Plot: Johnny Barrows (Fred Williamson) was a star in high school football and earned a Silver Star in Vietnam. But now he is back home and while everyone remembers him, no one wants to give him a job. He lives on the street and hustles to find meals, but he wants more out of life. When he goes to an Italian restaurant hoping to wash dishes for a meal, he runs into Mario (Stuart Whitman), who played against him in high school. Mario also knows Johnny killed numerous men during Vietnam, so he offers him in a place in the mafia. As badly as Johnny needs the money, he declines and finds work at a gas station, doing menial chores. His boss is cruel and Mario continues to offer him work for the mob, but Johnny wants a quiet, honest life. He also has a sweet spot for the girl who runs Mario’s restaurant, so when a rival mobster kidnaps and rapes her, Johnny decides its time to take action. While Johnny was a skilled solider in Vietnam, is he prepared for the kind of violence the mafia is capable of?

Entertainment Value: Fred Williamson is always fun to watch and in Mean Johnny Barrows, he assembles a good cast and tells a solid story. The movie takes a while to get rolling and starts off as more of a drama, but once Johnny steps up the movie careens into drive-in entertainment. And really, the slow start is even fine since the cast is good and the story of Johnny trying to do right is well told. Williamson is his usual cool self, arguing with the man and going after the hot white women. His interactions with the gas station owner and his wild martial arts moves are the highlights. Williamson is joined by Roddy McDowall, Stuart Whitman, and in a brief but memorable cameo role, Elliot Gould. I am always impressed by how Williamson was able to give his low budget movies the feel of much more expensive productions and that is true here as well. The low budget roots are evident at times, but Mean Johnny Barrows makes the most of the resources involved.

You can see some nipples through a shirt, but that’s all we get for nakedness. The blood is a little more prominent though again, not in heavy doses. The movie has several shoot outs and that means some cool squib squirts on showcase. The finale where Barrows marches into DaVinci turf is violent and a lot of fun to watch. There’s also a scene where Barrows slices the back of a mobster’s leg that looks cool, mainly because it is so unexpected. You’ll also see Williamson in a batshit crazy martial arts fight that simply has to be seen to be believed. Even if you hate the rest of Mean Johnny Barrows, that martial arts showdown is worth a look. Not as much great dialogue as most Williamson films, but still a handful of memorable moments. Mean Johnny Barrows is a pretty grounded movie, telling a realistic story until the whole off the wall finale. I think its a fun, well crafted movie that genre fans should look into.

Nudity: 0/10

Blood: 3/10

Dialogue: 3/10

Overall Insanity: 2/10