The Glove (1979) User Reviews (14)

Its all in the glove.

[lost-in-limbo · 5/10 · 10 August 2006]

Sam Kellog is a worn out bounty hunter of Los Angeles, who takes on a job, which would pay him $20,000 big ones and help with his martial problems. For tracking down an ex-convict, Victor Hale, who's dressed up in riot gear and is beating prison guards to death with a steel laced glove that was invented by the police and was first used on him. So, it's payback time for Victor, but Sam is determined to find his man and bring him in despite the warnings.

Are you ready for a good old beating. Well, don't be expecting much venom here, as when it was time for a beating. It's nothing more than comic, b-grade action fodder, which is inadequately done. But that in mind the action is kept at a minimal and we simply follow the life of the struggling bounty hunter, Sam looking into the case of Victor, but it gets put on the back-burner at times, by falling into some side-projects. They do feel unnecessary and nothing more than fillers to the overall picture, as it does take half of the film before Sam and Victor first get in contact and get things moving. Just like a fellow reviewer mentioned, it's more so a character study with a touch of noir and social commentary to boot. It's very hammy in its treatment of it, but Saxon (the reason why I took the chance with the flick) makes great of the meek material.

"The Glove" is an odd chunk of cheap and slightly dim schlock that bathes itself in cheesy glory and is entertainingly goofy. Unintentionally, of course. But it just doesn't live up to its cracking idea, since it basically sits there for too long, after the pounding opening and somewhat colourful poster artwork, has you believe. There's a real erratic mood because of scrappy direction by Ross Hagen. He stages some fun clashes with the crushing fist and manages to get a real grungy look to the flick with its scummy surroundings coming off the screen. How about that unusually sleek, broad and quite smooth music score. The theme songs kind of stick to you and the time goes by so quickly, which makes it an enticing treat.

The story is rather typical detective stuff with Saxon's crisp and smoking voice-over running throughout the film and being one of the high notes. It blends a variety of ingredients and savvy interactions with its scathing, wry and bold dialogues. John Saxon turns in a charming lead performance as the steely-eye bounty hunter, Sam Kellog. Rosey Grier (former football player) simply fills out the costume by bringing an enforcing and unstoppable figure, which is totally opposite to his subdue attitude and husky voice, the anti-hero Victor Hale. He's rather hypnotic whenever on screen and the interplay between the two leads was always on the boil. Making up the rest of the studded b-cast is the always lovely Joanna Cassidy, Keenan Wynn, Jack Carter the rich tycoon and the unlucky Aldo Ray.

Interesting, if not totally successful exploitation, but thanks largely to the prolific performances of Saxon and Grier. It's enjoyably, uncanny trash.

If boring action dramas like The Glove interest me, it's because nobody paid any attention to it!

[oscar-17 · 5/10 · 7 September 1998]

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!

Bounty Hunting Blues

[zardoz-13 · 6/10 · 19 May 2011]

Actor & director Ross Hagen does not glamorize the travails of a modern day bounty hunter in his movie "The Glove" where John Saxon squares off against a rotund Roosevelt Grier. Later, Steve McQueen made "The Hunter" about a real-life bounty hunter. Hagen carefully establishes the characters of each individual and the irony implicit in the way that our hero triumphs in the end gives "The Glove" a sense of realism.

A large African-American male dons a padded outfit and pulls on a glove. The glove weighs in at five pounds of lead and steel. They call it a 'riot glove.' He attacks a prison guard with his girlfriend as they are necking. He smashes the windshield and tears the doors off the Ford Pinto. Occasionally, when he is beating up the guard, Tiny (Aldo Ray of "The Green Beret"), the villain misses his victim and rips out a headlight. Meanwhile, the girlfriend screams in terror at this one-man army. The scene shifts to our bounty hunter hero, Sam Kellogg (John Saxon of "The Unforgiven") who provides us with a synopsis of his life and his careen. He was once a baseball shortstop before he became a bounty hunter. The person who means the most to him is his daughter. Several scenes show the depth of the bond between father and daughter. Probably the best is when Saxon is doing one-legged push-ups with his daughter on his back. We learn that our hero is divorced and has a hard time making ends meet. His ex-wife threatens to stop letting his daughter Lisa (one-time only actress Misty Bruce) visit him. A former policeman, Sam never wants to button himself in blue again. Instead, he takes the hard knocks as a bail bondsman.

