317: Shaft is released in theaters
Shaft was released in theaters in 1971. Directed by Academy Award winning film director Gordon Parks, Shaft is an action film that tells the story of a black private detective, John Shaft, who travels through Harlem and to the Italian mob in order to find the missing daughter of a black mobster. It stars Richard Roundtree as Shaft, Moses Gunn as Bumpy Jonas, Charles Cioffi as Lt. Vic Androzzi, Christopher St. John as Ben Buford, and Gwenn Mitchell and Lawrence Pressman in smaller roles. The single “Theme from ‘Shaft,’” was written by Isaac Hayes and released two months after the movie’s soundtrack. Composing the theme song for the movie was actually secondary for Hayes. He was really hoping he’d snag and acting role in the film. Instead, the album went on to win Hayes an Academy Award for Best Score. He was the first African-American composer to receive such an honor.