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"A Piece of the Action" sets out to be a film about solving several social problems, and it combines these with comedy and crime. But it is too much for a single script to handle well. It involves the rehabilitation of two criminals, played by Sidney Poitier and Bill Cosby. It is about inner city youths from a racial neighborhood not having the skills to seek and get jobs.

The plot ties these parts together loosely, but the film has some awkward breaks in places. The scripting of the African-American kids reflects the culture of the day. But it seems contrived at times. The rest of the cast do well with the material they have. I just watched this film, and couldn't recall having seen a "young" James Earl Jones before. Had it not been for his very distinguishable, deep voice, I would not have recognized him.