As a long-suffering hero, Sam wins our sympathy for his dire straits. He tangles with a couple of homosexuals in his first bust. Bill Schwartz (Keenan Wynn of "Laserblast") gives him jobs, but warns Sam to be careful. Sam learns from Bill that his old friend, Lieutenant Howard Kruger (Howard Honig of "Airplane 2, The Sequel"), has a lead for him. Kruger explains that Victor Hale has jumped bail. He is only worth peanuts. However, he reveals that this sometime-jazz musician has aroused the wrath of the Prison Guard Association and these fellows have put an unofficial $20-thousand on his capture. Kruger shows Sam an example of the riot glove. He briefs him (and us) about its notorious history. The protest riots in the early 1960s spawned it and it was later used in prison. Neither application worked, and the lawmakers outlawed the glove. According to Kruger, Hale stole the glove from his first victim.

Sam poses as a journalist and interviews Victor's mother. She is an old lady who lives with her daughter. The daughter was slashed up by a pimp and Victor killed the pimp. Victor wound up in prison where the guard pummeled him with the glove. When we finally meet Victor, he is living in a rented apartment. Hagan elicits sympathy for him as a character because of his background and his vigilante justice in the case of his younger sister. Later, we see him teaching a black youngster how to play the guitar like a blues master. Forty seven minutes into the action, Victor calls Sam and suggests that he leave him alone. Sam explains that Victor represents a $20-thousand pay day. Victor assures him that he will be gone before Sam can locate his whereabouts. Sam keeps a tape recording of the telephone conversation. He tracks Victor down to a blues nightclub and barely misses him. As Sam is cruising away in his Cadelliac, he receives a phone call from Victor. Victor invites him over to his apartment house. Sam sneaks up the fire escape. Victor hands him the glove, but Sam is still no match--even with the glove--for the gigantic Victor. Earlier, Sam's old partner, Harry Iverson (Michael Pataki of "Death House"), was waiting for him to arrive home. Harry wants in on the Victor Hale deal. Meanwhile, Victor agrees to escort Sam downstairs so his friends in the apartment house won't hurt him. Harry surprises them as they enter the stairway and he shoots Victor four times. Victor's friends mob Harry and kill him. Sam ends up receiving the bounty and being reunited with his daughter.

Clocking in at 90 solemn minutes, "The Glove" qualifies as an average thriller with strong performances by a sturdy cast.

quirky, seedy, low-key--is that a bad thing?

[Strelnikoff · 14 October 2005]

A film like this can't be rated on any normative 1-10 scale which we usually enlist to appraise the world's great cinema landmarks. This movie appeals only to the shrewder connoisseur of the halt and the lame, the distressed, and the warped. There is no scale for such a movie as 'The Glove' (except perhaps if we use negative integers or decimals).

'The Glove' has that quintessential charm of the 1970's movie. The grainy stock, fuzzy sound recording, squinty leading men, large automobiles, aimless & episodic screenplay; yes, everything right down to the sentimental piano notes in the score wordlessly 'decrying the violence deep inside man'.

The plot is simple at first. Hulking Marauder, methodically eliminating Taxpaying Citizens in a Relentless Revenge Ritual. Big and ugly in the black leather outfit (+ black motorcycle visor helmet?? yes!) has some incredible wicked strange instrument of death--fascinating in its own unique way--a bonafide 'restricted' riot-glove {sometimes used by law enforcement personnel in the course of their 1970s duties}. You can still buy these via mail-order, you know. They are fearsome devices. OK so, simple plot wrapped around an obscure piece of morbid guy-gear--true. But this film is not without character or psychology.

I say, any film with Rosy Grier is worth a look. Need I remind you of 'The Thing with Two Heads'? Now, in this movie, Grier plays his role with restraint and aplomb. Let's give him some credit. Even if just for his sheer physical size, he is interesting to watch. Combine that with his wispy, faint-hearted voice (in this film, philosophizing about 'defining boundaries' and 'the cyclical nature of violence' and you have the basic ingredients for a memorable cult film. In one scene he even plays guitar.

In fact, he is jovial throughout most of the flick. It's perfect. He plays the anti-hero well, and by the end of the movie, fully manages to evoke a twinge of sympathy. Makes an engaging contrast with our growing suspicion that of course, it is him committing these brutal executions.

The violent scenes we witness (as the film develops), fyi, are not boring at all! Lovable Aldo Ray (another big guy, remember him from 'Battle Cry'?) getting "the Glove treatment" while he is trying to instead cage some nooky in the shadowy back seat of what looks like a Chevy LeSabre. Coitus interruptus! Fantastic. 70's film-making at its seamy best.

Another great 'Glove revenge' scene: a revisitation of that old stand-by of the 70s thriller--masked assailant and victim thrashing around in a brightly-lit bathroom, with the shower curtain flailing wildly around and the light strobing. Ending with victim seeping blood over white grouted porcelain tile. Classic.

