Five on the Black Hand Side
| Five on the Black Hand Side | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Oscar Williams |
| Written by | Charlie L. Russell |
| Produced by | Brock Peters Michael Tolan |
| Starring | Clarice Taylor Leonard Jackson Virginia Capers Glynn Turman Bonnie Banfield D'Urville Martin |
| Cinematography | Gene Polito |
| Edited by | Michael Economou |
| Music by | H. B. Barnum |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
Release date |
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Running time | 96 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $200,000 |
| Box office | $1,367,000 (US/Canada rentals) |
Five on the Black Hand Side is a 1973 African-American comedy film based on the 1969 play of the same name by Charlie L. Russell. It was shot in Downtown Los Angeles, California. Leonard Jackson appeared as John Henry Brooks. He was cast in Steven Spielberg's The Color Purple fifteen years later.
Five on the Black Hand Side was conceived as "an antidote" to the "blaxploitation" films of the era. The film's tagline was: "You've been coffy-tized, blacula-rized and super-flied – but now you're gonna be glorified, unified and filled-with-pride... when you see Five on the Black Hand Side."