A Piece of the Action 1977

In Chicago, two high-class criminals, Sidney Poitier as Manny Durrell and Bill Cosby as Dave Anderson, have built flawless reputations for daring thefts, pulling off separate heists that set them apart from the ordinary street grift. Manny shows his skill with a flawless safecrack and a dramatic escape from a high window into the back of a waiting van, while Dave runs a parallel game, using charm and nerve to stay one step ahead of the law. Their paths briefly intersect in the shadows of the city’s glittering nightclubs and smoky back rooms, but the real twist comes when a calculate-and-control voice from an unseen source starts binding their fates together in an escalating, high-stakes test.

When a fake police raid is staged to swindle Bruno, a notorious gangster, Manny and Dave devise separate schemes that hinge on misdirection and timing. The plan succeeds, but it also triggers a chain of consequences that ripple through their personal lives, drawing them into a far more dangerous arrangement. After both criminals receive cryptic notes summoning them to a hotel and then to a posh restaurant, a mysterious, commanding voice lays out the ultimatum: either commit to a five-year residency at a community youth center to mentor inner-city teens, or face a nightmarish return to prison. This ominous choice pulls them toward a new kind of work and a new kind of moral gravity, one that tests their self-interest against a social conscience they never anticipated.

At the youth center, Manny and Dave are assigned to the same mission but must first navigate a world full of skeptical teens and a wary instructor. Manny, more comfortable with swagger than guidance, gradually wins the room over by recasting the students as salaried workers in a mock employment program, promising them a weekly wage and a sense of purpose. Meanwhile, Dave aims to pry information about their mysterious caller, using his wiles to crack the code behind the voice and its demands. The center is run by Lila French, a vibrant coordinator who envisions opportunity for the kids and embraces the money the two men bring, albeit with a wary eye toward their true motives. Denise Nicholas brings a sense of sharp optimism to the role of Lila, infusing the scenes with warmth and a steady belief in second chances.

Miss Thomas, the center’s overwhelmed but compassionate teacher, Hope Clarke as Sarah Thomas, tries to maintain control in a chaotic classroom, where teenagers disrespect authority but also crave honest work and real chances. The two men become entangled in the teens’ lives as Manny promises jobs and acts as a mentor, while Dave pursues connections that could help uncover the mastermind behind the threats. The plot thickens as their old nemesis Bruno, played by Titos Vandis as Bruno, intensifies his pursuit, leveraging Ty Shorter’s debts to pressure the pair and drive them into a corner.

Bruno’s henchmen eventually kidnap Manny’s girlfriend Nikki, setting off a tense chase that forces the two criminals to team up with Burke, a retired detective who shares a name with the center’s founder in a twist of family lore. James Earl Jones as Joshua Burke is drawn into the action, and Burke confronts his former ally Ty Shorter, a ploy that reveals the depth of Bruno’s coercive grip and the web of influence surrounding the case. The confrontation at the police station exposes how personal and professional loyalties can blur under pressure, pushing everyone toward a dangerous bargain that could either salvage or ruin them.

Under Burke’s reluctant aid, the trio orchestrates a pair of bold daytime heists to force Bruno’s hand: a vault robbery disguised as janitorial work, followed by a daring break-in to a monastery’s wine cellar. The sequence combines clever misdirection with a dash of physical peril—monks, a barking dog, and the tension of a high-stakes payoff—before Manny and Dave present Bruno with a choice: stop dealing drugs and admit to the truth of his illicit empire, or face exposure and loss. The moment of leverage arrives when Manny reveals a cache of incriminating documents kept at the monastery—copies of tax fraud schemes, drug operations, and other mob-connected enterprises—that could topple Bruno’s entire operation.

Throughout the tension, the human stakes stay near the center: Nikki’s safety, the teens’ empowerment, and the uneasy common ground formed between two criminals forced to serve a more altruistic cause. The climactic meeting at the restaurant becomes a stage for negotiation and revelation, and the all-important connection between the deep-voiced mastermind and the two men is finally anchored in a deal that allows them to walk away with a sense of purpose while Bruno is left weighing the consequences of a life of crime.

In the aftermath, the community center’s work continues with renewed vigor. The previously hostile class of students presents Lila, Miss Thomas, Dave, and Manny with tokens and thanks, signaling a transformation that none of them could have predicted when the plan first began. A graduation-like moment arrives as the teens complete their first phase of the program, and the staff join the students in a jubilant celebration that suggests a brighter future, built on the trust and the tangible progress they’ve achieved together. The film closes on a note of cautious optimism, where the edge-of-crime thrill remains, but the heart of the story lies in second chances, concrete opportunities, and the power of mentorship to redefine a city’s possibilities.