Noel smith, usfcams curator of latin american and caribbean art, provided a biographical sketch of chester himes, the author of the book on which the film was based, and cheryl rodriguez, director of the. Jacques and grave digger jones godfrey cambridge are neighborhood plainclothes cops who keep tabs on the residents and keep a lid on trouble. It was later adapted into a film of the same name in 1970 starring godfrey. When his truck is hijacked and a bale of cotton stuffed with money is lost in the chase, harlem is turned.
There is also an amazing display of early publications of the naacp and the urban league, published in the early 20 th century both of which tell us that. Perl also cowrote the screenplay for cotton comes to harlem 1970, actor ossie davis film directing debut. I think davis manages to restrain the stereotyping at all the right moments, and the whole film comes together beautifully. It was followed two years later by the sequel come back, charleston blue. Hollywood comes to harlem the hood and all that it stands for are explored in an ammi film series ssie davis remembers the second day of directing cotton comes to harlem in 1969 because the. One of the most influential soul cinema pix ever to shoot onto the screen, cotton comes to harlem spawned the blaxploitation boom by delivering a refreshingly different detective action yarn with soul and humor cue and an unbeatable mix of humor and excitement. Cotton comes to harlem mastered in hd one of the most influential soul cinema pix ever to shoot onto the screen, cotton comes to harlem spawned the blaxploitation boom by delivering a refreshingly different detective action yarn with soul and humor cue and an unbeatable mix of humor and excitement. He had written for the television series the big story, naked city, the doctors and the nurses, east sidewest side and n. Deke omalley, who dishonestly claims that small donations will secure parcels of land in africa. As the films backtoafrica evangelist might inquire. Cotton comes to harlem dvd, 2014 for sale online ebay.
Actordirector ossie davis makes his feature film debut with this slambang, all stops out, comedyaction film about expatriate writer. The highly influential blaxploitation film cotton comes to harlem spawned the beginning of the blaxploitation action boom in 1970 by delivering a refreshingly different detective action story utilizing humor, impactful drama, and most refreshingly, a lot of soul. Inseguimento car chase cotton comes to harlem 1970 youtube. Cotton comes to harlem dvd, soul cinema for sale online ebay.
Cotton comes to harlem is one of a series of novels that focus on the harlem section of new york city and feature two black police detectives known as gravedigger jones and coffin ed johnson. Aside from its honest black idioms and actors, cotton comes to harlem is a conventional white movie that employs some terrible white stereotypes of black life. Variety magazine credited 1971s sweet sweetbacks baadasssss song as the first ever blaxploitation film. A sequel, come back, charleston blue, was released in 1972, and for love of imabelle was made into a film under the title a rage in harlem in 1991. Cotton comes to harlem kicks things into high gear from the. Coffin are somewhat reminiscent of briggs and murtaugh from that series. When his truck is hijacked and a bale of cotton stuffed with money is lost in the chase, harlem. Find low everyday prices and buy online for delivery or instore pickup. Mar 04, 2019 cotton comes to harlem trailer the charismatic black nationalist leader rev deke omgm 1970director. Gravedigger and coffin ed are harlem cops, who may have broken some heads but never broke no promises, in the film that was ground zero for blaxploitation cinema.
Two plainclothes policemen, coffin ed johnson raymond st. A film series specifically designed as a vehicle to expose the community to the vast artistic value black film has had throughout the years. Cotton comes to harlem, ossie davis second directorial effort, is layered with character, detail and fine performances, and stands out as one of the more vibrant and less exploitive. Cotton comes to harlem is an american neonoir action comedy film cowritten and directed in 1970 by ossie davis and starring godfrey cambridge, raymond st. The cycle, or series of novels, centers around black detectives ed coffin johnson raymond st. My entry is the 1970 blaxploitation classic, cotton comes to harlem, directed by ossie davis. Cotton comes to harlem is seen by certain critics as the first movie of the blaxplotation era of film in the 1970s. The storyline for this picture is below average and a bit disappointing. Released october 5th, 1995, cotton comes to harlem stars godfrey cambridge, raymond st. Ossie davis, an actor known for his roles in films as diverse as malcolm x and bubba hotep, directed and cowrote the script for this slambang.
Cotton comes to harlem bluray kino lorber home video. Heres the television trailer for the 1970 blaxploitation film cotton comes to harlem. The heroes in this movie are detectives gravedigger jones played by godfrey cambridge, and coffin ed johnson played by raymond. Jun 11, 1970 its strictly for people who dont care much about moviesor who persist in regarding movies as sociology. Cotton comes to harlem nude scenes 18 images and 4 videos including appearances from mabel robinson judy pace. Ossie daviss cotton comes to harlem on kino lorber blu.