As for John Saxon: he is fine in this movie. He does his best. Makes it look sincere as he can. He has a secretary he is pursuing, debts to pay, a young daughter to raise, a great old Caddy convertible to keep up--this is a sensitive guy. You can see he is not really that into the violent side of his work. This is a character that has some delicacy, not just the usual 70s slob cop/bounty hunter/detective.

Saxon's character is soft-spoken--shrewd--and good at his job, where his job requires brainwork. Where it requires the strong arm stuff--well, we see that he gets by. But here's where the psychology comes in: Grier (the suspect) is not just a dumb ex-con and through their game of cat-and-mouse he gradually works on Saxon and makes Saxon at least see Grier's motives for the crazy glove killings.

So the interplay between Saxon and Grier is basically where it's all at in this film. And of course that fiendish glove. You just gotta wonder what its like both to hit someone with that thing and also to get hit by it. Anyway, Grier, tired of being chased, forces Saxon to give him a fair fight. And he gets it. And that Glove is used one last time.

Guys, a good fight scene like this deserves our esteem. Take another look at what's going on. Would you accept the terms of the final fight as laid down by Grier? You can at least see how smart he is, by arranging it just in this manner? Its clever resolution to what would be, in any other movie of the same stripe, just another shootout.

This movie is worth recalling in any retrospective of twisted B-violence flicks. I personally, will always recall 'The Glove' with some fondness.

There are better movies to watch than the glove

[jordondave-28085 · 5/10 · 28 April 2023]

(1978) The Glove CRIME DRAMA THRILLER

'The Glove' as the movie is called is really a backdrop to the real story of Sam Kellog's life as a bounty hunter played by John Saxon- this was years before the popular syndicated show "Dog- The Bounty Hunter", since a considerable amount of cities it is the police that do that sort of thing now- not the bounty hunters. Anyways, we get to witness his life story as a bounty hunter and how he is behind in child support payments, considering he also has a daughter and loves to gamble. And as the movie progresses, this person who's wearing "The Glove" is really an African American man named Victor Hale (Roosevelt Grier) who's tagged with a $20,000 bail after assaulting a national security guard occurred at the beginning. He attains the so-called Glove after stealing the newest and improved rioting equipment, and is now using it to get even with the people/ guards who mistreated and abused their authority while he was being incarcerated. What's dumb about this movie, is the fact that if Victor's on the run, why wasn't the police involved, since he can still be charged with assault after his release from prison. This movie makes no sense, since bounty hunters are usually used when people miss their court dates, and fugitives which Victor (the man with the huge bounty) is seen playing in night clubs just because he's also a musician as well.

Decent

[reverendtom · 7/10 · 10 December 2006]

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.

good for some belly laughs

[kmcollins29 · 7/10 · 25 January 2007]

This movie is a classic example of 1970's unintentional hilarity. John Saxon plays bounty hunter Sam Kellogg. He is financially down on his luck and is trying to get custody of his young daughter from his estranged wife. Rosie Grier plays a recently released prison inmate who is beating up guards with a lead filled riot glove, hence the title: The Glove. Saxon's character provides an extremely cheesy narration throughout the entire film. It is good for a few chuckles. The scene in the slaughter house where Saxon and a baddie engage in a battle with two racks of raw lamb makes the film worth seeing alone. There is actually a scene where you can tell it was an obvious blooper but they just keep the camera rolling and used it in the final print. See if you can find it.

An enjoyably inept and unusual 70's drive-in exploitation action oddity

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 12 July 2006]

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.

Saxon and Pataki in the same film!

[BandSAboutMovies · 6/10 · 30 September 2018]

Sam Kellog (Sam's favorite actor ever, John Saxon) was a cop, but now he's a bounty hunter. Working for Bill Schwartz (Keenan Wynn, Laserblast, The Devil's Rain!), a bail bondsman, he brings in lowlifes for low money. His biggest frustration is that his ex-wife is going to cut off visits with his daughter over missed alimony. Then he gets the chance to earn $20,000 from his old boss, Lt. Kruger.

The mark? Victor Hale (Rosey Grier, former football player, needlepoint expert and the man who subdued Sirhan Sirhan), an ex-con who is suspected in the murder of his former prison guards. While he was in the joint, they used a five-pound, leather and steel riot glove to brutalize him. Now, someone - probably him - is using it for revenge.

The movie switches between Kellog and Hale. Kellog's life is a mess while Hale is beloved by the people who live in the section 8 housing alongside him. He's a jazz musician and has found his place in life, even if he is killing all those old guards.

Finally, our protagonists battle one another, with Hale even giving Kellog the glove to use. Their fight is a draw and they both collapse. Hale then rises and helps the bounty hunter to his feet, only to be shot by Kruger, who says that the bounty was for bringing in the man dead, not alive. Hale's neighbors surround the evil cop and murder him.

