A Piece of the Action

"A delightfully delicious dilemma!"

1977 2h 15m EN

😐

5.8

MID

★5.8TMDB · 23

ComedyCrime

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

How does retired cop Joshua Burke (James Earl Jones) get two career criminals, Manny Durrell (Sidney Poitier) and Dave Anderson (Bill Cosby), to follow the straight and narrow? Con them into helping juvenile delinquents turn over a new leaf. But how? Burke has never been able to nail the duo, but he uses what he knows of their seedy past to blackmail them into volunteering.

“A delightfully delicious dilemma!”

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Cast

Sidney Poitier
Manny Durrell
Bill Cosby
Dave Anderson
James Earl Jones
Joshua Burke
Denise Nicholas
Lila French
Hope Clarke
Sarah Thomas
Tracy Reed
Nikki McLean
Ja'net DuBois
Nellie Bond
Sheryl Lee Ralph
Barbara Hanley

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Sidney Poitier
Writers: Charles Blackwell, Timothy March
Languages: English, Spanish
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

49 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Spanish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Sidney Poitier, shot by Donald M. Morgan. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Curtis Mayfield. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Pembroke J. Herring shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Sidney Poitier and Bill Cosby and James Earl Jones carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "A delightfully delicious dilemma!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0076543 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Sidney Poitier directs. Donald M. Morgan behind the camera. Curtis Mayfield scores. Pembroke J. Herring cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Spanish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

149 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Spanish.
3Directed by Sidney Poitier, shot by Donald M. Morgan. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Curtis Mayfield. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Pembroke J. Herring shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Sidney Poitier and Bill Cosby and James Earl Jones carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "A delightfully delicious dilemma!".
8IMDB entry: tt0076543 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 23 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.