Ossie davis cotton comes to harlem the new york times. Himes novel, one of a series about coffin ed johnson and grave digger jones. Cotton comes to harlem letterboxd your life in film. The goal is to appeal to as diverse a population as possible and further the appreciation of black cinema. Jacques, calvin lockhart, judy pace the r movie has a runtime of about 1 hr 37 min, and received a score. The classic black cinema series cotton comes to harlem. The highly influential blaxploitation film cotton comes to harlem spawned the beginning of the blaxploitation action boom in 1970 by delivering a refreshingly different detective action story utilizing humor, impactful drama, and. Cotton comes to harlem, ossie davis second directorial effort, is layered with character, detail and fine performances, and stands out as one of the more vibrant and less exploitive films of the blaxploitation genre. Im not really sure if cotton comes to harlem qualifies as a blaxploitation film. Jul 10, 2018 im not really sure if cotton comes to harlem qualifies as a blaxploitation film.
The opening theme, aint now but its gonna be was written by ossie davis and performed by melba moore. It was adapted into a film in 1970 and a bbc 4 radio play in 2012. Perl briefly attended cornell university, but did not graduate. Jan 15, 2020 sourced from one of himes novels in his hardboiled harlem cycle, the film, cotton comes to harlem was coadapted and directed by ossie davis. Ossie davis, director of kongis harvest, black girl, gordons war, cool red, and crown dick, delivers cotton comes to harlem. Things begin to unravel when a supercool black fixer is hired to straighten out some crooks.
Cotton comes to harlem 1970 the movie database tmdb. Ossie davis makes his directorial debut a smashing success in the trendsetting action crime comedy cotton comes to harlem. Cotton comes to harlem is a 1970 american neonoir action comedy film co written and directed by ossie davis and starring godfrey cambridge, raymond st. Based on a novel by chester himes, cotton comes to harlem boasts sharp dialogue and super performances from top to bottom. Yet this movie contains many of the blaxploitation tropes to follow, and is based on the. Directed by 1 writing credits 3 cast 52 produced by 1 music by 1 cinematography by 1 film editing by 1 art direction by 1 costume design by 1 makeup department 2 production management 1 second unit director or assistant director 5 art department 4. The heroes in this movie are detectives gravedigger jones played by godfrey cambridge. These two, if not the only black detectives in their precinct, are unique because of their success and their style of policing. Ossie davis makes his directorial debut a smashing success in the. In cotton comes to harlem its a comedyaction picture, with down and outers, crime figures, drug dealers, and a few dedicated cops fighting for control of the poor and disenfranchised people trapped in the community. Cotton comes to harlem is a hardboiled crime fiction novel written by chester himes in 1965. Cotton comes to harlem by chester himes, paperback. Ossie davis makes his directorial debut a smashing success in the action crime comedy cotton comes to harlem.
Gravedigger jones and coffin ed johnson are two black cops with a reputation for breaking the odd head. C otton comes to harlem spearheaded the blaxploitation revolution in the early 1970s. Flimflam man deke ohara is no sooner out of atlantas state penitentiary than hes back on the streets working the scam of a lifetime. Hollywood comes to harlem the hood and all that it stands. When new york city police officers gravedigger jones and coffin ed johnson look into omalleys scam, they learn that the cash is being smuggled inside a bale of cotton. Cotton comes to harlem, ossie davis second directorial effort, is layered with character, detail and fine performances, and stands out as one of. Both are annoyed at the success of the reverend deke omailey who is selling trips back to africa to the poor on the installment plan.
The film stars ossie davis in his directorial debut. Because, geez, its a blast getting where youre going, and so worth it once you realize where that is. Cotton comes to harlem by chester himes, paperback barnes. As the film s backtoafrica evangelist might inquire. Cotton comes to harlem 1995 stream and watch online. Jacques and gravedigger jones godfrey cambridge, hardnosed, law enforcement officers who.
Cotton comes to harlem is faithful, sometimes to the point of utter confusion of plot. Cult favorites calvin lockhart and redd foxx are great, but the real fire belongs to the sublime godfrey cambridge as wise police detective gravedigger jones. A poster of the film, cotton comes to harlem is just one of many pieces that contribute to a very layered and scholarly exploration of the multiple meanings of the term pulp. Jacques and redd foxx, and was one of the most commercially successful films in the 1970s for black audiences. Calling ossie davis 1970 film cotton comes to harlem a socalled blaxploitation film isnt actually correct. Mgm packaged the dvd in the soul cinema series along with coffy, foxy brown, black caesar and truck turner, but to me it doesnt really feel like a blaxploitation movie. Cotton comes to harlem dvd, soul cinema for sale online. Sep 16, 2017 chester himes crime novel, cotton comes to harlem, was published in 1965 and adapted into a film in 1970, a classic detective series thriller that began the african american copanddetective genre of the 1960s70s.
