Across 110th Street (1972)

Two New York City cops go after amateur crooks who are trying to rip off the Mafia and start a gang war.

Director:

Barry Shear

Writers:

Luther Davis (screenplay), Wally Ferris (novel)

Stars:

Anthony Quinn, Yaphet Kotto, Anthony Franciosa

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Frank Adu	...	Black Assistant
Frank Arno	...	Detective Rizzo
Joseph Attles	...	Mr. Jessup (as Joe Attles)
Paul Benjamin	...	Jim Harris
Ed Bernard	...	Joe Logart
Tina Beyer	...	Black Whore
Gerry Black	...	Patrolman
Samual Blue Jr.	...	Dr. Christmas
Norman Bush	...	Bartender
Anthony C. Cannon	...	Sal (as Anthony Cannon)
Maria Carey	...	Maria
Anthony Charnota	...	Frank
Dick Crockett	...	Patrolman
Keith Davis	...	Cab Driver
George DiCenzo	...	Patrolman (as George Di Cenzo)

Storyline

In Harlem, two Italian mobsters meet three black gangsters that work to the kingpin Doc Johnson to collect dirty money from their associates in an apartment building. Out of the blue, the smalltime thieves Jim Harris and Joe Logart knock on the door disguised as police officers to steal US$ 300,000.00 from the Mafia. However, they startle when the suitcase with the money falls on the floor and Jim kills the five men with a machine gun. They flee to the runaway car driven by Henry J. Jackson and they kill two policemen. The idealist NYPD Lt. Pope and the violent Capt. Mattelli investigate the case while the Italian Mafia and the black gangsters hunt the killers down. Will Jim Harris and his accomplices be found?

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Plot Keywords:

massacre | police procedural | police detective | blaxploitation | african american | 

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Taglines:

If you steal $300,000 from the mob, it's not robbery. It's suicide.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 March 1973 (Finland)

Also Known As:

110-Ban machi kôsaten

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Studio Plaza - 3400 W. Riverside Dr. Burbank, California, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$10,000,000, 31 December 1973

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$10,000,000, 31 December 1973

Company Credits

Production Co:

Film Guarantors

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min 92 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (TVC)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the scene at Doc Johnson's office while he talks to Matelli and Pope, he turns on the TV. The film being shown is Duel at Diablo (1966), a western directed by Ralph Nelson, which also deals with an ethnic conflict (white soldiers against native Americans). Sidney Poitier, who starred in the film In the Heat of the Night (1967), also stars in this, as well.

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Goofs

In the bar, D'Salvio punches Henry J in the stomach twice, but there is no sound effect.

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Quotes

Jim Harris: Look at me, huh. Look at me! You're looking at a 42 year old ex-con nigga with no schooling, no trade, and a medical problem! Now who the hell would want me for anything but washing cars or swinging a pick? You gotta get your mind out of that white woman's dream!

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Alternate Versions

The original UK cinema version was cut by the BBFC with edits made to nearly all the fight scenes and shots of beatings, and heavy cuts to shootings and a man on fire during the climax. All later releases were uncut.

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Blaxploitation Movies (2016)

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Soundtracks

Hang On In There
Written by Bobby Womack
Performed by Bobby Womack

User Reviews

Tough, noisy, incoherent police melodrama...

Disguised as cops, three black crooks steal a big amount of cash after killing five syndicate runners and two policemen… The New York police and the Mafia react with immediate concern…

Tough police veteran Captain Frank Mattelli (Quinn) resents the intrusion of Lieutenant Pope (Kotto), a black detective, in the case, while Mafia boss Don Gennaro (Frank Mascetta) sends his paranoid son-in-law, Nick D'Salvio (Anthony Franciosa), to reassert control over the Harlem branch and see that the money is recovered…

The black syndicate, headed by Doc Johnson (Richard Ward) and his assistant Shevvy (Gilbert Lewis), rejects D'Salvio, while promising only token help, and accuses Mattelli, who has been on the take from Johnson for years…

Anthony Quinn plays well the ageing detective who has long ago perceived that all his efforts are not going to do more than raise the very small part of the cover of crime, but he is not above taking a bribe from a racketeer… His method of dealing with a reluctant witness is to hit hard first and ask questions later…The rigorously legal approach to police work, as exemplified by Yaphet Kotto, is not for Quinn… This is his territory, his little kingdom, and he keeps the peace as best he knows…