Top Of The Heap is an ACAB text for the ages Watch This o ffers movie recommendations inspired by new releases, premieres, current events, or occasionally just our own inscrutable whims. This week: To kick off Black History Month, we’re looking back on genre films by unsung or underappreciated Black filmmakers. Advertisement We first see Top Of The Heap’s beat cop protagonist George Lattimer as he surveys a muddy brawl between construction workers and hippies. “Bullshit!” he snarls before the frame freezes on a low-angle shot of him in riot gear. A title card appears: “Produced, Written, Directed by and Starring Christopher St. John.” Almost immediately following this introduction, Lattimer is thrown to the ground and hit in the face with a piss balloon. It neatly encapsulates Lattimer’s damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don’t internal conflict. Like Rodney Dangerfield, he receives no respect from anyone: his family criticizes him for being absent, his superiors refuse to promote him because of his race, and the community hates him for being The Man. He’s pulled from all sides and logic dictates he can only take so much.