Aug 04, 2017 on june 22, 2017, usfcam presented a free film screening of cotton comes to harlem as part of its programming for black pulp. Cotton comes to harlem audiobook chester himes audible. Jacques and grave digger jones godfrey cambridge, two plainclothesmen on the harlem detail, are assigned to investigate the goingson of suspicious local preacher deke omalley calvin lockhart, whose back to africa. Jacques and grave digger jones godfrey cambridge are. Mar 28, 2015 variety magazine credited 1971s sweet sweetbacks baadasssss song as the first ever blaxploitation film. Cambridge won a fouryear scholarship to study medicine but decided, instead, to become an actor, leaving college in his third year. Cotton comes to harlem was made into a movie in 1970, which was set in that time period, rather than the earlier period of the original book. Harlems african american community is being scammed by the rev. Cotton comes to harlem enoch pratt free library calendar. Most genre experts point to melvin van peebles sweet sweetbacks badasssss song andor gordon parkss shaft, both released in 1971, as the films that kicked off the blaxploitation era. On imdb tv, you can catch hollywood hits and popular tv series at no cost. A classic entry in chester himes s trailblazing harlem detectives series, cotton comes to harlem is one of his hardesthitting and most entertaining thrillers. Flimflam man deke o hara is no sooner out of atlanta s state penitentiary than he s back on the streets working the scam of a lifetime. These were mainstream studio films, a number of which were made by black filmmakers, intended primarily for an urban black audience.
Jan 27, 2002 hollywood comes to harlem the hood and all that it stands for are explored in an ammi film series ssie davis remembers the second day of directing cotton comes to harlem in 1969 because the. With coffin ed johnson and grave digger jones on everyones trail and piecing together the complexity of the scheme, cotton comes to harlem made into a film in 1970 is one of himess hardesthitting and most entertaining thrillers. Gantt center classic black cinema series cotton comes to harlem sunday, september 8, 2019 at harvey b. I know it meets a lot of the criteria, and god knows i love a good blaxpoitation film, but to be honest and truthful, it really is simply a crime genre film with comedic overtones and its a damn good one at that. Jacques and gravedigger godfrey cambridge question a conman preacher. Cotton comes to harlem movie 1970 video dailymotion. A classic entry in chester himess trailblazing harlem detectives series, cotton comes to harlem is one of his hardesthitting and most entertaining thrillers. There are constant intimations throughout the film that davis had in mind. Kino releases cotton comes to harlem in widescreen, preserving its 1. Cast calvin lockhart cleavon little dick sabol don bexley emily yancy eugene.
One of the most influential soul cinema pix ever to shoot onto the screen, cotton comes to harlem spawned the blaxploitation boom by delivering a refreshingly different detective action yarn with soul and humor cue. Its the sort of film where you just have to strap yourself in and prepare yourself to accept whatever comes next. Cotton comes to harlem is a quirky, colorful love letter to the people and culture of harlem, tucked away inside a crime story adapted from a chester himes novel. Two harlem cops investigate a robbery, believing that a reverend has staged it in order to steal the money hes collected for a local fundraiser. Cotton comes to harlem dvd 1970 kl studios classics. The 1970 film cotton comes to harlem is a blaxploitation film that was written and directed by ossie davis. This movie is filled with small funny parts like and marked the film debut of redd foxx, clevon little and judy pace. Select any poster below to play the movie, totally free.
Jul 09, 2019 the 1970 film cotton comes to harlem is a blaxploitation film that was written and directed by ossie davis. Advertisement autoplay when autoplay is enabled, a. Cotton comes to harlem is a 1970 american neonoir action comedy film cowritten and directed by ossie davis and starring godfrey cambridge, raymond st. It was later adapted into a film of the same name in 1970 starring godfrey cambridge, raymond st. Harlems africanamerican population is being ripped off by the rev.
Cotton comes to harlem opens with a backtoafrica rally, led by the charismatic conman reverend deke omalley. One of the first in that subgenre of film that sadly became a negative description to some people, this paved the way for black actors and actresses to get their just due, to be the main attraction in film and to showcase their talents on the big. Another bad influence is hitting harlem and gravedigger and coffin ed are the two cops who will stop it. Because davis pushes his characterizations perilously close to stereotypes, the film will probably never receive the recognition it deserves. He acted in many offbroadway productions, winning the village voices obie award in jean genets the blacks. Cotton comes to harlem is faithful, sometimes to the point of utter. The seventh novel in himess detective series, cotton comes to harlem, is generally considered the best of the set, ranking with the works of dashiell hammett and raymond chandler. Cotton comes to harlem, ossie davis hit film which helped usher in the soul cinema craze of the 1970s, makes its way to bluray courtesy of kino lorber.
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