Mean Johnny Barrows (1976)
- 1976
- ·R
- ·90 min
Johnny Barrows, a G.
I, is dishonorably discharged from the army after striking his commanding officer.
When he returns home, he is mugged and thrown in jail.
Down on his luck and with no money, he gets a job at a gas station run by a racist jerk.
After a while, he beats him up and is thrown in jail again.
Shortly after, a mobster hires him as a mafia hit man because of his military training and he now gets caught in the middle of a rival gang war between two families.
- Actors
- Anthony Caruso·Fred Williamson·Roddy McDowall·Stuart Whitman
- Directed by
- Fred Williamson
- Genre
- Action·Crime·Drama
- Language
- English·Italian
- Country
- USA
- Director
- Fred Williamson
This was a film that encouraged black people to stay out of the military in the closing statements.Johnny Barrows (Fred Williamson) was 2 years all-state running back and earned a silver star in the military.
Fred Williamson directs himself for the first time in Mean Johnny Barrows, a mercifully brief actioner which has a far better cast than it deserves. The plus points include the terrific soul-funk soundtrack (even if it is poured a little too thoughtlessly over the on-screen events), a memorable cameo appearance from Elliot Gould, and a handful of decently handled action sequences.
Either I have been misinterpreting and misusing the word "mean" throughout my entire life, or this movie's title is completely misleading. Fred Williamson's title character, Johnny Barrows, is about everything but mean in this movie.
