Together Brothers (1974) an obscure, but good movie, with young inexperienced actors is worth your while to watch. The movie directed by William Graham, with an awesome musical score by Barry White and The Love Unlimited Orchestra is a touching and all too real story of the black experience in America.
When a much loved police officer called Mr. Kool by the neighborhood people is horribly murdered, a 15-year-old gang leader, HJ (Ahmed Nurradin) of Galveston, Texas makes it his mission to find the demented killer. HJ realizes he will need more than his small gang to find the killer. He manages to build up enough nerve to ask the Chicano gang leader, Vega, played by gorgeous Richard Yniguez, for help. Soon the gangs unite and have one goal, to find the killer. When one good person is killed in the neighborhood there are no racial barriers. Race issues went out the window. Suddenly they were just all human beings.
The only witness to this horrible killing is HJ’s little 5-year-old brother, Tommy (Anthony Wilson) who is now the killer’s target. While the killer pursues the little boy, the gang gains enough clues to put the killer behind bars. And here is when the movie gets intense.
The performances of Nurradin as the gang leader, and Wilson as his little brother make the movie work. Nurradin captured the anguish and struggle of a young black male in a poor Texas City who had seen the all too real affects of poverty, but managed to keep it together in spite of his reality. His demeanor made him seem older than his years. Wilson as the little brother will make you want to reach out to your TV set and rock him to sleep. There are powerful, funny, and scary, moments in the film. For Barry White fans, you will love the music and songs sung by White like: “Honey, Can’t Ya See,” and “People of Tomorrow Are the Children of Today.” Look out for the eerie music whenever the killer is around.
If you’ve never seen this movie, I recommend you do.
