A Máfia Nunca Perdoa

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.

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")

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.

Criminally underrated 70's crime pic.....fully equal to Dirty Harry & The French Connection, but virtually unheard of at least here in the UK- I IMPLORE fans of hardboiled urban thrillers to check this out, you won't be disappointed! 3 black hoods rob $300,000 from the mafia, killing 2 cops and some mobsters in the process. The mob send in Nick D'salvio, a paranoid sadist married to the bosses daughter & desperate to prove himself worthy to his formidable father in law. The two senior policemen on the case are like chalk and cheese- Capt. Martelli is 55 & a corrupt, hardened, cynical veteran of the streets whose time is clearly drawing to a close. Wheras Lt. Pope is a young black detective- ambitious but fundamentally honest & by the book, and therefore appalled by Martelli's violent and sometimes illegal methods. What raises this film above the norm isn't the rather generic plot. The performances are uniformly excellent- but it's really the writing and directing that elevate this film to greatness.....Martelli and Pope (played by Anthony Quinn and Yaphet Kotto respectively) don't become "buddies" like Riggs and Mortaugh in Lethal Weapon, the simmering tension & mistrust between them remains- as it would in real life. The 3 robbers, whilst never glamourised (only one is shown as having any kind of real conscience, and their leader is dangerously & unpredictably violent), are far from cardboard cut out bad guys- they're all three dimensional characters, a realistic mix of good and bad, with understandable motives. The psychopathic D'Salvio on the other hand is a truly nasty piece of work with no redeeming features, but even he is intriguingly multi-layerd- particularly in his dealings with the positively Machiavellian boss of the Harlem crime syndicate Doc Johnson, in his own way the most ruthless and streetwise character in the movie.....On paper D'Salvio is the senior mobster, and so should have the upper hand, but Johnson expertly plays on his insecurities to gain the upper hand in a masterfully played scene. Perhaps the most surprising thing about the film is how well it has aged- made over 40 years ago it still holds up well today. Also the level of violence is very strong, even when compared to the many other tough thrillers of the time, but it's never gratuitous- like The French Connection, this is a film about the seamy side of life in New York's ghetto, and director Barry Shear captures the mood and texture of grim n gritty 70's Harlem in a way few have managed. A must see for those who like their thrillers edgy, realistic and uncompromising!