Review: Across 110th Street

By-the-book black cop Yaphet Kotto and his white partner with questionable morality (aging but tough Anthony Quinn) attempt to get to a trio of African-American hoods (Reckless Antonio Fargas, epileptic Paul Benjamin, and the other guy, Ed Bernard) who were dumb enough to steal money from the local mafia. Anthony Franciosa is the mob boss’ son-in-law, given the task of eliminating the trio and sending a message to anyone with similar ambitions. Fargas parties like its 1999, whilst Benjamin hides out with his girlfriend. Other guy Bernard does other guy stuff.  Meanwhile, our two cops spend a lot of the film trying not to punch each other out, with Kotto appointed the lead officer in the case (Call him MISTER Kotto, or else!...) Richard Ward and Gilbert Lewis play a couple of higher-up Harlem crooks who are uneasy allies with the mafia in tracking down the thieves, after some of their own (black gangsters, that is) ended up casualties in the messy heist.

1972 Barry Shear (the violent western “The Deadly Trackers”) B-movie is like a cross between “The French Connection” and “Shaft”, and is probably best known for the awesome title song by Bobby Womack. Unfortunately, if like me you love the version of that song played in Tarantino’s “Jackie Brown”, you’re in for a disappointment. Whilst I believe both versions are indeed Womack, they are distinctly different, and the one used here (whilst still enjoyable) is much the lesser, thanks to a faster tempo and awful back-up singers. But once Fargas (AKA Huggy Bear) turned up to play the getaway driver (!), I knew I was in pretty safe hands, the opening scene being a spectacular highlight. Shear, not the most prolific or talented of directors does do some interesting things here and there, with some early use of hand-held for an extra punch (especially in the opening), as well as one of the few times I’ve seen quick cut editing put to genuinely good use. It really surprises me that there weren’t more mafia vs. gangsta flicks made during this period, with flicks like “Black Caesar” touching on it somewhat, but not to this extent.

Kotto oozes imposing presence, here’s the one black man (aside from maybe Ving Rhames) that no racist goon is gonna fuck with. He’s that awesome, and unlike a lot of people, he’s so awesome and powerful he doesn’t even need to shout or get violent. You know he can fuck you up good. Franciosa, whilst not a great actor, is shown to particularly good advantage here. He’s not in the film much, but his every appearance is memorable. Plum roles for noted scene-stealer Fargas (having a ball with all those ho’s and money), the always welcome Benjamin (perfectly essaying the frustration of someone black, poor and living in 70s America), gravel-voiced Ward, and a pimpin’ Lewis (whose pink coat is money!). Quinn, of course, is solid (though the racist angle is kinda half-baked), and one of the only geriatrics of the time who could still believably beat the living shit outta you if you got outta line. Personally, I’d have preferred Burt Lancaster, Richard Widmark, Kirk Douglas, Robert Mitchum, or Ernest Borgnine, but that’s just me being nitpicky.

The film could easily have just focussed on the two criminal factions and not lost any quality, because the cops take too long to get into the action here, and eat up a lot of time that could’ve been better spent on Franciosa and co. Either that, or get the cops into the main action a lot sooner. Fargas features in the film’s most talked about scene, and whilst bloody and brutal, it does seem rather less graphic than I had expected. Still the film’s pretty damn violent for 1972 (in that red paint kinda way typical of the period), and its only other flaw is a slow, draggy pace. The film sure does get the point across, though, that 1970s Harlem, New York was overcrowded with crims and hos. Score by J.J. Johnson (the blaxploitation flick “Willie Dynamite”, starring Gordon from “Sesame Street”!) eschews some of the usual (irritating) brass-heavy 70s cop movie score in favour of some African drum beats, giving a different flavour to the chase scenes.

Overall, the film is flawed, but still one of the better-made, African-American centred crime films, and a film that perhaps is even more mainstream than “Shaft”. Look for Uncle Paulie (Burt Young) in the opening scene, one of his first roles. Scripted by Luther Davis (“Kismet”, believe it or not), from the novel by Wally Ferris, any fan of 70s crime/action cinema needs to see this at least once.

Rating: B-