Five on the Black Hand Side

Five on the Black Hand Side is a 1973 African American comedy film based on the 1969 play by Charlie L. Russell. It was shot in Los Angeles, California. Leonard Jackson appeared as John Henry Brooks.[2] He was cast in Steven Spielberg's The Color Purple fifteen years later.

Five on the Black Hand Side was conceived as "an antidote" to the "blaxploitation" films of the era.[3] The film's tagline was "You've been coffy-tized, blacula-rized and super-flied - but now you're gonna be glorified, unified and filled-with-pride... when you see Five on the Black Hand Side."