What brought me to watching Trouble Man (1972) I’m sure is the same thing that draws in a lot of people and possibly has had more cultural impact than the film itself: Marvin Gaye’s soundtrack. The song ‘Trouble Man’ is a brilliant piece of music, and much like the ‘Theme To Shaft,’ it smoothly and soulfully introduces the title character and the film’s coolness. Cool is verbalised as a strong quality to have in Trouble Man, as in keeping one’s “cool”, which Mr. T (Robert Hooks) is the master of. Watching him jump into his car, drive down the Los Angeles freeways, and eventually lay out a new suit on his bed reminded me of American Gigolo, and it’s a similar cocktail of music, fashion and lifestyle, just a decade earlier. T is a fixer, a private detective and ‘guardian of the streets’ who keeps an office in a Pool Hall where he’s not defending his title as a legendary pool player. I loved this set up and the establishment of the world T moves through. There’s a pulp dimension to this LA-based post-Shaft blaxploitation produced by 20th Century Fox and directed by Hogan’s Heroes actor, Ivan Dixon. An actor I was not familiar with and was surprised he didn’t have the same type of career as Fred Williamson, Robert Hooks is very commanding and rock solid as the ‘Trouble Man,’ who is asked to help put a stop to thieves robbing the craps games organised by Chalky Price (Paul Winfield) and Pete Cockrell (Ralph Waite). Though all is not what it appears, and T finds himself boxed into a frame, adding a neo-noir quality to someone who doesn’t mind breaking the law, provided its for the right reasons. Winfield was also a stand-out, a completely underrated actor and screen presence, who gives you what you want, particularly when T starts to turn the tables and Chalky’s assuredness crumbles. A very masculine movie without much for the women characters to do but be sweet-talked by T, I still found it entertaining, particularly the fusion of Gaye’s music with Hooks’ presence, such as when he stalks around a guarded apartment complex to the slowly building instrumental, ‘T Stands For Trouble’. Streamed on the Criterion Channel. Recommended.
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