Celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, SHAFT tells the story of the eponymous private detective – a suave, two-fisted Black hero who was hired to search Manhattan for the kidnapped daughter of a Harlem kingpin. Based on the novel by journalist and screenwriter Ernest Tidyman, SHAFT stars Richard Roundtree in his first major film role and marks the motion picture debuts of Gwenn Mitchell and Drew Bundini Brown (the well-known trainer...

Celebrating its 50th anniversary release this month, SHAFT (1971) tells the story of the eponymous John Shaft, performed by Richard Roundtree in his first major film role. The film – based on a novel by white journalist and screenwriter Ernest Tidyman – introduces Shaft as a suave, two-fisted Black private eye who was hired to…