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Cotton Comes to Harlem
Cotton Comes to Harlem is a 1970 American neo-noir action comedy film co-written and directed by Ossie Davis and starring Godfrey Cambridge, Raymond St. Jacques, and Redd Foxx. The film, later cited as an early example of the blaxploitation genre, is based on Chester Himes' novel of the same title. The opening theme, "Ain't Now But It's Gonna Be," was written by Ossie Davis and performed by Melba Moore. The film was one of the many black films that appeared in the 1970s and became overnight hits. It was followed two years later by the sequel Come Back, Charleston Blue.
Plot
Deke "Reverend" O'Malley, a con man, is selling shares at a Harlem rally, for the purchase of a Back-to-Africa movement ship to be called The Black Beauty. During the rally, several masked gunmen jump out of a meat truck and steal $87,000 in donated cash from the back of an armored car. Two Harlem detectives, "Gravedigger" Jones and "Coffin Ed" Johnson, chase the car, and a bale of cotton falls out of the vehicle, unremarked at the time. Though the authorities approve of O'Malley, regarding his "Back-to-Africa" movement as a way to solve American racial problems, both Jones and even more so Johnson are hostile towards him, viewing him as a charlatan who is exploiting the impoverished black community of Harlem. Captain Bryce—who has a portrait of Richard Nixon prominently displayed in his office—tells Jones and Johnson not to treat O'Malley as a suspect, orders that the duo ignore. Jones and Johnson go to the apartment of Iris Brown, O'Malley's mistress, believing he will come to see her at some point, but are called away. Iris is able to escape from the policeman sent to guard her. Iris is shocked to discover O'Malley seducing Mabel Hill, the widow of one of his subordinates killed in the robbery, leading to a fight between the two women and Iris being disillusioned with O'Malley.
Awards
Cast
- Albert Hall
- Anthony Chisholm
- Arnold Williams
- Calvin Lockhart
- Cleavon Little
- Emily Yancy
- Eugene Roche
- Frederick O'Neal
- Gertrude Jeannette
- Gilbert Lewis
- Godfrey Cambridge
- Helen Martin
- J. D. Cannon
- John Anderson
- Jonelle Allen
- Judy Pace
- Lawrence Cook
- Leonardo Cimino
- Lisle Wilson
- Lou Jacobi
- Melba Moore
- Raymond St. Jacques
- Redd Foxx
- Theodore Wilson
- Vernee Watson-Johnson
- Vinnette Justine Carroll
More details
| author | Arnold Perl Ossie Davis |
|---|---|
| award | NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture |
| contentLocation | Harlem New York City |
| director | Ossie Davis |
| editor | Robert Q. Lovett |
| genre | action comedy crime thriller |
| keywords | armored car back-to-africa movement bale of cotton black community con man cotton bale discover disillusion ghana harlem detective harlem detectives impoverish kill malcolm x marcus garvey mask richard nixon stolen money woods theatre |
| musicBy | Galt MacDermot |
| nomination | NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture |
| producer | Samuel Goldwyn Jr. |
| productionCompany | Samuel Goldwyn Jr. |
| publisher | United Artists |
| theme | action comedy black blaxploitation buddy cop comedy thriller neo-noir |