Come Back, Charleston Blue (1972)

Director:

Mark Warren

Writers:

Peggy Elliott (writer)
Chester Himes (novel)

Genre:

Action | Comedy

Tagline:

Coffin Ed and Gravedigger Jones and a ghost that just won't quit!

Plot:

Sequel to Cotton comes to Harlem. Another bad influence is hitting Harlem and Gravedigger and Coffin Ed are the two cops who will stop it...

Plot Keywords:

Sequel | Blaxploitation | Based On Novel | Character Name In Title

Cast

Godfrey Cambridge	...	Gravedigger Jones
Raymond St. Jacques	...	Coffin Ed Johnson
Peter De Anda	...	Joe
Percy Rodrigues	...	Bryce
Jonelle Allen	...	Carol
Maxwell Glanville	...	Caspar
Minnie Gentry	...	Her Majesty
Dick Sabol	...	Jarema
Leonardo Cimino	...	Frank Mago
Toney Brealond	...	Drag Queen
Tim Pelt	...	Earl J
Marcia McBroom	...	Girl Barber
Darryl Knibb	...	Douglas
Joseph Ray	...	Bubba
Adam Wade	...	Benjy

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:PG

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Formosa Productions

Trivia:

This film and They Call Me MISTER Tibbs! (1970) are notable as among the first sequels to a color cop movie, long before the first sequel to Dirty Harry (1971) came out. Even more remarkable, both of these films featured African-American protagonists.

Movie Connections:

Follows Cotton Comes to Harlem (1970)

Soundtrack:

COME BACK CHARLESTON BLUE

All sequels should be this good...

This film is sort of a pt.2 to "Cotton comes to Harlem" though it easily stands on its own .Once again we have superb acting and excellent direction by Ozzie Davis .I feel this film is not quite as funny as the previous outing though, and that may be due to the fact that this story revolves around the scourge of drug use and drug dealers .These are things that I believe Ozzie really hated to see going on in the community .As a director he probably recognized that Hollywood was not going to address these issues at the time ,they didn't have the guts.It is worth noting Ozzie made at least three films concerning drug use ,this one ,"Gordons War'and I think "Hit!" starring Billy Dee Williams. In this we see Viet Nam vets involved in the lucrative drug trade ,using the coffins of fallen comrades to ship the stuff in (check it out,this actually happened in the 70's).Much of the film is hilarious though ,and Godfrey Cambridge and the rest make this film memorable .Another film classic to be cherished .