Shaft poster

1971·100 min·Released

Shaft

“The mob wanted Harlem back. They got Shaft...up to here.”

Crime
Thriller
Drama
Action

Cool Black private eye John Shaft is hired by a crime lord to find and retrieve his kidnapped daughter.

6.4(423 votes)

Popularity2

Videos

Shaft • 1971 • Theatrical Trailer

Cast & Crew

Richard Roundtree

Richard Roundtree

John Shaft

Moses Gunn

Moses Gunn

Bumpy Jonas

Charles Cioffi

Charles Cioffi

Vic Androzzi

Christopher St. John

Christopher St. John

Ben Buford

Gwenn Mitchell

Gwenn Mitchell

Ellie Moore

Lawrence Pressman

Lawrence Pressman

Sergeant Tom Hannon

Victor Arnold

Victor Arnold

Charlie

Sherri Brewer

Sherri Brewer

Marcy

Rex Robbins

Rex Robbins

Rollie

Camille Yarbrough

Camille Yarbrough

Dina Greene

Margaret Warncke

Margaret Warncke

Linda

Joseph Leon

Joseph Leon

Byron Leibowitz

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JPV852

Written on 6/10/2022

Richard Roundtree was great and Shaft as a character was absolutely amazing, everything else from the plot which was thin and performances by the supporting cast was a bit iffy. The pacing was also pretty slow and despite only being 100 minutes, felt a bit longer. Still, a good opening into the franchise. **3.5/5**

CinemaSerf

Written on 9/1/2025

Richard Rowntree exudes loads of charisma here as he takes on the role of the shrewd Harlem private investigator “Shaft” who finds himself embroiled in some fairly brutal New York politics. He’s drafted in by local gangster “Bumpy” (Moses Gunn) when this man’s daughter is kidnapped. He doesn’t know by whom or why - there are no ransom demands nor many breadcrumbs to follow, but there are plenty of suspects. Initially he suspects that it might be the “Black Power” movement but after some plausible, if double-edged, tip-offs begins to suspect that some other hustlers are planning on bumping off his employer and muscling in on the lucrative rackets of the city. “Shaft” knows full well that the truth is being drip-fed to him, and that both “Bumpy” and police officer “Androzzi” (Charles Cioffi) and trying to manipulate him as he tries to track down “Marcy” (Sherri Brewer). It’s a very slick and classy production, this, with Rowntree navigating the racial tensions of his city deftly and engagingly. His “Shaft” is quite a likeable rogue, and though many of the scenarios do tax even the most vivid of imaginations, he manages to more subtly and skilfully illustrate just how unintegrated this supposedly integrated society actually was. There’s a bit of violence and some sex, but they are mostly implied as the story gathers pace in an unforgiving community where the goodies and baddies do not follow all of the expected stereotypical assumptions. Isaac Hayes’s theme complements the whole look and feel of the early 1970s with big cars, big shoes, big hair and big opportunities and though it has dated, it’s still builds on a solid story that delivers well.

Media

Shaft • 1971 • Theatrical Trailer

Shaft • 1971 • Theatrical Trailer