''Cotton Comes to Harlem'' is a 1970 American
neo-noir
Neo-noir is a revival of film noir, a genre that had originally flourished during the post-World War II era in the United Statesroughly from 1940 to 1960. The French term, ''film noir'', translates literally to English as "black film", indicating ...
action
Action may refer to:
* Action (narrative), a literary mode
* Action fiction, a type of genre fiction
* Action game, a genre of video game
Film
* Action film, a genre of film
* ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford
* ''Action'' (1980 fil ...
comedy thriller film co-written and directed by
Ossie Davis
Raiford Chatman "Ossie" Davis (December 18, 1917 – February 4, 2005) was an American actor, director, writer, and activist. He was married to Ruby Dee, with whom he frequently performed, until his death. He and his wife were named to the NAACP ...
and starring
Godfrey Cambridge
Godfrey MacArthur Cambridge (February 26, 1933 – November 29, 1976) was an American stand-up comic and actor. Alongside Bill Cosby, Dick Gregory, and Nipsey Russell, he was acclaimed by ''Time'' in 1965 as "one of the country's foremost celeb ...
,
Raymond St. Jacques, and
Redd Foxx.
The film, later cited as an early example of the
blaxploitation genre, is based on
Chester Himes
Chester Bomar Himes (July 29, 1909 – November 12, 1984) was an American writer. His works, some of which have been filmed, include '' If He Hollers Let Him Go'', published in 1945, and the Harlem Detective series of novels for which he is be ...
'
novel of the same name. The opening theme, "Ain't Now But It's Gonna Be," was written by Ossie Davis and performed by
Melba Moore
Beatrice Melba Hill or Beatrice Melba Smith (sources differ) (born October 29, 1945), known by her stage name Melba Moore, is an American singer and actress.
Biography Early life and education
Moore was born Beatrice Melba Hill or Beatrice Melba ...
. The film was one of the many black films that appeared in the 1970s and became an overnight hit. It was followed two years later by the sequel ''
Come Back, Charleston Blue
''Come Back, Charleston Blue'' is a 1972 American comedy film starring Godfrey Cambridge and Raymond St. Jacques, loosely based on Chester Himes' novel ''The Heat's On''. It is a sequel to the 1970 film '' Cotton Comes to Harlem''.
Plot
Detect ...
''.
Plot
Deke "Reverend" O'Malley, a
con man
A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust. Confidence tricks exploit victims using their credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, confidence, irresponsibility, and greed. Researchers have def ...
, is selling shares at a
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...
rally, for the purchase of a
Back-to-Africa movement
The back-to-Africa movement was based on the widespread belief among some European Americans in the 18th and 19th century United States that African Americans would want to return to the continent of Africa. In general, the political movement wa ...
ship to be called ''The Black Beauty''. During the rally, several masked gunmen jump out of a meat truck and steal $87,000 in donated cash from the back of an armored car. Two
Harlem detectives, "Gravedigger" Jones and "Coffin Ed" Johnson, chase the car, and a
bale of cotton falls out of the vehicle, unremarked at the time. Though the authorities approve of O'Malley, regarding his "Back-to-Africa" movement as a way to solve American racial problems, both Jones and even more so Johnson are hostile towards him, viewing him as a charlatan who is exploiting the impoverished black community of Harlem. Captain Bryce—who has a portrait of Richard Nixon prominently displayed in his office—tells Jones and Johnson not to treat O'Malley as a suspect, orders that the duo ignore. Jones and Johnson go to the apartment of Iris Brown, O'Malley's mistress, believing he will come to see her at some point, but are called away. Iris is able to escape from the policeman sent to guard her. Iris is shocked to discover O'Malley seducing Mabel Hill, the widow of one of his subordinates killed in the robbery, leading to a fight between the two women and Iris being disillusioned with O'Malley.
