10 Things You Didn’t Know About Original Gangstas

In the past I have described 1996’s Original Gangstas as the Blaxploitation version of The Expendables and if you’ve ever seen the movie you know it is a fitting description. Original Gangstas brought together some of the biggest stars of the Blaxploitation era including Fred Williamson (Hammer), Jim Brown (Slaughter), Pam Grier (Friday Foster), Ron O’Neal (Superfly) and Richard Roundtree (Shaft).

It had been a few years since I watched, which was the perfect excuse to crack open Kino Lorber’s Blu-ray release from a few years back which featured a commentary track with Director Larry Cohen, moderated by Elijah Drenner. The late Larry Cohen regaled Elijah and the listening audience with one great behind the scenes story after another. Now I’ll share some of the knowledge I acquired listening to Mr. Cohen as I present…

10 Things You Didn’t Know About Original Gangstas…

1. Larry Cohen, who directed Fred Williamson in Black Caesar and Hell Up in Harlem, believed that Fred should have hired a black director for Original Gangstas. But producer and star of the film, Fred Williamson was persistent and eventually Larry agreed because he honestly did not think that Williamson would be able to get the financing to make the project a reality.

2. The movie was shot entirely in Gary, Indiana (home of Fred Williamson’s mother) and the city could not have been more cooperative, including allowing the production to blow up a block of abandoned houses.

3. The weather in Gary, Indiana was not as cooperative. The movie was shot in the summer months and the summer heat was unbearable with temperatures hitting triple digits. Paul Winfield (who played Reverend Dorsey) had medical complications due to the heat and Isabel Sanford (who played Gracie Bookman, the mother of Fred Williamson’s character) collapsed on set. These incidents forced the production to invest in some air conditioning units.

4. Ironically, the original title of the movie was Hot City. It was Larry Cohen who pitched the Original Gangstas name.

5. While the temperature rose while Original Gangstas was in town, the crime rate in Gary, Indiana dropped drastically. This was partially due to the fact that 100 actual gang members were cast in the movie. Larry Cohen had a great rapport with the gang members and when they learned that Larry was a fan of Famous Amos Chocolate Chip cookies, the gang members would bring him his favorite cookies.

6. The gang members weren’t the only locals cast as extras for the movie. Several Gary, Indiana citizens got their 15 minutes of fame in Original Gangstas. All the casting for the movie was done by Fred Williamson, but Larry Cohen did state he did not disagree with a single casting choice by Williamson.

7. Quentin Tarantino credits Pam Grier’s performance in Original Gangstas for his decision to cast her in his 1997 film, Jackie Brown.

8. Larry Cohen had never worked with Pam Grier before Original Gangstas, but he recalled the first time he met her in the early 70s when she was working as the switchboard operator at American International Pictures, AIP for those in the know.

9. Unbeknownst to Larry Cohen, Jim Brown had to leave the production early due to a prior commitment. The problem was, since Cohen did not know about this… he still had the big action finale to shoot, a finale that Jim Brown was a key player in. Cohen was able to convince Jim Brown to fly back for one day (on a private jet paid for by Fred Williamson), to get the remaining shots needed.

10. The big action finale between the Original Gangstas (led by Fred Williamson and Jim Brown) against the New School Gangstas features a shot of a police car blowing up. That footage was actually borrowed from the opening scene in another Orion picture, 1990’s RoboCop 2.