The Plot Against Harry (1989)

A small-time Jewish racketeer, just out of prison, finds himself in a quandary. Returning to his old neighborhood, he finds that the streets that he and his friends once controlled have now... See full summary »

Director:

Michael Roemer

Writer:

Michael Roemer

Stars:

Martin Priest, Ben Lang, Maxine Woods

1 win & 7 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Martin Priest	...	Harry Plotnick
Ben Lang	...	Leo
Maxine Woods	...	Kay
Henry Nemo	...	Max
Jacques Taylor	...	Jack
Jean Leslie	...	Irene
Ellen Herbert	...	Mae
Sandra Kazan	...	Margie
Ronald Coralian	...	Mel Skolnik
Max Ulman	...	Sidney
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Louis Basile	...	Doctor
Margo Ann Berdeshevsky	...	Millie (as Margo Solin)
Ethel Burke	...	Ida
Stephen Cheng	...	Jimmy Hong
Sarah Christie	...	Tillie

Storyline

A small-time Jewish racketeer, just out of prison, finds himself in a quandary. Returning to his old neighborhood, he finds that the streets that he and his friends once controlled have now been taken over by blacks and Hispanics. On top of that, he must try to get back with his family, who want nothing to do with him.

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Plot Keywords:

independent film | character name in title

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 May 1990 (France)

Also Known As:

Conspiração Contra Harry

Box Office

Gross:

$274,182 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

King Screen Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

81 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was shot in black and white in the late 1960s and was not given a proper release. Almost exactly twenty years later, in 1989, it was discovered and given a proper release for the first time.

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Connections

Referenced in The Killing Floor (2007)

User Reviews

Deep sleeper worth a look

This little indie sleeper--made in the sixties, died immediately, was resurrected in the 1989, and is now part of the New Yorker Video series--is distinguished by an original satiric story and a fine, sympathetic performance by Martin Priest who plays the title character Harry Plotnick, a middle-aged New York Jewish racketeer.

The film begins as Harry is being released from prison after a nine-month stay. His chauffeur immediately tells him some of his numbers runners have jumped ship and his gambling flotilla is in danger of sinking. They pick up a couple of his lieutenants who speak Spanish (which Harry doesn't understand) and they more or less ignore him. Harry quickly learns that they and his other runners think of him as washed up. Meanwhile he runs into a couple of his ex-wives and discovers that he has grandchildren. Now a rather unusual mid-life crisis ensues for Harry. He wants to give up the rackets and become an upstanding member of the community, to attend weddings and bar mitzvahs. Just how difficult that is and what transpires form the comedic story of the film.

Director Michael Roemer who also wrote the script uses authentic New York/New Jersey lifestyle details from the sixties (contemporary to him and therefore without the strained or flashy, obtrusive effect we often encounter in period piece movies) to spin his tale. There is a documentary feel to the film overlaid with light-hearted irony. The camera work is amateurish at times and the abrupt cuts lend a kind of jumpy, somehow authentic feel to the story. This can be seen as a satire of gangster films with the warm-hearted and gentle Harry as a kind of anti-Al Capone.

Bottom line: wryly original.

(Note: Over 500 of my movie reviews are now available in my book "Cut to the Chaise Lounge or I Can't Believe I Swallowed the Remote!" Get it at Amazon!)