Uptight (film)

Uptight also known as Up Tight is a 1968 American drama film directed by Jules Dassin. It was intended as an updated version of John Fords 1935 film, The Informer, but the setting was transposed from Dublin, Ireland to Cleveland, Ohio, USA. The soundtrack was performed by Booker T. amp the MGs. The film opens with documentary footage of the funeral procession of Martin Luther King, Jr., which is used as a backdrop for the films fictional narrative.

In Cleveland, Ohio, at the time of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., protesters riot in the streets. Johnny Wells Max Julien, a charismatic black revolutionary, leads a group of black men on a mission to steal guns from a warehouse as preparation for violent racial conflict. Johnnys best friend Tank Julian Mayfield, who formerly worked at the steel mill with several of the men, is supposed to help with the robbery, but when the group goes to his house, they find him drunk and watching the television coverage of Kings funeral. Tank is a middleaged, unemployed alcoholic who supported Kings nonviolent approach, which the others have rejected in favor of violent revolution. It is later revealed that Tank lost his longtime job at the steel mill when he attacked a white coworker who harassed the black mill workers. As a result, Tank was sent to prison and since being released, has been unable to find work. The black revolutionary group is going through a deeper radicalization, and they see Tanks inconsistent behavior as threatening to their cause.Johnny tries to sober Tank up and talk him into coming along on the robbery, but Tank, drunk and upset, finally refuses to go. Johnny, noting that this isnt the first time Tank has let them down, leaves without him. At first things go smoothly because the white security guard is asleep, but since the robbers are short one man, Johnny needs to make a second trip into the warehouse to steal enough guns, and the guard wakes up and fires on the robbers. Johnny returns fire, killing the guard. In the melee, Johnny leaves behind his sweater with his name tag in it, and thus becomes a wanted man. ........

Source: Wikipedia