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Together Brothers (1974)
Directed by William A. Graham
Written by Jack DeWitt and Joe Greene
Produced and Distributed by 20th Century Fox
www.foxmovies.com
94 minutes
On the surface, Together Brothers seems to be one of the many films of the blaxploitation genre to be forgotten by mass audiences. Written by Jack DeWitt and Joe Green, directed by William A. Graham (who had directed one previous blaxploitation film, Honky, in 1971), and featuring the only cinematic soundtrack ever composed by Barry White, the film's release was overshadowed by that of other blaxploitation pictures also released that year, such as The Education of Sonny Carson (1974), Foxy Brown (1974), and Sugar Hill (1974). However, Together Brothers represents an interesting entry in the genre, primarily because it subverts, as well as participates in, some of blaxploitation's attitudes toward women, homosexuals, and white society. The film also represents a shift from the normal locations and actors present in most of the period's films, while still utilizing the detective film genre and blaxploitation's revision of what that genre entails.
The film opens with Mr. Kool (Ed Bernard) watching a house being demolished as a group of locals look on. Kool is a police officer who walks a beat, restoring peace and order to the impoverished areas of Galveston, Texas. He is also a mentor to several young boys in the community, including Mau Mau (Kenneth Bell), A.P. (Nelson Sims), Monk (Owen Pace), Gri Gri (Kim Dorsey), and their leader, H. J. (Ahmad Nurradin). Later in the evening, H.J.'s younger brother Tommy (Anthony Wilson) witnesses a masked figure brutally murder Mr. Kool. Tommy is rendered mute from the shock, and H.J. and...