When news of renowned film star Chadwick Boseman’s sudden August 2020 passing reached my ears, I was sadly reminded of another young talented up-and-coming African-American actor taken from us way too soon: Steve James. Before dying from cancer at 41 (similar to Boseman), James had an impressive resume of memorable film and television work throughout the 1980s. He boasted a powerful physique supported by a fantastic larger-than-life charisma. And he would attempt to prove his versatility as an actor by occasionally branching away from action cinema. While he would not experience the same critical and commercial acclaim Boseman enjoyed, Steve James left behind a unique artistic legacy mostly appreciated these days by cult film aficionados (like yours truly). James was professionally active at a time when too many black actors were unfairly relegated to diminished capacities - as far as mainstream Hollywood was concerned - around the mid-‘70s up to the late 80s. The Blaxploitation genre was in popular demand, but mainly in urban American centers and drive-in theaters, and it had come and gone by the latter part of the 70s. When the 80s rolled around, black actors just weren’t offered too many great opportunities. They would either be routinely typecast as stereotypical “street-based” urban characters in B-budget pictures, or play second fiddle to a headlining Caucasian actor. Basically, if your name wasn’t Eddie Murphy, these were your career options. Steve James would fall into this same trap, and it would take several years (and several cheesy movies) until audiences would take genuine notice of his presence. Hence in this essay, I will pay homage to James’ most notable film works - including a rare few pictures in which he had top-billing - in hopes of reintroducing this criminally-underated action star to the current movie-going world The Exterminator (1980) James initially made his bones in the movie biz working as a stunt performer in notable urban-based Hollywood pictures such as The Wanderers, Sidney Lumet’s The Wiz, and the 1979 cult action classic The Warriors (where he was practically unrecognizable as one of the colorful, ball bat-wielding Baseball Furies). His acting debut came in the form of the 1980 vigilante trash masterpiece, The Exterminator, portraying “Michael”, the best friend and fellow Vietnam veteran to the titular hero (Robert Ginty). Michael finds himself targeted and attacked by a vicious street gang, creating the catalyst for the Exterminator’s blood-soaked, bullet-ridden quest for vengeance. Thus began his years-long job trend of portraying black sidekicks or lovable buddies to white protagonists. American Ninja (1985 to 1989) In 1985, James would launch his most famous acting work with the American Ninja franchise, produced by notorious campy film company Cannon Films. This franchise is an example of pure over-the-top 80s movie cheese: while stationed in the Philippines, Joe Armstrong (Michael Dudikoff), a white US Army special forces soldier with a checkered past, discovers a sinister world domination conspiracy spearheaded (literally and figuratively) by an evil ninja army. Enter James as Curtis Jackson, another soldier who at first antagonizes Armstrong and sees him as an unwanted outsider in their station, only to be bested in a friendly fisticuffs exhibition against our primary hero. What follows is your standard buddy movie formula dashed with martial arts, as Armstrong & Jackson become trusted friends and unite to become the toughest ninja-fighting team this side of Peckinpah’s Killer Elite. Honestly, I was never a huge fan of American Ninja. It’s not due to its incredibly cheesy plot or silly 80s heroics; I enjoy that fluff as much as the next guy. But my sole issue lies against its primary star, Michael Dudikoff. I won’t deny that Dudikoff had matinee idol good looks back in his day. Yet, he had the charisma of a doorknob. He was a blandly handsome, stiff piece of eye candy who failed to spark my interest. Dudikoff’s costar, Steve James, on the other hand, is American Ninja’s truest draw, or at least should have been. James lit up the screen with his powerful he-man frame (complete with his 80s-style warrior bandana wrapped around his forehead), gracefully-killer martial arts moves, and amazing natural machismo. No shuriken-throwing ninja was safe when big bad Curtis Jackson wrapped his huge mitts around their neck! There is a crazy action sequence in American Ninja 2 on a beach where Jackson single-handedly destroys katana sword-wielding ninjas armed with nothing but a wooden bow stick and his bare hands, clad only in red swim trunks! Not since the volleyball tournament in Top Gun has there been a more gratuitous display of buff shirtless macho beach action! In between the Ninja flicks, Steve James would have another collaboration with Michael Dudikoff (both were apparently pals in real life) in the survivalist revenge picture Avenging Force, followed by more minor sidekick work opposite action legend Chuck Norris in The Delta Force and Hero and the Terror. On the surface, Steve James as Jackson may have looked like nothing more than just a token black sidekick. But he was no mere martial arts Roger Murtaugh; with his larger-than-life performance, James was every bit the star of American Ninja as Dudikoff was, despite his co-starring billing. Riverbend (1989) As the 80s began to wind down, opportunity had knocked for Steve James as he got to headline his own films. The first was Riverbend, a B-budgeted racially-charged historical