Uptight

A film set in Cleveland. The narrative begins in 1968, just after the killing of Martin Luther King. There is tension in the Black neighbourhoods of the city; a group is preparing an armed action and the argument goes on: the peaceful road or the gun. Tank Williams is one of the group. He worked at a steel plant and lost the job; he drinks and has lost his order. He does not take part in the planned action and his friends leave him out. A policeman is killed during the action and Tank's friend is wanted. A reward is posted. Tank is without money and shut out. In the end he goes and tells them where his friend is. From there the film becomes a narrative of betrayal: the money is taken, the man is caught and Tank goes on walking about the neighbourhood. At first nobody knows. The source is a film made in the 1930s and the novel behind it; the story has been moved from Ireland to America. What sets it apart is the moment it was made: the events were still fresh on release and the narrative fell into the middle of an argument. Julian Mayfield plays Tank, with Raymond St. Jacques, Ruby Dee and Frank Silvera around him. Mayfield and Ruby Dee wrote the screenplay with the director. Jules Dassin directed. An important production for anyone interested in political cinema and America in the 1960s. Before you watch, know this: the film enters the argument of its period directly and leaves nobody a comfortable place.