Since former Cleveland Browns running back Jim Brown died, we’ve seen touching tributes to who he was as an athlete, as a Civil Rights icon, and as a Person. However, not much has been said in the last month about his film career. I am here to help balance out his career with a list of Jim Brown’s most memorable films.
Always prolific, Jim Brown harnessed his energy into movie-making after being forced out of football. Jim Brown would make 17 films in the eight years following his retirement. By the end of his acting career in the 2014 movie Draft Day, fittingly playing himself, Jim Brown had over 50 acting credits. A staple action hero, especially in B movies, Jim Brown fought everyone and everything in film, starting with Nazis and ending with Martians. This is a list of Jim Brown’s top 5 films.
Author’s Note: Many of these films are incredibly violent and dark. Viewer discretion is advised.
5. Black Gunn
Black Gunn is one of Jim Brown’s first forays into the Blaxploitation genre, a genre he would soon play a large part in.
The film stars Jim Brown as Gunn, a nightclub owner who gets caught up in a botched robbery orchestrated by Gunn’s brother against a Mafia Capo played by Martin Landau. An action-packed neo-noir, Black Gunn does a phenomenal job of showcasing Jim Brown as an action hero. The film would have a transcendent effect on Quentin Tarantino.
In his book Cinema Speculation, Tarantino described going to see the film as a kid and getting swept away in the whirlwind of violence and audience interaction. He idealized the energy from that magical night and injected it into every movie he made.
If being the genesis of Quentin Tarantino’s passion can’t sell someone on this movie then I don’t know what could.
4. Dark of the Sun
Dark of the Sun was directed by legendary cinematographer Jack Cardiff. The movie is set during the Congolese Civil War and Jack Cardiff tries to capture all of the ugly violence and human tragedies that happen at the forefront of war.
The film follows a mercenary company led by Rod Taylor and his second-in-command Jim Brown as they are sent to recover some diamonds for the government. All of the gruesomeness and gore that Cardiff includes in the film leads to a brutal grindhouse film that has picked up a cult following. Jim Brown aficionado, Quentin Tarantino, drew a lot of inspiration for Inglorious Basterds from Dark of the Sun.
Martin Scorsese is also a fan of the film, calling it one of his guilty pleasures
3. 100 Rifles
100 Rifles has the star power to demand a weekend viewing. Jim Brown even gets top billing over Raquel Welch and Burt Reynolds. Unfortunately, the movie is a stilted western, carried by Burt Reynold in brown face. What the movie lacks in acting, it makes up for it in action. Jim Brown, Raquel, and Burt do all of their own stunts, including a love scene between Jim Brown and Raquel Welch – one of the first interracial sex scenes in Hollywood. Overall 100 Rifles crosses many taboos as a somewhat subversive take on the Western genre.
The film follows Burt Reynolds, a bank robber who leads an Indigenous uprising in Mexico against a Spanish military base. Jim Brown plays a Sheriff sent to capture Reynolds, get the money, and bring him back to America for Justice. When Jim catches up to Reynolds he must make a decision on whether to bring Burt in or help him in his fight for freedom.
The clunkiness of the movie brings down what would be a great movie to an enjoyable one.
2. Tick, Tick, Tick
The busy Jim Brown had a problem four years after retiring from football. While getting offered films, he was typecasted as the muscle and not as a leading man. Always conscious of his persona, Jim Brown decided to star in Tick, Tick, Tick, a story of a newly elected Sheriff in a recently desegregated town. Jim Brown and fellow Dirty Dozen co-star, George Kennedy, the White outgoing Sheriff, compete to uphold the law in the racially tense town.
However, they’re forced to work together after the wealthiest man in the county gets arrested for manslaughter by Jim Brown, and the county erupts in revolt. While on the surface this plot appears as a typical action film, it’s actually a touching melodrama. Jim Brown isn’t an Action Hero in this film, in fact, he’s not even Jim Brown, he’s just a Sheriff.
The movie does a great job of showing off Jim Brown’s acting chops, this is Jim Brown at his most vulnerable. His performance helps produce a hidden gem about the beauty of American ideals in the aftermath of the post-Jim Crow South.
1. The Dirty Dozen
The Dirty Dozen isn’t just Jim Brown’s best movie, it’s one of the best action movies ever made. The Dirty Dozen follows a group of death row inmates sent on an impossible mission against the Nazis. The movie was the first of its kind, sparking a ton of imitations, most notably the DC comics’ Suicide Squad. In the film.
The movie is full of gore and violence, even considered gratuitous in its time. Jim Brown plays a large part in it. Jim Brown plays the muscle, and on a team full of convicts, he quickly gains his role in the hierarchy. Not only would Jim Brown’s role as Robert Jefferson define him for the rest of his acting career. His character would help define the archetype of muscle.
Jim Brown breathed life into a character with no beginning or end. As a result, his performance leaves a lasting impression on anyone who has seen the movie. The Dirty Dozen is required viewing for any fan of action movies.
Honorable Mentions
If you still can’t get enough of Jim Brown, here are five more films that star the football legend.
Three the Hard Way
This movie is a great introduction to Blaxploitation movies. Jim Brown uncovers a plot to kill all Black Americans and enlists legendary actor Fred Williamson and martial artist Jim Kelly. Together the three go on a warpath to stop the conspiracy—a non stop action packed film. The movie has a clunky pace and isn’t well made, but it’s still a great B movie.
I’m Gonna Git You Sucka
I’m Gonna Git You Sucka is a raw, affectionate parody movie by Keenan Wayans, who would later direct Scary Movie and White Chicks. The movie would launch Keenan into stardom as Fox would offer him a show that would become In Living Color. The movie stars Wayans as he builds a team of Black Heroes to help clean the streets of gold chains and the kingpin behind the product. Jim Brown co-stars as Slammer, one of the Black Heroes that face off against the kingpin. While it doesn’t have the star power as Threes the Hard Way, I’m Gonna Git You Sucka is a heartwarming parody that has aged well.
Fingers
Fingers is not a true Jim Brown movie. It is a movie with Jim Brown in it. Instead, Fingers is Harvey Keitel at his absolute darkest and most demented. Coming from Taxi Driver’s shadow, Fingers is a tormented psychosexual thriller. Keitel, a mob man and concert pianist, is going through a psychotic break. Jim Brown plays a romantic rival of Keitel, but is far from the main antagonist. Harvey Keitel’s acting in the movie is what gets this in the honorable mentions.
Ice Station Zebra
The movie was directed by legendary filmmaker John Sturges. An espionage thriller set in the arctic, the film moves at a glacier’s pace with a 2-hour and 20-minute runtime. Jim Brown stars as Captain Anders of the Marines. His mission is to secure a package in the arctic ocean before the Soviets can. However, the submarine they are on is sabotaged and the crew must find the double agent and complete the mission. The movie is based on real-life events.
The Split
The Split is an enjoyable heist movie pitting Jim Brown, as the robber, and against The Law, Gene Hackman. After Jim Brown and his team rob an entire football stadium, they must find a way to split the money. Tensions soon run high and the team fractures over racial fault lines as they claw for the money. The film is the first R-rated movie. Quincy Jones crafts a funky score for the thriller heist. It’s an enjoyable movie that puts Jim Brown in the limelight.
