Christopher St. John is best known for his role as a radical in the original 'Shaft,' but 'Top of the Heap' showed his fearless filmmaking . Why you should know his work.
The spotlight comes none too soon for St. John, an actor-director who — like so many Black filmmakers before and since — found his artistic road run out all too quickly.Despite some positive reviews, and a slot at the 1972 Berlin International Film Festival alongside works by Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Pier Paolo Pasolini, “Top of the Heap” was lumped in with a wave of blaxploitation movies, without attaining the same cult status as “Superfly” or “Across 110th Street.” St.
Like hundreds of other aspiring actors, he headed to New York, breaking away from his family of seven siblings, an overworked mother and a father who died young. His path from the stage to “Top of the Heap” in the 1960s and ’70s was not unheard of in the thriving Black theater scene. Van Peebles and Ivan Dixon , to name just two, also built theater careers in addition to directing feature films.
His personal breakthrough came when he landed a role in “No Place to Be Somebody,” Charles Gordone’s provocative Broadway play about an African American bar ownerand a surrounding ensemble of characters. Based on Gordone’s memories of working in a Greenwich Village bar, the play starred Nathan George and went on to win the Pulitzer Prize. St. John, who initially played a supporting part, took on the lead role when George moved on to Hollywood.
But first came “Shaft,” St. John’s big break as a film actor, for better or worse. As he remembers it, his agent called him to audition for the role of Shaft.Arriving at the audition, he found he was up for another part, Buford, the Harlem militant who helps Shaft. He walked out. Yet if anyone was expecting cash-in blaxploitation, “Top of the Heap” was not it. The movie opens on a dirty lot where a raucous demonstration is in progress. Lattimer is one of several police officers called to break it up. Spattered with mud, Lattimer wonders what he’s even doing there. His first line: “Bulls—.”
St. John had two brothers who were cops. One was shot and killed by someone they had grown up with. He remembers putting on his brother’s uniform just to see what it was like. “I just went outside and started walking around,” St. John recalls. “And I noticed how people would relate to me.” Shooting this scene with his screen mother in “Top of the Heap,” he says, “I knelt down and I just started crying real, real, heavy tears.”The fantasy sequences were apparently too much for the film’s since-deceased producer, Joe Solomon, who ran the exploitation outfit Fanfare Film Productions. St. John remembers a big fight with Solomon just before shooting. The language in Lattimer’s speeches — their heartfelt rage — were toned down, according to St. John.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Spring welcomes the return of St. Patrick’s Day Parade in this N.J. city (PHOTOS)Spring welcomes the return of St. Patrick's Day Parade to South Amboy.
Read more »
‘There’s no labels here’: Therapy mixed with boxing to build key life skills in St. AugustineTwo local organizations have teamed up to create a therapeutic approach to boxing.
Read more »
Businesses welcome crowds to downtown San Antonio for St. Patrick’s Day weekendThere was a sea of people in downtown San Antonio and on the River Walk for St. Patrick’s Day weekend festivities Saturday. It’s a sight that hasn’t been seen in two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Read more »
St. Vincent-St. Mary takes OHSAA-record 10th state championship, 63-35 over GilmourNo team has dominated Ohio high school basketball like St. Vincent-St. Mary. The trophy presentation Sunday inside UD Arena at the University of Dayton confirmed it. Congrats to the Fighting Irish!
Read more »
Remains of fallen deputy transported from St. JosephThin blue line flags flew high in honor of Deputy Dom Calata late Saturday afternoon, as his body was transported from St. Joseph Hospital. FOX13
Read more »