Up Tight!

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 Ford's 1935 film The Informer, based on the book of the same name by Liam O'Flaherty, but the setting was transposed from Dublin to Cleveland. The soundtrack was performed by Booker T. & the MG's. The assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. is used as a backdrop for the film's fictional narrative. Plot In Cleveland, Ohio, at the time of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., protesters riot in the streets. Johnny Wells, 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. Johnny's best friend Tank, 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 King's funeral. Tank is a middle-aged, unemployed alcoholic who supported King's non-violent 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 co-worker 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 Tank's inconsistent behavior as threatening to their cause. Johnny attempts to sober Tank up and tries to coerce him into coming along for the robbery. Tank being drunk and upset refuses to go. Johnny leaves without him since Tank has let them down previously. 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, the guard then wakes up and fires on the robbers. Johnny returns fire and kills the guard. In the melee Johnny leaves behind his sweater with his name tag in it, and thus becomes a wanted man.