The Plot Against Harry

19891989
1h 21m

IMDb RATING

6.9/10

331

YOUR RATING

Comedy Crime

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 ... Read allA 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 ... Read allA 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.

IMDb RATING

6.9/10

331

YOUR RATING

See production, box office & company info

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Awards
- 1 win & 7 nominations

Trivia
The film was shot in black-and-white in the late 1960s and was not given a proper release. Almost exactly 20 years later, in 1989, it was discovered and given a proper release for the first time.

Connections
Featured in Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: Tremors/Ski Patrol/Internal Affairs/The Plot Against Harry (1990)

User reviews6

Review

Featured review

9/10

Funny, cruel, mean-spirited

If Diane Arbus made a comedy from a script by Ernest Lehman and Cliffford Odets, the result would LOOK a lot like The Plot Against Harry. This is an icy-hearted comedy with scarcely a normal-looking human being in sight. Nearly everyone is some sort of New York Jewish grotesque. And yet there are dribs and drabs of sympathetic characterization throughout, as well as a fascinating and broad sociological survey of a range of urban types. We move easily from gangster-limo to garmento fashion-show, to a heart-charity telethon where an impossibly bland crooner entertains on the improbably shoddy set of a TV studio. By the end, you're rooting for Harry, a small-time hood with the personality of a pickled whitefish. This movie is one of my all-time favorites.

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