The result? Kellog gets the bounty anyway and spends the day with his daughter.

This movie also features Joanna Cassidy (Who Framed Roger Rabbit?), Joan Blondell (The Phynx, The Blue Veil), Jack Carter (Alligator), Aldo Ray (Evils of the Night) and Michael Pataki (who is in probably more movies than anyone else we love other than Joh Saxon - witness Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins, Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, Graduation Day, Dead and Buried, Pink Angels, The Baby, Airport '77 and many more).

It's not a great movie, but it does have some great posters. And sometimes, that's all you need to watch it.

Kind of tame, but worth a look

[lazarillo · 25 December 2004]

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.

Neo Noir Gunshoe NOT Blaxploitation

[TheFearmakers · 9/10 · 21 January 2019]

They don't make them any better than this. A big African American dude (Rosey Grier, before that PC term) wears a riot glove that was used on him by brutal prison guards (including first revenge target Aldo Ray) and donning the glove kills all the guards one-by-one...

But the main character isn't Grier but John Saxon, as a narrating bounty hunter who hunts him down as most of the film consists of Saxon's adventures: going after various criminals... which then leads to the climax verses Grier, who really isn't a bad guy and can play the guitar really, really good.

THE GLOVE feels a lot like McQueen's THE HUNTER. All in all there's never a dull moment. This is modern noir mixed with blaxpolotation-style casting, racial pathos and violent melodrama and in a nutshell, everything fits like a...

"No one can escape... from the GLOOOOVEEEE!"

[coverme6 · 24 March 2001]

Oh God almighty, what a weird film this is! It starts out with a

horrendous theme song (with a singer that sounds like Englebert

Humperdink!), and it follows a grisly attack by a huge soul-brother with a glove that can kill with even a flick of its finger! John Saxon is the only saving grace for this movie as a smooth-talking bounty hunter

tracking the glove-man. Everything else, well, let's put it this way: it's like Ed Wood deciding to make a sleazeball action movie from the

late 70's and early 80's. That's how bad the film is!!

Violent bounty-hunter movie

[lor_ · 30 December 2022]

Shot in 1978 but released in 1980, "The Glove" (also known under an alternate title as "Blood Mad") is a competent B-movie featuring John Saxon as a latter-day bounty hunter, not unlike the character played by Steve McQueen in his final pic "The Hunter". A gratuitously violent subplot involving vengeful Roosevelt Grier provides the film's title but throws it off its dramatic tracks in an unsuccessful effort to cater to the blood 'n guts market.

Saxon plays an ex-ball player and ex-cop, eking out an existence by chasing down bail jumpers. He voices over his world-weary lament in well-written film noir fashion, but the film's episodic structure, and flat, unatmospheric direction fail to capture the ambience of those '40s pics.

Saxon's possible big score comes when a Prison Guards Association offers a $20,000 reward for the apprehension of Grier, who is on a revenge rampage beginning with his brutal attack on guard Aldo Ray at film's outset. Grier was motivated by the ruthless treatment he received in prison from guards equipped with a "riot glove". Supposedly invented in the '60s to deal with student riots and outlawed after its use in prisons, the metal and cloth glove is the film's gimmick. Dressed in black with helmet and the glove on to wreak revenge, Grier looks like a refugee from "Rollerball" in his violent scenes. Stuck with an absurdly underwritten role, Grier is Mr. Nice Guy when not cracking heads, wont to serenade ghetto kids with his guitar.

As pic meanders along to the inevitable he-man showdown between Saxon and Grier. Saxon impresses with a strong, personable performance which indicates he could be a solid detective-type hero if given better material. Girlfriend Joanna Cassidy is a distinctive presence stuck in a non-role, while various guest stars (including the late Joan Blondell) have little to do in their episodic cameos. Social consciousness in the violent finale is very poorly conceived as the filmmakers contrive to whip up audience support for mob violence and then cop out with "There has to be another way" line of dialog. Tech credits are okay.

My review was written in January 1981 after a 42nd St. Theater screening.

Dull

[ihateeverymovieisee · 30 August 2003]

The premise for this film is what drew me to rent it. A hitman is

after a killer that uses a high tech riot glove to torture his victims.

John Saxon stars in this heap of garbage and narrates throughout

the ENTIRE movie. This feature is pretty cool at first, but after a

while you begin to get irrated with him explaining the obvious.

About 45 minutes in, the movie loses any steam that it had (it had

none to begin with), and things start making absolutely no sense

at all. The theme music and soundtrack to this movie sounds like

it came from some Saturday morning cartoon, and the fighting

scenes are poorly choreographed. I would not recommend this

film to anyone with a conscience.