Cotton Comes to Harlem (1970)

Gravedigger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson are two black cops with a reputation for breaking the odd head. Both are annoyed at the success of the Reverend Deke O'Mailey who is selling trips ... See full summary »

Director:

Ossie Davis

Writers:

Ossie Davis, Chester Himes (novel),

Stars:

Godfrey Cambridge, Raymond St. Jacques, Calvin Lockhart

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Godfrey Cambridge	...	Gravedigger Jones
Raymond St. Jacques	...	Coffin Ed Johnson
Calvin Lockhart	...	Rev. Deke O'Malley
Judy Pace	...	Iris
Redd Foxx	...	Uncle Bud / Booker Washington Sims
Emily Yancy	...	Mabel
John Anderson	...	Bryce
Lou Jacobi	...	Goodman
Eugene Roche	...	Anderson
J.D. Cannon	...	Calhoun
Mabel Robinson	...	Billie
Dick Sabol	...	Jarema
Cleavon Little	...	Lo Boy
Teddy Wilson	...	Barry (as Theodore Wilson)
Maxwell Glanville	...	Caspar

Storyline

Gravedigger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson are two black cops with a reputation for breaking the odd head. Both are annoyed at the success of the Reverend Deke O'Mailey who is selling trips back to Africa to the poor on the installment plan. When his truck is hijacked and a bale of cotton stuffed with money is lost in the chase, Harlem is turned upside down by Gravedigger and Coffin Ed, the Reverend, and the hijackers. Much of the humor is urban black, which was unusual in 1970.

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Plot Keywords:

cotton | chase | black cop | loot | police | 

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Taglines:

Introducing COFFIN ED and GRAVEDIGGER, two detectives only a mother could love.

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Genres:

Action | Comedy

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

MGM

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 May 1970 (USA)

Also Known As:

Algodón en Harlem

Filming Locations:

Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,200,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Formosa Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (DeLuxe Color)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

When Jarema puts on the paper bag, there is only one hole cut out - for his nose. Moments later, when he runs out into the hall, the bag now has eyeholes as well.

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Quotes

Gravedigger Jones: Is that the way to talk to anybody? Don't you know that black is beautiful?

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Connections

Referenced in Harlem Aria (1999)

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Soundtracks

"Cotton Comes To Harlem"
Music by Galt MacDermot
Lyrics by Joseph E. Lewis
Sung by George Aliceson Tipton (as George Tipton)

User Reviews

Tote That Cotton, Lift That Bale, It's Worth A Fortune

One of the better black exploitation pictures to come out of the Seventies was Cotton Comes To Harlem where Raymond St. Jacques and Godfrey Cambridge gave a black twist to the male buddy film that so many white actors had done over the years going all the way back to James Cagney and Pat O'Brien.

St. Jacques and Cambridge play a pair of police detectives assigned to a precinct north of Central Park where they've drawn duty being security for a rally headed by the Reverend Calvin Lockhart who's got a nascent Back to Africa movement going. He's collecting money at his rally and preaching up a storm when some masked bandits armed with automatic weapons take off with the proceeds. The money gets hidden in a bale of cotton and then the bale gets ripped off.

Our two detectives got a whole host of suspects, some white numbers gangsters from Pleasant Avenue, black militants, the good reverend himself who St. Jacques has a passionate dislike for and various and assorted other criminal types. Lockhart is one charismatic preacher and as he says himself, he could be another Marcus Garvey who immediately came to mind before Lockhart mentioned his name during the film.

John Anderson and Eugene Roche are St. Jacques and Cambridge's superiors in the police department, Anderson impatient with them and Roche inclined to give them plenty of room to maneuver. Judy Pace plays Lockhart's mistress and one seductive temptress if there ever was one. And we can't forget Redd Foxx in a delightful performance as an old rummy whose ship might just be coming in.

Cotton Comes To Harlem moves at a very fast pace with absolutely not a wasted frame of film. It holds up very well after almost 40 years even if those fashions and those Afros don't.