Fox Style (Clyde Houston, 1973)

Black Arthur J. "A. J." Fox (Black Gunn's Chuck Daniel) and his white partner and childhood friend Pat Wolf (Newell Alexander in his screen debut, before going on to work predominantly in TV guest spots) are running a struggling oil company that finally strikes crude. Years later, A. J. and Pat's company has expanded greatly, and A. J. also runs both a successful nightclub and a magazine. When A. J. chases coke dealer Snuffy (Across 110th Street's Arnold Williams) out of the club, he tries unsuccessfully to set the place on fire. Soon after, A. J. receives a phone call from his mother Hattie (The Mack's Juanita Moore). Hattie wants A. J. to come back to his hometown of Seminole City, Florida to prevent the town's overalls factory, the inhabitants' only source of income, from being bought and torn down by banker T. H. Neely (The Giant Gila Monster's Howard P. Ware). At his Mama's home, A. J. meets his family members, college graduate Cindy McDougal (Lady Sings the Blues' Denise Denise), and freeloading preacher Reverend Rambo (Hank Rolike, Apollo Creed's cornerman in the first two Rockys). Asked by A. J. why she dislikes Pat, who she raised after his birth mother's death, Hattie says he taught her real son to drink and whore and be "more white." Touring the factory, which to put it mildly has seen better days, A. J. concludes Neely wants it for the adjacent swamp. Hattie accuses A. J. of not thinking of the people who will lose their jobs if the factory gets shut down. Although the townsfolk led by A. J.'s Uncle Henry (Theodore Mitchell), have gathered together money in an attempt to win the auction for the land, A. J. realizes they don't have enough, and puts up his own money, winning the auction. Exploring the swamp, A. J. and Cindy discover what appears to be natural gas, but Pat reveals it is merely worthless swamp gas. A. J. sells the land back to Neely without telling him about the gas' true nature. Soon after, he returns to New York, where club employee Pickett (stuntman Rich Washington) is murdered by Snuffy, whom A. J. helps bring to justice. Afterwards, A. J. frequently calls home to help with the factory's first ladies' fashion show, to the chagrin of his girlfriend Bonnie Blair (Jovita Bush, who also played a character named Bonnie in the same year's The Cheerleaders). Later, A. J. returns to Seminole City for the factory's ladies' fashion show, with Cindy, Bonnie, and a hostess from the club as models. The money-seeking Reverend Rambo conspires with a jealous Cindy to attempt to ruin the factory.

Speaking as a 30-year-old middle class white boy, I love the blaxploitation genre. The action, the fashions, the music; it all has tremendous appeal for me. And I've seen many different examples of the genre, from the great (Super Fly, Coffy) to the good (I don't think Shaft is quite as strong as its reputation would suggest) to the downright garbage (Blackenstein, The Guy from Harlem). Fox Style (later reissued under the misleading title Fox Style Killer) is firmly in the second category. Clyde Houston does surprisingly well with his one and only directorial and co-screenwriting effort, though he was also an assistant director and production manager on what some have called the first blaxploitation film, Melvin Van Peebles' Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, as well as a production assistant on The Delinquents star Tom Laughlin's most famous film, Billy Jack. That being said, the film is more of a drama than many of the more dynamic films of the genre, although A. J. tracking down Snuffy is a noteworthy exception. However, it does that drama very well, showing how in his success A. J. has lost touch with his roots and his racial identity. It's disappointing this was Daniel's only turn as a leading man, because he does well with the role. Moore is excellent, playing a disappointed mother as she did in The Mack. Rolike plays the role of a seedy preacher with fitting bombast. Alexander is good but underused as Pat, while Denise serves well as the scorned love interest. The only truly weak actor in the bunch is Bush, whose emotive ability is virtually nil, perhaps explaining why she only appeared in a total of four films. I have to mention, because it's kind of hilarious, the fact that cinematographer William Roper's only other credit is doing lighting for Benji!  The music by Don Zimmers is quite good and very much of the genre, and of course there's a title theme, sung by the original Hairspray's Barbara Lynn Ozen. Ironically, the film begins with a country song played nearly in its entirety on a car radio, a far cry from the funkier music that follows. Those expecting cinema a la Fred Williamson or Pam Grier's genre entries may be disappointed, but those like myself who believe a movie's story is just as important as all the visuals will find a lot to like.