reverendtom This movie isn't the best thing I've ever seen, but as a fun PI flick from the late seventies it gets the job done and has a quirky personality of its own. In other words, it isn't an exploitation classic or an ultraviolent actioner, it kind of just is what it is. The great John Saxon is great here, as a down on his luck PI. His somewhat over the top narration is fun. Rosy Grier is great as an angry convict out for revenge. The movie doesn't really have much of a drive, there are many pointless scenes, but it doesn't really bore either. The ending is excellent, with a big surprise at the last minute. Overall, if you aren't expecting some 70s cult phenomenon and you like John Saxon, its worth watching.

Woodyanders Stocky ex-felon Victor Hale (amiably essayed by hulking pro footballer Rosey Grier of "The Thing With Two Heads" fame) goes around Los Angeles, brutally mashing up crooked prison guards who beat him up in jail with a lethal steel riot glove. Out to bring him in is dour and divorced no-nonsense bounty hunter supreme Samuel Kellog (a nicely rough'n'tumble performance by longtime favorite veteran tough guy actor John Saxon, who really sinks his teeth into a juicy lead part), who desperately needs the substantial bounty placed on Hale's head to settle his domestic woes with his bitter ex-wife.Clumsily directed with a certain endearing ineptitude by seasoned trash movie thespian Ross Hagen (who later helmed the not half bad medical sci-fi/horror effort "B.O.R.N."), with typically accomplished cinematography by ace exploitation feature cameraman Gary ("Satan's Sadists," "The Toolbox Murders") Graver, a groovy score by Robert O. ("Evils of the Night," "Deep Space") Ragland, and a simply stupendous campy sub-"Shaft" R&B theme song ("You can't escape/From the kiss and rape of the Glove"), "The Glove" makes for a whole lot of irresistibly cheesy low-budget grindhouse junk fun. It's meant to be more of a bleak and low-key character study than a straight-out exciting action item. The scenes with the macho Kellog attempting to bond with his estranged daughter are pretty damn funny (I especially dug the moment where Kellog does push-ups while his adorably diminutive daughter sits on his back!). Kellog's ersatz Humphrey Bogart hard-boiled narration provides plenty of solid amusement as well (sample line: "I felt like someone kicked me in the stomach and left the shoe there"). Moreover, the sporadic badly choreographed fight scenes are likewise quite unintentionally hilarious, with the definite gut-busting highlight being Kellog's tussle with a guy in a meat packing plant (the guy smacks Kellog with a big bloody side of beef!). The stand-out B-picture cast qualifies as another substantial asset: the lovely Joanna Cassidy as a classy secretary Kellog becomes romantically involved with, the always delightful Keenan Wynn as Kellog's cranky loudmouth boss, Jack Carter as a stuck-up rich jerk, Michael Pataki as Kellog's ruthless sleazeball rival, Nicholas Worth (the raving psycho Vietnam vet photographer killer in "Don't Answer the Phone") as a gay blank check dropper Kellog tosses into a pool, and Aldo Ray as an ill-fated prison guard. All in all, "The Glove" rates highly as a most entertaining oddball drive-in movie hoot.

lazarillo I saw this awhile ago, but I thought of it again after watching the film "Death Walks at Midnight" which also features a giant metal glove used as the murder weapon. The titular glove in this one, however, is not spiked and is used entirely on male victims who really deserve it, and is wielded by ex-football player turned preacher Rosy Grier. Grier plays an innocent man sent to prison, who takes revenge on the men who sent him there using a stolen "high-tech weapon" (the glove). John Saxon, playing a cop for the thousandth time in his career, is the man who tries to stop him and recover the glove. Both characters are pretty sympathetic and as I recall the films ends happily. That's probably one of the reasons it wasn't very successful and remains pretty obscure today. It lacks any real exploitative elements--the violence is pretty tame and there's no sex or nudity. Even the blaxploitation elements aren't too strong here. But if you're not expecting too much, it's worth a look.

oscar-17 It's interesting to note that Ross Hagen, a man who starred in numerous trashy films in his infamous career, did the directing. The film's kinda sleazy in a few parts, and the theme song is hilarious, but the violent scenes should have been the main attraction here, and unfortunately there's little of it. John Saxon talks through the whole picture like I'm waiting for some blood to fly. The best parts I liked about The Glove are the beginning, the middle, and the end. It's O.K. as long as cheap thrills are your cup of tea. Don't let the film's ad mat entice you!