© 2026 The Couch Critic
Status
Released
Release
1975
Runtime
1h 35m
"He Had the Lightest Touch in a Heavy Town."
The unintentional shooting by police of a star basketball player has profound personal, political and community repercussions in this acclaimed adaptation of the novel Hog Butcher by Ronald Fair. This was one of the more thoughtful urban dramas produced at the height of the "blaxploitation" craze. Also released under the title Hit the Open Man, it features the screen debut of Laurence Fishburne, who was barely a teenager at the time.
32 Cast Members
Moses Gunn
Benjamin Blackwell
Rosalind Cash
Sarah Robinson
Bernie Casey
Officer Larry Atkins
Madge Sinclair
Leona Hamilton
Laurence Fishburne
Wilford Robinson
Thalmus Rasulala
Charlie
Antonio Fargas
One-Eye
Logan Ramsey
Deputy Coroner
Vince Martorano
Officer John Golich
Charles Lampkin
Fred Jenkins
Stefan Gierasch
Sgt. Danaher
Stack Pierce
Sam Hamilton
Tierre Turner
Earl Carter
Jamaal Wilkes
Nathaniel 'Cornbread' Hamilton
Erik Kilpatrick
Ace
Bill Henderson
Watkins
Randy Martin
Shifty
Hal Baylor
Mr. Wilson
J. Jay Saunders
Mr. Johnson
Don Newsome
Jack
