If you thought Philadelphia, The 12 Monkeys and Tradin' Places were the only films other than The Philadelphia Experiment set in Philly, you're dead wrong.
When it comes to grittyness, this early '70s film, which appears to be shot mostly in West Philly puts NYC to shame.... in terms of character and story development its also definitely *not* your typical blaxploitation film - - and this becomes clear the moment you realize that its actually an adaptation of a novel by Iceberg Slim, a writer who along with Donald Goines wrote about urban street life and told tales of hustlers and pimps long long before Shaft and Superfly. In fact, it was probably the realism of their books most likely that fueled the fantasy of that film genre....
The story is about the final days of a relationship between an aging hustler named Blue and his young counterpart/protege known as "White Folks" so named because he can pass for white, a bend which made their game all the more strong.
While hated by most black folks because he looks like a white man, he is understood and protected by Blue - - and together their hustle and schemes seem almost righteous, because through Folks, Blue is able to engage in confidence games praying on greedy white people who believe they are about to get rich by exploiting black folk.
Far from being jive talking hustlers, both are articulate and intelligent and have learned well from one another, making their game even stronger, til one day they hustle the wrong person putting a dirty cop and the mob on their tale, in the middle of the biggest hustle of their lifetime.
Suddenly, its a race against time and the questions whether its time to get out of town or get out of the game.
Great film, great locations, well acted, and a nice bluesy soundtrack.
If you like this film, check out the novel by Slim, as well "Across 110th Street"
Run Time 1hr 34 min