The film Shaft was one of MGM’s blockbusters in 1971. It was based on a novel by the same name written by Ernest Tidyman. Tidyman had pitched a storyline about a contemporary Black hero to his publisher. The publisher pressed Tidyman for the hero’s name. Spontaneously, Tidyman spotted a sign reading “Fire Shaft” on the wall and blurted out John Shaft. Thus New York City’s first fictitious Black private-eye detective was born.
John Shaft was the film and book’s protagonist. He was “tough as steel but resilient”, “cool, slick, smart and dangerous”. Fond of saying “right on” and clad in a leather jacket, Shaft was “tough enough to stand up to the most dangerous men in the city.”
Critics of the film said it was “a fast-moving pleasure” but lamented that it contained “too many racial jokes”.It was filmed on location in Times Square and Greenwich Village.
Visit UW’s American Heritage Center to see the Ernest Tidyman papers where you can learn more.