Fred Williamson’s appeal is the certainty of his tough men: the cigar, the physical confidence, the expectation of winning. We like that dependable presence, though it can leave a film with little room to surprise us.
Fi1m perspective
The cigar is part of the performance: Williamson’s tough men expect to win, and he makes that expectation look reasonable. We value the physical assurance, though it can become monotonous when a film asks nothing else of him. His early appearance as Dr Oliver Jones in Robert Altman’s MASH* (1970) gives his comic timing a place in a busy ensemble. We laughed, but the surgeons’ bullying made some of that laughter uncomfortable. It is worth looking at this early work before assuming that the action films tell us everything he could do.
Leading roles in Hammer (1972) and Black Caesar (1973) made that toughness his main business. In the latter, he played gangster Tommy Gibbs. The self-reliant black action lead became his familiar screen persona, with the physical presence to make it persuasive. The attraction is straightforward: he looks capable of dealing with trouble without waiting for permission. The limitation is that such certainty can make one performance feel much like another, particularly when the writing offers little beyond the next confrontation.
In 1974 he established Po’ Boy Productions to write, produce, direct and star in his own action films. That helps explain why the persona stayed so consistent: he could keep making work built around it. Italian productions and straight-to-video films became part of the subsequent career, alongside repeated collaborations with Jim Brown. We admire the persistence, and would still like to see that confidence unsettled more often.
Robert Rodriguez’s From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) gives him a supporting role as Frost. It is a useful place for such a recognisable screen personality, without requiring Williamson to carry every change of tone. George Clooney provides much of the film’s authority, and Rodriguez makes the violence inventive, but the hostage-taking holds our attention more firmly than the second half. Williamson is part of the appeal rather than a reason to overlook the faults of this grubby crime-and-horror mixture. Try it for the ensemble, with some patience for the excesses.
Biography
Fred Williamson is an American actor and former professional American football player. Born on 5 March 1938 in Gary, Indiana, he played college football at Northwestern University before a career in the AFL and NFL, primarily as a defensive back with the Oakland Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs.
After retiring from football in 1970, Williamson became an actor. He appeared as Frost in From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) and is known for roles in blaxploitation films of the 1970s such as Black Caesar (1973), as well as later work in films including The Inglorious Bastards (1978) and television series such as MASH (1970) and Starsky & Hutch* (2004). He has also worked as a director, producer and writer.
