Final entry in MGM’s Shaft trilogy finds “the Black private dick who’s a sex machine to all the chicks” (Richard Roundtree) selected by an African emir to go undercover and break the slavery ring victimizing his people.

Trained by the emir’s daughter (the alluring Vonetta McGee) in how to best use the native tongue, Shaft’s journey stretches from urban Abbis Ababa, across the Ethiopian savannah, over the Mediterranean and finally to Paris, where he locates and shuts down the big boss, a French slave trader (Frank Finlay).

Unlike Dirty Harry and most action franchises, the Shaft films would actually improve as the series went on. This installment was directed by John Guillermin, who displays his panache filling a Panavision frame with scenic action much the same way he would next in The Towering Inferno.

With a larger budget than either of the previous films, not only is the action of Shaft In Africa sharper, but the location scouts secure some breathtaking scenery, which the filmmakers wisely take the time to savor by having Shaft walk through Ethiopia for several sequences.

The decision to take Shaft off the streets of Harlem and send him out of his element brings a terrific energy that was missing from all but the first ten minutes of the original film. Shaft is not allowed to carry a gun when he starts his journey here, relying only on his mastery of stick fighting for protection, leading to a well choreographed duel in the middle of the film.

Stirling Silliphant wrote the screenplay and brought some much needed wit, one-liners and double entendres to the script without letting the franchise descend into a satire of itself. The women of the movie – McGee, and Neda Arneric, playing the oversexed, adventurous Serbian girlfriend of the big boss – actually have some interesting business here that is not limited to marveling at Shaft’s equipment.

Perhaps the most vital element of the Shaft movies is the music. Even without Isaac Hayes scoring either of the sequels, the soundtrack stayed consistently bad ass. Johnny Pate composed the music here, and The Four Tops performed a sensational title tune, “Are You Man Enough.” The result is an international flavored action film that is way, way better than most of the 007 movies of the decade.

The overseas shoot escalated the budget, which was unfortunately not earned back at the box office. MGM sold the series off to TV for a short-lived weekly show starring Roundtree. Pound for pound, this was one of the best trilogies Hollywood would ever produce.