Uncle Budd, a scavenger, finds the bale of cotton and sells it for $25 to a junk dealer, but later buys it back for $30. There is a reward out for the $87,000, and Gravedigger and Coffin deduce that the money was hidden inside the bale that fell out of the getaway vehicle during the chase, leading to a violent search as rival gangsters seek the money. Iris tells Jones and Johnson the truth—namely that the robbery was part of a plan to allow O'Malley to steal the money without discrediting himself, but that he was double-crossed by his partner Calhoun, a white career criminal whom he met in prison who decided to take the money for himself. Calhoun kidnaps Iris to torture her for information about where the bale is, but after a shoot-out, Jones and Johnson rescue her.
At a theater in Harlem, Iris's friend, the dancer Billie, uses the bale of cotton as part of her act, which attracts both Calhoun and O'Malley to the theater. Jones and Johnson arrest and humiliate Calhoun—who was dressed in blackface—at the theater. In the back of the theater, Johnson beats O'Malley in a fight. Jones and Johnson expose the Reverend O’Malley to the audience of the theater as the fraud that he is, remarking that he could had been another
Marcus Garvey
Marcus Mosiah Garvey Sr. (17 August 188710 June 1940) was a Jamaican political activist, publisher, journalist, entrepreneur, and orator. He was the founder and first President-General of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African ...
or
Malcolm X
Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an American Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figure during the civil rights movement. A spokesman for the Nation of I ...
, but instead he chose to be just a petty conman who exploited ordinary people. As O'Malley begs for support, the audience turn their backs on him and walks out. Detectives Jones and Johnson then blackmail Tom, a white mob leader, to give them $87,000 — to be restored to the original donors — after discovering that Uncle Budd has run off with the stolen money and emigrated to
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
, to live in retirement with his ill-gotten gains and a harem.
Cast
*
Godfrey Cambridge
Godfrey MacArthur Cambridge (February 26, 1933 – November 29, 1976) was an American stand-up comic and actor. Alongside Bill Cosby, Dick Gregory, and Nipsey Russell, he was acclaimed by ''Time'' in 1965 as "one of the country's foremost celeb ...
as Detective
"Gravedigger" Jones
*
Raymond St. Jacques as Detective
Ed "Coffin Ed" Johnson
*
Calvin Lockhart as Deke "Reverend" O'Malley
*
Judy Pace
Judy Lenteen Pace (born June 15, 1942) is an American actress known for her roles in films and television shows, particularly blaxploitation films. Pace portrayed Vickie Fletcher on the TV series '' Peyton Place'' (1968–1969) and Pat Walters on ...
as Iris Brown
*
Redd Foxx as Uncle Budd / Booker Washington Sims
* Emily Yancy as Mabel
*
John Anderson as Bryce
*
Lou Jacobi
Lou Jacobi (born Louis Harold Jacobovitch; December 28, 1913October 23, 2009) was a Canadian character actor.
Life and early career
Jacobi was born Louis Harold Jacobovitch in Toronto, Canada, to Joseph and Fay Jacobovitch.
Jacobi began acting ...
as Goodman
*
Eugene Roche
Eugene Harrison Roche (September 22, 1928 – July 28, 2004) was an American actor and the original " Ajax Man" in 1970s television commercials.
Personal life
Roche was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Mary M. (née Finnegan ...
as Anderson
*
J.D. Cannon as Calhoun
* Mabel Robinson as Billie
* Dick Sabol as Jarema
*
Cleavon Little
Cleavon Jake Little (June 1, 1939 – October 22, 1992) was an American stage, film, and television actor. He began his career in the late 1960s on the stage. In 1970, he starred in the Broadway production of '' Purlie'', for which he earned both ...
as "Lo Boy"
*
Theodore Wilson
Theodore Rosevelt "Teddy" Wilson (December 10, 1943 – July 21, 1991) was an American stage, film, and television actor. He is best known for his recurring roles as Earl the Postman on the ABC sitcom '' That's My Mama'', and Sweet Daddy Wil ...
as Barry
*
Leonardo Cimino
Leonardo Cimino (November 4, 1917 – March 3, 2012) was an American film, television and stage actor who in 1937 appeared in the original stage production of Marc Blitzstein's ''The Cradle Will Rock''. Cimino's most well known roles are in the 1 ...
as Tom
*
Don Bexley as Vendor In Crowd (uncredited)
Production
Filmed between May and June 1969, ''Cotton Comes to Harlem'' employed many local residents as extras and crew in the
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...
neighborhood where it was filmed. This helped to put a positive spotlight on Harlem, which at the time was ravaged with crime.
