EDITOR’S NOTE: As the journey through Cannon continues, this week we’re exploring the films of 21st Century Film Corporation, which would be the company that Menahem Golan would take over after Cannon. Formed by Tom Ward and Art Schweitzer in 1971 (or 1976, there are some disputed expert opinions), 21st Century had a great logo and released some wild stuff.

Gene Siskel gave this zero out of four stars.

This proves that I know nothing, as I enjoyed it and ranked it much higher.

“He’s bad…he’s Black…he’s beautiful! He needs his hide whipped ten times a day!”

Directed and co-written by Horace Jackson (Deliver Us From Evil), along with Lynda Holmquist and Michele Searcy Jackson, this breaks the blacksploitation mold by being about a child.

Johnny “Tough” Baines (Dion Gossett) is the kind of student who puts a for sale sign in front of his school and who drives his teachers crazy with how combative he can be. His parents Phil (Renny Roker) and Denise (Sandra Reed) barely get along and by the end of the movie, you get the idea that if Johnny just ran away for good, his mom would be happier than if she had to raise him.

I don’t know if Siskel — or audiences — realized it, but Jackson was influenced by The 400 Blows. The end of this movie totally blew me away, as I never saw it coming. It’s easy to see why this is a Quentin Tarantino favorite.

Johnny never comes off as someone you want to emulate or too cool as he battles his way through life. He’s struggling with a mother who, again, probably doesn’t want him and a father who loves bowling more than him. Acting out is the only way he ever gets notice and b the time his father finds him, it’s too late.

Other than Roker, this is a nearly all unprofessional cast, which is why some critics disliked it. Honestly, if it weren’t a black film and a few critics got behind it, people would still be talking about it. Instead, it was pretty much a low budget grindhouse film.

This was released by Dimension Pictures in 1974 and played as Tough and Johnny Tough. It’s one of the movies that 21st Century got when they bought their films.

You can watch this on YouTube.