The Black Moses, The Hammer, and The Preacher Man. They've got their own kind of mean game.This film is directed by Duccio Tessari, assisted by a staff of other unknown Italians. What else has he done? A whole lot of things you never saw, including a film called "Sundance Cassidy and Butch the Kid".The opening theme sounds like a take on the "Shaft" theme, which is no surprise as it is sung by Isaac Hayes, who stars alongside Fred Williamson. Mysteriously, the song is about "two tough guys" (not three, as the title claims) and seems to be the inspiration for Hayes' later song about Beavis and Butt-Head.The picture quality, at least on the Fortune 5 DVD, is incredibly blurry or fuzzy at times, especially when light saturation is involved. Aside from that, it is pretty standard for the time, and almost good considering the notoriously awful quality Italian productions have.Seems to be set in America, but the priest has a thick accent. What is this?

Tough, two-fisted Italian Catholic priest Father Charlie (well played with steely conviction by Lino Ventura) and rugged ex-cop Lee Stevens (a solid and charismatic performance by Isaac Hayes) join forces to find out who's responsible for a recent bank robbery in which one million dollars got stolen. Naturally, these guys find themselves neck deep in all kinds of trouble. Director Duccio Tessari relates the fun story at a constant snappy pace, makes fine use out of the gritty urban Chicago locations, adds a few amusingly quirky touches (for example, Father Charlie performs last rites on recently killed criminals!), and sprinkles plenty of rousing shoot-outs and rough'n'ready fisticuffs throughout. Fred Williamson has a welcome change-of-pace bad guy role as the nasty Joe Snake, plus there are sound supporting turns by Paula Kelly as scared hooker Fay, Vittorio Sanipoli as smooth businessman Mike Petralia, William Berger as the hard-nosed Captain Ryan, and Luciano Salce as a disapproving bishop. Hayes' funky, throbbing, soul-deep score hits the groovy spot. Aldo Tonti's slick cinematography likewise does the trick. While this movie is pretty tame and inoffensive compared to most 70's blaxploitation grindhouse fare (there's no nudity, only mild profanity, and the violence isn't that graphic), the breezy tone and engaging chemistry between the well-matched leads make this picture an enjoyable enough diversion.

It's probably due to the cheap and clumsy transfer to the Grindhouse Collection DVD, but the picture quality and lighting of this film are absolutely awful! I know this is supposed to be some type of "Blaxploitation" movie, but if I'm not mistaken, this term doesn't mean staring at a black screen the whole time! Several sequences, especially during the first half hour, you have completely no idea what to make of because you only see darkness and vague shadows moving around. And now that we're pointing out the abnormalities anyway, there's something seriously wrong with the title of "THREE Tough Guys". Three? Somebody bring on an abacus, because the correct title ought to be TWO tough guys. At least the soulful theme song got it right. It's not hard to guess why the producers opted to put the number three in the title, though. Fred Williamson receives top billing even though he barely has any screen time and he's also referred to as another one of the tough guys in spite of the fact he's not so tough (he beats women and shoots people in the back) and operating on the wrong side of the law. Williamson's name obviously just served to attract more viewers, as he just scored big Blaxploitation hits with "Black Caesar" and "Hammer", whereas the real tough black dude - Isaac Hayes - would only become a huge star shortly after the release of "Three Tough Guys", namely with his very own testosterone-packed blockbuster "Truck Turner". Say what you want about these Italian filmmakers, but they are great marketers! Anyway, onwards with the story, this opens with the cowardly murder of an insurance agent outside a nightclub. Apparently he was single-handedly investigating a million dollar bank heist and came a little too close to the truth. His closest friend – a tough ex-veteran turned priest – swears to catch whoever killed him and starts a nightly private investigation via sleazy bars and dark alleys filled with heavily armed thugs… on his bike, nonetheless! Father Charlie soon receives back-up from a former cop who has a score of his own to settle. It's no real secret that all traces eventually lead to Williamson, the über-villain for a change! "Three Tough Guys" is a neat hybrid between Italian exploitation and Baadassssssss Cinema, although not highly memorable and badly suffering from the lamentable production values. There are slightly too many tedious sequences to struggle through, but the on screen chemistry between Isaac Hayes and Lino Ventura feels surprisingly authentic and the script contains several funny parts. The amount of brutal violence and sleaze is quite a letdown, but Hayes' own soundtrack is very catchy and Duccio Tessari's ("The Bloodstained Butterfly", "Death Occurred Last Night") direction is fairly solid. So far, the Grindhouse Collection box-set is the only way to get your dirty little hands on this film, but I do hope a fully restored version will appear on DVD in the near future, as it deserves to be slightly more known.

He will forever be known to people my age as the man who wrote and sang "Shaft." To the younger generation, he is "Chef" from "Southpark." He is the man Isaac Hayes, and, in his first film, he is running with one of Europe's best character actors, Lino Ventura, as Father Charlie.Their enemy is the great Fred Williamson (Black Caesar, From Dusk to Dawn), former football star and blaxploitation actor.Add a lot of Italian actors and an Italian director who worked with Sergio Leone in A Fistful of Dollars, and you have the Italian version of a blaxploitation action flick.Nothing to write home about, but some fun entertainment.