Seeing that the film would be shot in Harlem, and was featuring large crowd scenes, such as riots and rallies, John Shabazz (a former bodyguard for
Malcolm X
Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an American Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figure during the civil rights movement. A spokesman for the Nation of I ...
) and the so-called Black Citizens Patrol volunteered to control the scenes with their experience in keeping out unwanted spectators and policing traffic. The Black Citizens Patrol's purpose was to protect the black community from itself, so they made themselves available at all times, even operating as an escort service.
The film saw the debut of
Calvin Lockhart,
Judy Pace
Judy Lenteen Pace (born June 15, 1942) is an American actress known for her roles in films and television shows, particularly blaxploitation films. Pace portrayed Vickie Fletcher on the TV series '' Peyton Place'' (1968–1969) and Pat Walters on ...
, and
Cleavon Little
Cleavon Jake Little (June 1, 1939 – October 22, 1992) was an American stage, film, and television actor. He began his career in the late 1960s on the stage. In 1970, he starred in the Broadway production of '' Purlie'', for which he earned both ...
. Another debut was by
Redd Foxx, already well known as a veteran nightclub comic, leading him to be considered for the TV Show ''
Sanford and Son''.
Cambridge also starred as a white man who turns black in the motion picture comedy ''
Watermelon Man'', which opened the same day as ''Cotton Comes to Harlem''.
Melba Moore
Beatrice Melba Hill or Beatrice Melba Smith (sources differ) (born October 29, 1945), known by her stage name Melba Moore, is an American singer and actress.
Biography Early life and education
Moore was born Beatrice Melba Hill or Beatrice Melba ...
, who sang the film's theme song, “Ain’t Now But It’s Gonna Be” (written by Ossie Davis) was contemporaneously starring in the hit
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
musical, ''
Purlie
''Purlie'' is a musical with a book by Ossie Davis, Philip Rose, and Peter Udell, lyrics by Udell and music by Gary Geld. It is based on Davis's 1961 play ''Purlie Victorious'', which was later made into the 1963 film '' Gone Are the Days!'' and ...
!''
''Purlie'' (based on Davis' 1961 play ''Purlie Victorious'') starred
Cleavon Little
Cleavon Jake Little (June 1, 1939 – October 22, 1992) was an American stage, film, and television actor. He began his career in the late 1960s on the stage. In 1970, he starred in the Broadway production of '' Purlie'', for which he earned both ...
and Moore (both of whom became
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...
-winners for their performances in the play).
Themes
''Cotton Comes to Harlem'' is hailed by many as the first
blaxploitation film, although others felt that it was merely an action comedy film. Detectives Gravedigger and Coffin Ed do not always follow the rules. They are not necessarily fighting to protect the rule of law, but they try to protect their people from racist attitudes.
''Cotton Comes to Harlem'' also demonstrates
Black Power by depicting tools such as self-determination. The detectives work throughout the movie to prove that the black community was being taken advantage of, and by the end of the film, they gain the respect of white officers and are able to demand $87,000 from the white mafioso who runs the Harlem rackets, which they use to replace the money stolen at the beginning of the film.
Reception
Critical response
Film critic
Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films and the film medium. In general, film criticism can be divided into two categories: journalistic criticism that appears regularly in newspapers, magazines and other popular mass-media outl ...
Vincent Canby
Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who served as the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in ...
of ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' was unimpressed with the film, writing:
In contrast, in retrospective reviews, Ken Hanke of the ''
Mountain Xpress
The ''Mountain Xpress'' is an alternative newspaper covering news, arts, local politics, and events in Asheville and western North Carolina, USA. Published each Wednesday in print and online, it has a print circulation of about 29,000. The Mounta ...
