee Bishop
David Downing as Otis Russell
Tony King as Roy Green
Gilbert Lewis as Harry "Spanish Harry" Martinez
Carl Gordon as Luther "The Pimp"
Nathan Heard as "Big Pink"
Grace Jones as Mary
Jackie Page as Bedroom Girl
Chuck Bergansky as White Hitman
Adam Wade as Hustler
Hansford Rowe as Dog Salesman
Warren Taurien as "Goose"
Ralph Wilcox as Black Hitman
David Connell as Hotel Proprietor
Rochelle LeNoir as Gordon's Wife
Charles McGregor as Jim, Drug Dealer On Subway Station Platform (uncredited)

Soundtrack

The music heard throughout the film has become a well-respected album in its own right, performed by Badder Than Evil, Barbara Mason, New Birth and Sister Goose And The Ducklings.

The most of songs were composed and performed by Badder Than Evil, a funk / R&B project of Albert Sahley Elias (credited as Al Elias) and Angelo Badalamenti (credited as Andy Badale). Their track Hot Wheels (the chase) has been sampled by scores of artists including Public Enemy, Coldcut and Blade.

Reception

The New York Times called it an inconclusive film, one that had a "format and substance—a black theme dramatized, for practical, constructive purposes—remain exceeded by its goal."^[3] Jacob Knight of Birth.Movies.Death called it "one of the most valuable works to come out of '70s Blaxploitation."^[4]

References

^ Solomon, Aubrey. Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History (The Scarecrow Filmmakers Series). Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1989. ISBN 978-0-8108-4244-1. p257
^ "Big Rental Films of 1973", Variety, 9 January 1974 p 60
^ "'Gordon's War' Views Drug Scene". The New York Times. 1973-08-10. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-02-03.
^ "The Savage Stack - GORDon's WAR (1973)". 23 April 2018.