thriller from 1989 set in the volatile 1960s American South. Technically-speaking, Riverbend is a mediocre picture rife with issues. Ever wonder what Mississippi Burning would look like if Menahem Golan & Yoram Globus produced it? Riverbend would’ve been it. The obvious low budget, the inappropriately catchy 80s-flavored soundtrack, and the supporting cast’s cookie-cutter performances all hinder the film’s chances of being taken seriously. White villains that were so cartoonishly racist, they couldn’t stop using saying the “N”-word or “boy” at the end of damn near every sentence. You get the idea. This wasn’t a Spike Lee joint by any stretch. At the very least, Riverbend gave James a shot at playing the leading man himself. He contributed his strongest, most commanding performance yet as Major Samuel Quentin, the heroic Vietnam Veteran who leads the segregated African-American populace of Civil Rights-era Riverbend, GA against their racist white oppressors. Major Quentin recruits the town’s young black males and turns them into warriors in order to fight for their basic human rights. James as Major Quentin commands his ragtag army like a black Lee Marvin from The Dirty Dozen. He conveys quiet confidence and power that will rouse spirits from not just African-American audiences, but anyone against racial oppression. In essence, Riverbend tries to repackage a Civil Rights-era thriller with Rambo-style heroics. Ultimately, it’s fluff, but at least it provided proof that Steve James did have the right stuff for true movie stardom. Street Hunter (1990) James began the next decade with a B-budget action fest not unlike The Exterminator, except only this time, he gets to play the titular hero. In 1990’s Street Hunter, James is the aptly-named Logan Blade, a heavily-armed bounty hunter who prowls the Big Apple for criminals to catch while dressed in a long leather trench coat and a Western-style fedora hat. Blade’s mission: to capture or kill psychotic ex-commando turned gang leader Colonel Walsh (cult icon Reb Brown). Walsh intends to turn the already-mean streets of New York into his own private shooting gallery, and naturally, only Logan Blade has the stones to face him. What better way is there to really describe Street Hunter, other than perhaps, “crap-tacular”? Even the picture’s title implies that it ain’t high art. With a virtually non-extistent plot, direct-to-video film production, and cliché-ridden screenplay topped with average (at best) performances, Street Hunter is virtually just one big action sequence after another. It truly is a study in no-brainer entertainment. It should also be of note that Steve James himself had written the screenplay behind Street Hunter, proving his worth as a man of considerable multiple talents. As always, James capitalizes on his tough guy persona and commanding presence to help carry this otherwise turkey of a movie. He looked quite dapper in his long-brimmed fedora, yet was mean-as-a-snake with his deadly arsenal. Logan Blade is a 1990s’era New York answer to Django Freeman, a scourge against trigger-happy outlaws like Colonel Walsh. Nobody would EVER accuse Reb Brown of being the next Anthony Hopkins. But as fans should know, Brown is reputable for his muscle-headed hero roles, as well as his infamous high-pitched battle cries. In Street Hunter, Brown gets the rare stab at playing an evil character; in this case, a gun-totting, cackling weirdo. And yes, Brown gets to unleash his signature somewhat girly war-cry. By the way, the conclusion of inevitable mano-y-mano showdown between James and Brown is so absurd, so unbelievably over-the-top, your ability to suspend all cinematic disbelief will be put to the test. In Memorium Before his career had the chance to blossom, Steve James would sadly pass away at the age of 41 from pancreatic cancer. Decades after his death, I still contemplate what-if scenarios, and enduring creative possibilities left behind by James’ artistic legacy. Perhaps in a perfect alternate reality, Steve James would never have been afflicted with cancer, never died young, and finally made it to the big time as a major box office champion. What if, in that same alternate reality, a big screen adaptation of Marvel Comics’ Black Panther had come to fruition in the 90s? Who else could have executed such a regal, heroic performance as King T’Challa/Black Panther, than Steve James? It’s also my sincere belief that James would pave the way for other rising African-American movie stars and people of color actors to headline ambitious action pictures by themselves, without playing second banana to a white movie star. Wesley Snipes had burst on the scene with such classics as New Jack City, Passenger 57, and Drop Zone. Following his own Oscar-winning success with Glory, Denzel Washington began his own tough-guy resume with the urban thriller Ricochet. And most recently, Chadwick Boseman would rise to prominince within the comic book movie world. Steve James’ artistic legacy may have trigged these cinematic successes, and I recommend today’s movie-going generation to give him recognition he so rightfully deserves.
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About Yours Truly
Unearthing great forgotten and criminally underrated pop culture mediums is my specialty! Whether the topic be about cinema, television, music, or other fun bits of obscure minutiae, I love analyzing and unleashing these lost treasures to the unwitting public! Archives
October 2020
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