''Three Tough Guys'' (also known as ''Tough Guys'') is a 1974

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definiti ...

action film The action film is a film genre that predominantly features chase sequences, fights, shootouts, explosions, and stunt work. The specifics of what constitutes an action film has been in scholarly debate since the 1980s. While some scholars such as D ...

directed by

Duccio Tessari Duccio Tessari (11 October 1926 – 6 September 1994) was an Italian film director, screenwriter and actor, considered one of the fathers of Spaghetti Westerns. Born in Genoa, Tessari started in the fifties as documentarist and as screenwriter ...

. It stars

Lino Ventura Angiolino Giuseppe Pasquale Ventura (14 July 1919 – 22 October 1987), known as Lino Ventura, was an Italian-born actor and philanthropist, who lived and worked for most of his life in France. He was considered one of the greatest leading men ...

Fred Williamson Frederick Robert Williamson (born March 5, 1938), nicknamed "the Hammer", is an American actor, filmmaker, and former American football player, a defensive back who played mainly in the American Football League (AFL) during the 1960s. He was a ...

and

Isaac Hayes Isaac Lee Hayes Jr. (August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008) was an American singer, songwriter, composer, and actor. He was one of the creative forces behind the Southern soul music label Stax Records in the 1960s, serving as an in-house songwr ...

, who also composed the soundtrack. It is a coproduction between United States, Italy (where it was released ''Uomini duri'') and France (where is known as ''Les Durs''). The film was shot in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Plot

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

priest Father Charlie and former police officer Lee solve a

bank robbery Bank robbery is the criminal act of stealing from a bank, specifically while bank employees and customers are subjected to force, violence, or a threat of violence. This refers to robbery of a bank Branch (banking), branch or Bank teller, tel ...

mystery that stretches across the city. After Lee is removed from the force due to $1,000,000 being stolen from the bank, Father Charlie helps him to gain revenge for the loss of one of his friends.

Cast

as Father Charlie *

as Lee *

as Joe "Snake" * Paula Kelly as Fay * William Berger as Captain Ryan *

Vittorio Sanipoli Vittorio Sanipoli (27 October 1915 – 25 July 1992) was an Italian stage, film and television actor. He appeared in around a hundred films and television series between 1942 and 1980. Life and career Born Luciano Sanipoli in Genoa, he made his ...

as Mike Petralia *

Lorella De Luca Lorella De Luca (17 September 1940 – 9 January 2014) was an Italian film, television, and voice actress. One of the most recognized '' ingénues'' of Italian cinema during the mid-to-late 1950s, she is best known for having played naive young ...

as Anne Lombardo * Mario Erpichini as Gene Lombardo * Jess Hahn as The Bartender *

Jacques Herlin Jacques Herlin (17 August 1927 – 7 June 2014) was a French character actor of stage, film, and television. Early life and education Born as Jacques de Jouette in Le Vésinet, France, Jacques Herlin grew up in Toulon and moved to Paris in 1951 ...

as Mike Petralia *

Guido Leontini Guido Leontini (21 March 1927 – 26 April 1996) was an Italian stage, film and television actor. Life and career Born in Catania into a family of actors, Leontini debuted on stage in the post-World War II era, specializing in the Luigi Pirande ...

as Sergeant Sam *

Luciano Salce Luciano Salce (25 September 1922 – 17 December 1989) was an Italian film director, comedian, television host, producer, actor and lyricist. His 1962 film ''Le pillole di Ercole'' was shown as part of a retrospective on Italian comedy at the ...

as The Bishop * Nazzareno Zamperla as Snake's Henchman

Production

''Three Tough Guys'' was filmed in Rome and on location in

between September 4 and October 1973. The film was Isaac Hayes' acting debut.

Release

''Three Tough Guys'' opened in New York on March 15, 1974. was released in France under the title ''Les durs'' on May 29, 1974. It was released in Italy under the title ''Uomini duri'' where it was distributed by

Titanus Titanus (also called Titanus Distribuzione) is an Italian film production and distribution company, founded in 1904 by Gustavo Lombardo (1885–1951). The company's headquarters are located at 28 Via Sommacampagna, Rome and its studios on the Vi ...

. It grossed a total of 761.271 million

Italian lire The lira ( , ; : lire, , ) was the currency of Italy between 1861 and 2002. It was introduced by the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy in 1807 at par with the French franc, and was subsequently adopted by the different states that would eventually fo ...

. Italian film historian and critic Roberto Curti said this gross was "moderate, but not outstanding success" as it had grossed less than half of Enzo G. Castellari's '' Street Law''.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed, conducted and performed by Isaac Hayes, with string arrangements performed by the Memphis Symphony Orchestra and rhythm tracks performed by Isaac Hayes' band the Movement. The original LP record, ''Tough Guys'', was released by Enterprise Records, an imprint of

Stax Records Stax Records is an American record company, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the label changed its name to Stax Records in September 1961. It also shared its operations with sister label Volt Records. ...

. The main theme of ''Three Tough Guys'' would be used in

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American filmmaker, actor, and author. Quentin Tarantino filmography, His films are characterized by graphic violence, extended dialogue often featuring much profanity, and references to ...

's '' Kill Bill Vol. 2''. "Hung Up on My Baby" was sampled in the

Geto Boys Geto Boys (originally spelled Ghetto Boys) were an American hip hop group originally formed in Houston, Texas. They saw commercial success in the 1990s with the lineup consisting of Bushwick Bill, Scarface and Willie D. The group became best ...

song "

Mind Playing Tricks on Me "Mind Playing Tricks on Me" is a song by Geto Boys, featured on their 1991 album '' We Can't Be Stopped''. The lyrics describe the mental anguish and exhaustion of life as a gangster, including dealing with symptoms of post-traumatic stress diso ...

Original track listing

Side one # "Title Theme" - 2:32 # "Randolph & Dearborn" - 4:24 # "The Red Rooster" - 4:04 # "Joe Bell" - 4:57 Side two # "Hung Up On My Baby" - 6:15 # "Kidnapped" - 2:40 # "Run Fay Run" - 2:45 # "Buns O' Plenty" - 4:37 # "The End Theme" - 1:13

Notes

References

External links

* {{Isaac Hayes 1974 films 1970s buddy films 1970s crime action films Blaxploitation films Films about Catholic priests Films directed by Duccio Tessari Films produced by Dino De Laurentiis Films set in Chicago Films with screenplays by Luciano Vincenzoni Italian crime action films Italian buddy films English-language French films English-language Italian films Films scored by Isaac Hayes French crime action films French buddy films Titanus films 1970s Italian films 1970s French films French films set in New York City