Black Caesar

19731973
RR
1h 27m

Black Caesar (1973)

Action Crime Drama

Raised in Harlem, Tommy Gibbs becomes a successful mob boss but he clashes with the rival Mafia and his old enemy, dirty cop McKinney.Raised in Harlem, Tommy Gibbs becomes a successful mob boss but he clashes with the rival Mafia and his old enemy, dirty cop McKinney.Raised in Harlem, Tommy Gibbs becomes a successful mob boss but he clashes with the rival Mafia and his old enemy, dirty cop McKinney.

See production, box office & company info

See production, box office & company info

See more at IMDbPro

Don Pedro Colley in Black Caesar (1973)

Don Pedro Colley in Black Caesar (1973)

Black Caesar (1973)

Black Caesar (1973)

Black Caesar (1973)

Black Caesar (1973)

Black Caesar (1973)

Black Caesar (1973)

Black Caesar (1973)

Black Caesar (1973)

Black Caesar (1973)

Black Caesar (1973)

Hell Up in Harlem

6.0

Hell Up in Harlem

Bucktown

6.2

Truck Turner

6.9

The Mack

6.7

Friday Foster

6.0

Bone

6.7

Super Fly

6.4

Coffy

6.8

Three the Hard Way

6.3

Three the Hard Way

Cotton Comes to Harlem

6.5

Cotton Comes to Harlem

Cleopatra Jones

5.9

Cleopatra Jones

Trouble Man

6.8

Tommy Gibbs is a tough kid, raised in the ghetto, who aspires to be a kingpin criminal. As a young boy, his leg is broken by a bad cop on the take, during a payoff gone bad. Nursing his vengeance, he rises to power in New York City's Harlem. Angry at the racist society around him, both criminal and straight, he sees the acquisition of power as the solution to his rage. He performs a free-lance hit on a Mob contract to attract the attention of the head of a Mafia family. Reluctantly accepted into 'The Family,' he grows increasingly autonomous and aggressive, eventually starting a gang war. —Tad Dibbern <DIBBERN_D@a1.mscf.upenn.edu>

power criminal gang war new york city mob 180 more

Taglines
- Hail Caesar, Godfather of Harlem...The Cat with the .45-Caliber Claws!
Genres
Certificate
- R
Parents guide

Trivia
While filming in Harlem, Larry Cohen was accosted by local gangsters who threatened to disrupt the shoot unless they were paid off. Instead, Cohen offered them small roles in the film. They helped so enthusiastically that they attended the premiere to sign autographs.

Goofs
Tommy cuts off the left ear of the man in the barber's chair, but the ear he drops into the plate of spaghetti is a right ear.

Quotes
Reverend Rufus: Mama! Does Tommy know you're here?
Mama Gibbs: Pray for him, Rufus... you were always a good boy, pray for him.
Reverend Rufus: Okay Mama, we'll pray for him.

Alternate versions
The European version included an additional scene before the skyline fade/end credits where, after Tommy Gibbs is seen wandering in a neighborhood slum, a street gang beats him up, rob him, and leave him for dead, making the audience think that Tommy perished during the altercation. In the late 1990s, the European cut mistakenly made its way on home video, due to a mix-up on MGM's part, the current rights holder of the film. The MGM DVD and Blu-ray by Olive Films feature the same alternate cut.

Connections
Featured in Hell Up in Harlem (1973)

Soundtracks
Down and Out in New York City
Written by Bodie Chandler & Barry De Vorzon
Performed by James Brown

Top review

6/10

The Rise and Fall of a Gangster

In 1953, the delinquent teenager Tommy is raised in Harlem in a period of a racist American society. When he grows up, he becomes a hitman (Fred Williamson) working for the Italian mafia. When he steals accounting ledgers from the mafia, he becomes a powerful kingpin in Harlem, keeping the mobsters and the dirty police commissary McKinney (Art Lund) under his control. But his fall begins when he learns that his mistress Helen (Gloria Hendry) is betraying him with his best friend.

"Black Caesar" is an American action film by Larry Cohen, with the dramatic story of the rise and fall of a black gangster in Harlem. The plot may be dated in the present days, but in 1973 it was a full of action classic of blaxploitation. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "O Chefão do Gueto" ("The Big Boss of the Ghetto")

helpful•6

0

claudio_carvalho
Nov 9, 2018

Release date
- February 7, 1973 (United States)
Country of origin
- United States
Languages
- English
- Italian
Also known as
- Der Pate von Harlem
Filming locations
- Los Angeles, California, USA
Production companies
- American International Pictures (AIP)
- Larco Productions
See more company credits at IMDbPro

Runtime
1 hour 27 minutes
Color
- Color
Sound mix
- Mono
Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1

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Black Caesar (1973)

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