My first memory of Richard Roundtree was seeing him in the TV series Shaft sometime in 1974 on Granada TV here in the UK. I thought, even in this sanitised version (I knew of no other at that point), he was the coolest thing on TV. I then realised there were some paperback novels on…
Category: Shaft
Richard Roundtree dies aged 81
I woke up this morning to hear the very sad news of the passing of actor Richard Roundtree at the age of 81. Richard had recently suffered from pancreatic cancer, having survived breast cancer back in 1993. He will, of course, be forever remembered for his groundbreaking role as private detective John Shaft in Gordon…
50 years since Shaft debuted on TV – a missed opportunity
On Tuesday 9 October 1973, Shaft made its move from big to small screen with the broadcast of ‘The Executioners’ as part of the CBS New Tuesday Night Movie series. “Shaft on TV makes Barnaby Jones look like Eldridge Cleaver,” was the verdict of critic Cecil Smith of the Los Angeles Times after viewing the…
SHAFT IN AFRICA celebrates its 50th anniversary
50 years ago, on 20 June 1973 at 9 a.m., SHAFT IN AFRICA opened in New York at the Cinerama on Broadway and 47th Street, the 59th Street Twin #2 and the RKO 86th Street Twin #2 theatres. The first 300 patrons at the Cinerama also received a copy of The Four Tops’ single from…
Shaft’s Big Score! novelisation published 50 years ago today… but nearly wasn’t published at all
Ernest Tidyman’s novelisation of his screenplay for the film Shaft’s Big Score! was the third book in the series, with Shaft Among the Jews having been published in hardback six weeks earlier. Production of the film had run from January to April 1972Â and it was intended the paperback adaptation be published in May ahead…
Shaft Among the Jews published 50 years ago today
SHAFT AMONG THE JEWS by Ernest Tidyman was published in hardback in the US by Dial Press on 29 June 1972 and now celebrates its fiftieth anniversary. In the book, Shaft is hired by a group of Jewish diamond merchants to find out what is causing the destabilisation of their business. Morris Blackburn, an ambitious…
Shaft’s Big Score! turns Fifty
Fifty years ago, at 8 p.m. on 20 June 1972, SHAFT’S BIG SCORE!, the sequel to 1971’s ground-breaking SHAFT, received its Gala Benefit Premiere at New York’s Cinerama Theatre. The premiere was attended by members of the cast and crew, with Richard Roundtree also accompanied by his 103-year-old grandmother. The beneficiaries were the Studio Museum…
Criterion release of Shaft scheduled for June
Criterion has announced that Shaft will receive its Criterion Collection physical media release (Spine #1130) on 21 June. The title will be available in two forms – a 3-disc 4k and Blu-Ray combo and a 2-disc Blu-Ray set. The Special Features include:- New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack Alternate uncompressed stereo soundtrack remastered…
Shaft deserves a “boutique” blu-ray release
Having celebrated its 50th-anniversary last year I was disappointed that SHAFT did not get a celebratory collector’s edition Blu-ray release. With so-called “boutique” distributors such as Criterion, Indicator, BFI and Arrow pushing out high-quality releases of both classic and lesser-known titles with superb packaging, a host of extras and commemorative booklets, it is hard to…
The original Shaft movie celebrates its 50th Anniversary
Exactly fifty years ago today (on Wednesday 23 June 1971) SHAFT premiered in Detroit (the Palms Theatre). Reports originally promoted a dual premiere with Chicago (The Roosevelt Theatre), but that opening actually took place one week later on 30 June. The Roosevelt ran showings from 8:45am through to midnight and the film reportedly grossed $108,000…