Shaft
1973 • Action & Adventure, Crime, Drama • NR
Shaft is a series of TV movies that aired along with Hawkins during 1973-74 television season on The New CBS Tuesday Night Movies. The series was based on three films beginning with Shaft, and starring Richard Roundtree as private detective John Shaft.
Because it was aired on over-the-air television, CBS felt that the character needed to be toned down. Now instead of working against the police, he worked with them. The series rotated with Hawkins starring James Stewart as a country lawyer who investigates his cases, similarly to his earlier film Anatomy of a Murder. Contemporary analysts suggested that since the two shows appealed to vastly different audience bases, alternating them only served to confuse fans of both series, giving neither one the time to build up a large viewership.
For fans of hard-hitting crime fiction, Ernest Tidyman's novel 'Shaft' offers a raw and unfiltered look into the life of John Shaft—a private detective with grit and style. The book dives deep into Shaft's character, showcasing his clever wit, unwavering determination, and the cultural backdrop of 1970s New York City in gripping detail. Readers will get a richer sense of Shaft's world, a world bustling with danger, intrigue, and complex characters that are sometimes softened or altered in television adaptations.
Tidyman's writing is sharp and evocative, pulling you into a narrative that’s as much about social commentary as it is about thrilling escapades. By choosing the novels over the series, you'll gain insight into the nuanced layers of the original character and the compelling scenarios Tidyman crafted that have captivated readers long before they were transformed into visual media. Delve into the heart of the original story and discover why John Shaft remains an iconic figure in crime literature.
Shaft inspired from
Shaft
by Ernest Tidyman