'' called ''Cotton Comes to Harlem'' "one of the earliest and best
Blaxploitation films," and Brian Orndorf of Blu-Ray.com wrote, "''Harlem'' is mostly about the ride, with chases and barbed banter urging the movie along, keeping the whole endeavor light on its toes," giving the film a B+.
Box office
''Cotton Comes to Harlem'' was released at the
Woods Theatre
The Woods Theatre was a movie palace located at the corner of Randolph and Dearborn Streets in the Chicago Loop. It opened in 1918 and was a popular entertainment destination for decades. Originally a venue for live theater, it later converted to s ...
in Chicago on May 26, 1970.
The following week it opened at the
Palms Theatre in Detroit before expanding a week later in New York City, Louisville, Milwaukee, Washington D.C., and a further theater in Detroit.
The film grossed $90,000 in its opening week, setting a house record at the Woods Theatre.
[ After its third week it had grossed $506,000 from six cities, setting additional house records in New York and Detroit.][ Produced on a budget of $1.2 million,][Box Office Information for ''Cotton Comes to Harlem''.](_blank)
IMDb
IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...
via Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
. Retrieved May 3, 2014. it earned $5.2 million in theatrical rentals during its North American release, making it the 22nd highest-grossing film of 1970.
''Cotton Comes to Harlem'' is one of the most commercially successful film Hollywood produced in the 1970s starring a predominantly black cast.
The film was one of the many black films that appeared in the 1970s eventually becoming a cult classic
A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...
. ''Cotton Comes to Harlem'' inspired more black films during the 1970s, including more action-packed numbers such as '' Shaft'' and '' Super Fly.''
Home media
The film was released to DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
20th Century Studios Home Entertainment (commonly referred to as 20th Home Video, or 20th Home Entertainment, formerly known as 20th Century-Fox Video, CBS/Fox Video, Fox Video, and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment) is a home video label of Wa ...
(acting as distributor for MGM Home Entertainment
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Home Entertainment LLC ( d/b/a MGM Home Entertainment and formerly known as MGM Home Video, MGM/CBS Home Video and MGM/UA Home Video) is the home video division of the American media company Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
History ...
) January 9, 2001. ''Cotton Comes to Harlem'' was released on Blu-ray
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...
by Kino Lorber
Kino Lorber is an international film distribution company based in New York City. Founded in 1977, it was originally known as Kino International until it was acquired by and merged into Lorber HT Digital in 2009. It specializes in art house films, ...
(under license from MGM) on September 9, 2014.
Sequel
Ossie Davis declined to direct a sequel
A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...
to ''Cotton Comes to Harlem,'' due to strong artistic differences with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 ...
(MGM). The eventual sequel, ''Come Back, Charleston Blue
''Come Back, Charleston Blue'' is a 1972 American comedy film starring Godfrey Cambridge and Raymond St. Jacques, loosely based on Chester Himes' novel ''The Heat's On''. It is a sequel to the 1970 film '' Cotton Comes to Harlem''.
Plot
Detect ...
'', loosely based on Himes' ''The Heat's On,'' with much original material injected, ended up being directed by Mark Warren and was released in 1972. It opened to mixed reviews, with critics feeling it was decent, but not riotous like the original 1970 film.
See also
* List of American films of 1970
This is a list of American films released in 1970.
''Patton'' won the Academy Award for Best Picture.
The top-grossing film at the U.S. box office was ''Airport''.
__TOC__
A–B
C–F
G–I
J–M
N–S
T–Z
See also
* 1970 in ...
References
Citations
Sources
*
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cotton Comes To Harlem (Film)
1970 films
1970s English-language films
American action comedy films
American buddy cop films
American comedy thriller films
Blaxploitation films
Films based on American novels
Films based on crime novels
Films directed by Ossie Davis
Films set in Harlem
Films set in New York City
Films shot in New York City
United Artists films
1970s action comedy films
American neo-noir films
1970 directorial debut films
1970 comedy films
African-American action films
African-American comedy films
1970s American films