Cotton Comes to Harlem (1970) on Netflix
Rev. Deke O'Malley sells shares for a Back-to-Africa ship at a Harlem rally, where masked gunmen steal $87,000 in donations. Detectives Gravedigger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson take on the case.
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- Netflix3.3/5
- IMDb6.5/103,275 votes
- Rotten TomatoesNot available
Trailer
Plot summary
Harlem detectives Gravedigger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson are skeptical of the Reverend Deke O'Malley, who sells shares at a rally for a Back-to-Africa ship called The Black Beauty. During the event, masked gunmen emerge from a meat truck and take $87,000 in donated cash from an armored car. A bale of cotton drops from their getaway vehicle and lies unnoticed. The authorities see O'Malley's movement as a solution to racial problems, but the detectives consider him a charlatan preying on the neighborhood. Captain Bryce tells them to stop treating O'Malley as a suspect, an order they disregard. The detectives visit the apartment of O'Malley's mistress, Iris Brown, hoping he will appear there.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Cotton Comes to Harlem (1970)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Cotton Comes to Harlem is hailed by many as the first blaxploitation film, though others felt it was merely an action comedy.
- Because Cotton Comes to Harlem was shot in Harlem and had large crowd scenes, such as riots and rallies, John Shabazz, a former bodyguard for Malcolm X, and his Black Citizens Patrol volunteered to control the crowds and traffic.
- Ossie Davis declined to direct a sequel to Cotton Comes to Harlem because of strong artistic differences with Samuel Goldwyn Jr. and his studio executives. The eventual sequel, Come Back, Charleston Blue, ended up being directed by Mark Warren.
- Cotton Comes to Harlem inspired more black films during the 1970s, including more action-packed titles such as Shaft and Super Fly, and it eventually became a cult classic.
- Cotton Comes to Harlem employed many local Harlem residents as extras and crew in the neighborhood where it was filmed, which at the time was ravaged with crime, helping to put a positive spotlight on Harlem.
- Redd Foxx, already a veteran nightclub comic, made his film debut in Cotton Comes to Harlem, which led to him being considered for the TV show Sanford and Son; Calvin Lockhart, Judy Pace and Cleavon Little also debuted in the film.
