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.
Acting
Fishburne's raw debut—already magnetic before the 'burne.
Direction
Manduke lets silence do the screaming.
Writing
Adapts Fair's novel with poetic restraint, not exploitation.
Director
Joseph Manduke
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
Charles Lampkin
Fred Jenkins
Stefan Gierasch
Sgt. Danaher
Stack Pierce
Sam Hamilton
Jamaal Wilkes
Nathaniel 'Cornbread' Hamilton
Erik Kilpatrick
Ace
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Released months before Jaws reshaped Hollywood, this was part of a brief window where Black-led dramas could get theatrical distribution without exploitation packaging.
Fishburne lied about his age to audition—he was 12, not 14—and kept the role when Manduke saw his screen test.
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