Across 110th Street

This top urban thriller was perhaps the best of the films made during the blaxploitation era. The story is grim, bleak and violent and the grit and grime of Harlem is present in every scene. The theme throughout is black vs. white with no subtle shades of gray. Three black men steal money from the Mafia, with predictable results that follow in short order. Anthony Quinn and Yaphet Kotto are police officers with quite different agendas and their relationship is one of mutual dislike. Anthony Franciosa is over-the-top as the Mafia lieutenant and Richard Ward is a gravel-voiced Harlem crime boss who stands up to the Mafia with a brash defiance. Bobby Womack's vocals accompany the film.

While not truly "blaxploitation", the integrated cast is of major interest in this story (based on a novel by Wally Ferris) strongly and memorably depicting racial differences. Two detectives, a veteran Italian-American named Mattelli (Anthony Quinn) and an up and coming black, Lt. Pope (Yaphet Kotto), are forced to work together while investigating the case of three black men (two of them disguised as cops) who ripped off money from a Mafia controlled bank. Now it's up to Mattelli and Pope to find the three men before the Mafia is able to get their revenge.

There's some wonderful acting in this tough and gritty film, given straightforward treatment by director Barry Shear and featuring plenty of authentic Harlem locations. It's got quite a lot of hard hitting violence, and may be uncomfortable to watch at times for some viewers. The music by J.J. Johnson is superb and there are also great songs by Bobby Womack on the soundtrack. There's one ingenious cut a little past the 77 minute mark. The pacing is quite effective and the storytelling always interesting and compelling.

Quinn is solid as the old school, bigoted veteran and Kotto is his match as the more disciplined, efficient younger man. Anthony Franciosa is fun in a key supporting role as a mob henchman, and the cast is peppered with many familiar faces. Delivering standout performances are the raspy voiced Richard Ward as gangster Doc Johnson and Paul Benjamin as determined career criminal Jim Harris. Viewers will enjoy themselves spotting actors and actresses such as George DiCenzo, Antonio Fargas, Paul Harris, Gloria Hendry, Gilbert Lewis, Charles McGregor, Robert Sacchi, Marlene Warfield, Mel Winkler, and Burt Young.

Overall this is potent entertainment and deserves its place among the great NYC-based films of the 1970s.

Quinn and Shear were the executive producers.

Eight out of 10.

In Harlem, two Italian mobsters meet three black gangsters that work to the kingpin Doc Johnson (Richard Ward) to collect dirty money from their associates in an apartment building. Out of the blue, the smalltime thieves Jim Harris (Paul Benjamin) and Joe Logart (Ed Bernard) 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 (Antonio Fargas) and they kill two policemen. The idealist NYPD Lt. Pope (Yaphet Kotto) and the violent Capt. Mattelli (Anthony Quinn) investigate the case while the Italian Mafia and the black gangsters hunt the killers down. Will Jim Harris and his accomplices be found?

"Across 110th Street" is a great action-crime-Blaxploitation film from the 70´s. The realistic plot would be politically incorrect in the present days but reflects life in those years. The performances and the art direction are magnificent, with tacky, dirty and ugly locations and costumes. My vote is seven. Title (Brazil): "A Máfia Nunca Perdoa" ("The Mafia Never Forgives")

Paul Benjamin, Ed Bernard, and Antonio Fargas disguised as policemen raid a mob numbers bank and rip it off to the tune of $300,000.00. But the getaway is pretty bloody. Five gangsters and two real policemen wind up dead.

The film is a race against time because two parallel manhunts are at work for these perpetrators. The captain of the local police precinct Anthony Quinn is under pressure to bring in these cop killers. It's not clear whether Quinn's connection to the local black gangster crew who run the operation for the mafia is going to help or hinder his investigation.

In the meantime the local Don has sent his son-in-law Anthony Franciosa to head his own manhunt for the robbers. Of course they have sources that the cops don't have.

Of course the methods aren't too much different. Miranda warnings were a new thing at the time and Quinn is an old timer who really doesn't believe in them. The way Quinn and Franciosa interrogate doesn't leave too much room for difference, except that Quinn's subjects were still breathing after it was over.

This film probably has more bad people in it than any other that came along until Goodfellas came out. Yaphett Kotto as a cop sent from headquarters to monitor the situation is probably the only decent one among the principal players.

The best performances in the film are by Tony Franciosa who is never bad in anything and Richard Ward who may work for the Italian mob, but is by no means a lackey. He's determined to wind up a winner no matter what happens to Quinn and Franciosa.

It's a gritty look at the seamy side of law enforcement and its also gangsters without the Godfather glamor.

This movie sweats. Early on in the mostly pandering "blacksplotation" film cycle of the seventies, came this incredibly violent, hate filled drama of three small time crooks who stumble on a big score and their hopeless attempt to survive it. The film is utterly dark and features nary a cheap shot or moment of easy cynicism.

In one scene Anthony Quinn and Yaphet Kotto go to the apartment of one of the crooks lovers, already slain, to look for information and break the news. This is one of the most heartbreaking scenes ever put on film, a model of restraint and economy in a film that is busting at the seams. Actors who were probably barely in another movie give magnificent performances. The neglected Kotto was never better.

A very disturbing film that demands to be seen; art.