The Organization Reviews

Don Medford's hard-boiled police thriller may not belong in the annals of great films of the '70s, but it effectively bridges the gap between the high-minded, race-conscious crime dramas of the late '60s and the wave of cheekier, more visceral blaxploitation flicks that were just gaining prominence around the time of The Organization's release. What's surprising about the film is its businesslike manner: No longer content to sit around pondering the vicissitudes of justice, star Sidney Poitier is out pounding the pavement from the beginning of the film, doing whatever it takes -- however questionably ethical -- to clean up the streets of San Francisco. Though there's still plenty of room in The Organization for ham-fisted speechifying from the venerable Virgil Tibbs character (making his third screen appearance here), the action set pieces thankfully take center stage. For the most part, they're effectively pulse-pounding and atmospheric, thanks in large part to Joseph Biroc's clever camerawork and Gil Melle's funky, off-kilter score. Erstwhile TV director Medford allows the pace to go slack at times -- some shots linger on interminably, as if signaling a commercial break that never arrives -- but for mostly mindless, completely functional crime thrills, The Organization succeeds.