Death Journey (1976)

Cast:

Fred "The Hammer doesn't deserve any snarky comments..." Williamson is Jesse Crowder
Bernard Kirby is Finley
Art Maier is District Att'y Virgil Riley
Lou Bedford is Assistant D.A. Jonas
Heidi Dobbs is Agent
Stephanie Faulkner is Agent

What the box says:

Jesse Crowder (Fred Williamson) is a private eye who must safeguard a mobster turned informant on a deadly three-thousand mile cross-country journey. He has just forty-eight hours to make it across country with the mob boss' former accountant, and destroy ANYONE that gets in his way on the journey! Co-starring Bernard Kirby, Art Maier, Lou Bedford, and Heidi Dobbs.

Plot:

In New York City, the prosecutors are talking about how important their informant turned witness is to testify in the big case especially since the last couple of witnesses wound up with sudden case of involuntary fatal death.... They need to bring Finley from LA to New York. During the pre-trial motions, the judge allows for a 48 hour extension for the witness to be brought the court room. DA Virgil Ryland decides the best way to get Finley in alive is to hire Jesse Crowder...

Yes, a large meat maniac with thick crust. I have a coupon...

The mob boss decides to send his girlfriend to LA for part of his plan...

On the West Coast, Jesse is studying karate.

Make any snarky comments , you'll regret it..
Virgil calls Jesse and offers him the job to bring Finley in alive. The LA cops don't like Jesse, they think he's shoot first and shoot again rather that ask questions epecially since he's an ex-cop.

Later, the mob boss's girlfriend manages to find Jesse. What woman can resist Fred "the Hammer" Williamson? She gives him a watch afterwards...This is typically known as a plot point.

No baby, I'm not Shaft but I cant teach why they call me The Hammer
Later. Jesse checks on Finley and head out.
I'm not the Rain Man version of Mayor Pike from the Andy Griffith Show...
Jesse spots that some car is following after them. Pulling off at agas station, he is able to not get hit in the gangster-drive by...Farther down the road, at another station, Jesse layeth the smackdown on the goons.

The car chase ensues and goes from the highway to the desert.

The power of 1970s car chases shall captivate you...
With the goons finished and Jesse's car wrecked, they have to start walking.

More goons pull up and Jesse has to commando skulking ensues. Finley has hidden and is able to hitchhike and leave Jesse behind. However, that doesn't stop Jesse from catching up to him...They head to an airport. However, with the 4 hour wait time, they manage to hide for the time. However back at the airport, more goons attack them.

After the latest attack, jesse moves to a bus. After the next bus stop, they head aboard to the closest train. Even with the all the goons, Jesse still gets a woman. Viva. After basking in the afterglow, Viva sneaks off to try and stab Finley. Jesse treats her better by tossing her off the train.

The next depot, they get off and decide to take a plane. Jesse calls the DA to raise hiw salary up to $50,000 and reveals how he's being tracked by someone.

Goons grab Finley. However, Jesse catches up quicklye and dispatches the goons.

Hotel, Jesse handles another goon disguised as room service. Afterwards, he realizes the wathc has a tracking device in them. The DA delivers the money and picks up Finley.

Jesse haeds back to LA. He pays a visit to the the mob boss's girlfriend returning the watch. Walking away, he hears a gun shot...

What I say:

Imagine the Death Race 2000 road race without the weird car wrecks but fused with Midnight Run, 48 Hours, and a character as annoying as Rain Man but without the savant skills would give a sort of idea of Death Journey. Typically, the private invesigator in the 1970s was based on some degree of Shaft. The character, Jesse Crowder, appeared in 3 other movies: Last Fight, Blind Rage, and No Way Back.

Definitely, one of the most famous actors along with Richard Roundtree in Blaxspolitation movies of the 70s was Fred Williamson...Yes, Fred "The Hammer" Williamson... A man that is one of the few actors who deserve the word "The" in front of their nickname. He's best know for some of his 1970s stuff like Black Caesar and Hell Up in Harlem though still Fist of Fear, Touch of Death and Mean Johnny Barrows aren't that category. He had several other movies though none quite as memorable as The 1980s, saw him in more cheap action Black Cobra, Black Cobra 2, and Warriors of the Wasteland.

Fred Williamson directed Death Journey. That might explain why goons just kept popping up every so often without any explanation or why not just shoot Finley, the few times they grab him and Fred has to re-rescue the witness. The travel trips from car to it got wrecked, the plane theat the goons delayed, the train with hit woman model, back to the another plane.

Typically, I don't mention credits on stuntmen...However, a couple of the names were recognizable to the B-movie-ness. George Wilbur may be better known as William Shatner-white-masked Michael Meyers in Halloween. Dick Durock is better known as a certain plant-enhanced disfigured scientist, Swamp Thing...

One of the very b-movies where the mob boss never gets his desserts by going to prison or at least the getting shot out by the hero. There's nowhere where the mob boss is ever mentioned after about 10 minutes into the movie. Goons just pop up every so often to fight Fred. Yes, he's apparently got some sort of tracking device in that watch. Granted, I'm not not knowledgeable of 1970s electronic tracking devices but one that can be picked up from several states away does seem a bit on the too powerful side.

Quotable Dialogue
"Guns don't go off by themselves..."
"Our plans never change, baby..."
"Virgil, that's a funny name for a dude."
" Please don't use that word."
"Shoot it from the hip, baby..."
Morals of the Story
Slow motion cameras make karate fights slow.
All Private Investigators have swanky apartments.
All Private Investigators are love machines AKA also known as the Shaft Factor.
Don't ask Fred Williamson for directions.
Don't sneak up on Fred Williamson from behind.
$100 will allow strange men to jump in your car and order you to drive them wherever they want to go.