Movie Description
Trouble Man is a 1972 Soul Cinema Classic film produced and released by 20th Century-Fox. The film stars Robert Hooks as "Mr. T.", a hard-edged private detective who tends to take justice into his own hands. It is still of note today for its successful soundtrack, written, produced and performed by Motown artist Marvin Gaye. (Hooks' character is often referred to as the "Original Mr. T", to distinguish him from the real-life actor of the same name.)
Like Isaac Hayes and Curtis Mayfield before him, Gaye became the next in a line of soul music stars who recorded soundtracks for films aimed at African American audiences. The Trouble Man soundtrack and single became successes for Gaye.
The movie had the unfortunate distinction of being featured in the 1978 Michael & Harry Medved book, The Fifty Worst Films of All Time. New York Times reviewer Vincent Canby described it as "a horrible movie, but worth thinking about."
