3-Seasons of the Popular and Acclaimed TV-Series, "I-Spy" that Successfully Rode the Tidal-Wave of "Everything Spy" that Exponentially Created and Cemented the Genre and Became an "I-Con" of the 60's Popular Culture.
Proudly Displaying, an Against the Grain, Black (African-American) as an In-Your-Face Leading-Man on Television for the 1st-Time Ever and Broke the Color-Barrier/Segregation.
Not Known for that Alone, but in Itself a Notable, Noble, Turn of the Screw, Helping the Civil-Rights Movement in America with Significance. Apart from that Political and Social Upheaval...
"I-Spy" was a Very-Good Action-Comedy.
It Made Bill Cosby a Superstar that Propelled a Career of Way Ups and Way Downs.
The Apex was Television's "The Cosby Show", a Slice of African-American, Upper-Middle Class Life, a Dramady that Topped the Ratings Routinely.
The Bottom for Cosby in His Inconsistent Career was "Leonard Part 6" (1987) Often Cited as One of the Worst Movies Ever Made by a Star of Significance.
In Recent Years His Addiction to Drug-Raping Non-Consenting Women on a Regular Basis is a Down-Fall so Heinous it Defies Explanation or Reason.
Back in 1972...Cosby Teamed-Up with His "I-Spy" Co-Star, Robert Culp, that Sparred with "Cos" Every Year for the "Emmy" for Leading-Man in a Series.
Culp was to Direct a Rookie-Screenplay from a Future Cult Writer/Director "Walter Hill".
It's a Movie Firmly Placed in the "Neo-Noir" Genre. No Compromises, No Embellishments, just a Brutal Noir Character-Study of 2 Private-Eye-Partners.
That have Seen Their Profession and Their Lives in a Downward Spiral into Irrelevance, and Frustratingly Irredeemable.
The Feel and Act on the Fact that They have Gone the Way of "The Dodo" and there's No Retreat or Turning Back Option,
so They Soldier-On Accepting a Case that Momentarily Helps put Them 1-Step Ahead of a Foreclosure on Their Very Existence.
The Aftermath of the 60's Counter-Culture Revolution had a Profound Effect on "The Arts".
Movies of the Late 60's and into the 70's were Extremely Different in Tone, Style, and Content than What-Came-Before.
It was a 180 degree Change in Direction.
"Hickey and Boggs" is a Prime Example of Neo-Noir, the Private Detective Mystery/Drama, that Always Seemed on "The Edge" Anyway.
Finally Fell Off that Edge and was Completely Consumed by the "New-Wave"...
of Pessimism, Cynicism, and was a Presentation as Real as a Heart-Attack.
It was a Conscious Decision by Culp and Walter Hill for the Film to Embrace the Down-Beat "Realism" and it was Offered as...
It is what it is...Take it or Leave it...
Most Folks in 1972 Chose to Leave it...Suffering from its Box-Office Bomb.
Robert Culp Never Directed Another Film, even though Film-Critics Generally Gave it Positive Reviews.
The Movie Now Has Attained Cult-Status and is Sought After by Modern Movie-Buffs...
Worth a Watch.
Proudly Displaying, an Against the Grain, Black (African-American) as an In-Your-Face Leading-Man on Television for the 1st-Time Ever and Broke the Color-Barrier/Segregation.
Not Known for that Alone, but in Itself a Notable, Noble, Turn of the Screw, Helping the Civil-Rights Movement in America with Significance. Apart from that Political and Social Upheaval...
"I-Spy" was a Very-Good Action-Comedy.
It Made Bill Cosby a Superstar that Propelled a Career of Way Ups and Way Downs.
The Apex was Television's "The Cosby Show", a Slice of African-American, Upper-Middle Class Life, a Dramady that Topped the Ratings Routinely.
The Bottom for Cosby in His Inconsistent Career was "Leonard Part 6" (1987) Often Cited as One of the Worst Movies Ever Made by a Star of Significance.
In Recent Years His Addiction to Drug-Raping Non-Consenting Women on a Regular Basis is a Down-Fall so Heinous it Defies Explanation or Reason.
Back in 1972...Cosby Teamed-Up with His "I-Spy" Co-Star, Robert Culp, that Sparred with "Cos" Every Year for the "Emmy" for Leading-Man in a Series.
Culp was to Direct a Rookie-Screenplay from a Future Cult Writer/Director "Walter Hill".
It's a Movie Firmly Placed in the "Neo-Noir" Genre. No Compromises, No Embellishments, just a Brutal Noir Character-Study of 2 Private-Eye-Partners.
That have Seen Their Profession and Their Lives in a Downward Spiral into Irrelevance, and Frustratingly Irredeemable.
The Feel and Act on the Fact that They have Gone the Way of "The Dodo" and there's No Retreat or Turning Back Option,
so They Soldier-On Accepting a Case that Momentarily Helps put Them 1-Step Ahead of a Foreclosure on Their Very Existence.
The Aftermath of the 60's Counter-Culture Revolution had a Profound Effect on "The Arts".
Movies of the Late 60's and into the 70's were Extremely Different in Tone, Style, and Content than What-Came-Before.
It was a 180 degree Change in Direction.
"Hickey and Boggs" is a Prime Example of Neo-Noir, the Private Detective Mystery/Drama, that Always Seemed on "The Edge" Anyway.
Finally Fell Off that Edge and was Completely Consumed by the "New-Wave"...
of Pessimism, Cynicism, and was a Presentation as Real as a Heart-Attack.
It was a Conscious Decision by Culp and Walter Hill for the Film to Embrace the Down-Beat "Realism" and it was Offered as...
It is what it is...Take it or Leave it...
Most Folks in 1972 Chose to Leave it...Suffering from its Box-Office Bomb.
Robert Culp Never Directed Another Film, even though Film-Critics Generally Gave it Positive Reviews.
The Movie Now Has Attained Cult-Status and is Sought After by Modern Movie-Buffs...
Worth a Watch.