Across 110th Street

Plot synopsis:
A trade of drug money is occurring between two Italians (from the South of 110th street in New York) and three blacks (from Harlem to the North of 110th Street). Suddenly, two men (Paul Benjamin & Ed Bernard) uniformed as police officers knock on the door. When they enter one of the two men dressed as cops holds the drug dealers hostage with a machine gun. When one of the black hostages reaches for his pistol, the man shoots everyone in the room to death, except his partner. When the two killers rush out with the drug money, they hop in a car with their driver (Antonio Vargas). When the driver nervously hits a few of the cars around them, it attracts the attention of an African-American cop, who is shot to death by the man with the machine gun before he realizes what's going on. Another cop (this one white) comes upon the situation and pulls his gun, but is fatally hit by the getaway car.Seemingly before the cops are aware of the situation, the two crime syndicates are aware that they've been ripped off. Mafioso Nick D'Salvio(Anthony Franciosa) is coached by his Don (who is also his father-in-law) that this is an opportunity to keep the blacks in check and that he must severely punish the men responsible for the robbery and the murder of the two Italians. D'Salvio pays a visit to the black crime boss in Harlem, Doc Johnson (Richard Ward). Johnson promises to put his main henchman, Shevvy (Gilbert Lewis), on the the trail of the thiefs. But D'Salvio threateningly intones that, while Shevvy may find them, the punishment must be left to the Italians. Johnson, unintimidated, taunts D'Salvio as a "punk errand boy", causing D'Salvio to try to attack him. However, D'Salvio's henchman hold him back and calm him before they leave.The police have finally arrived and are all over the building where the drug theft and massacre occurred. Aging Cpt. Mattelli (Anthony Quinn) arrives prepared to oversee the investigation. However Mattelli's chief lets him know to his chagrin that the much younger (and African-American) Lt. Pope (Yaphet Kotto) will be leading the investigation. Pope mistrusts Mattelli because he rightly believes Mattelli to be a drunk, a racist, and a crooked cop who doesn't hestitate to beat up suspects or even crime witnesses.The mostly black residents in the surrounding neighborhood of the crime (although we know many of them witnessed the crime) refuse to disclose information to the police. However, they gladly let Doc Johnson know the vehicle that was used in the getaway. Shevvy and D'Salvio use this track down it's new owner, Henry J. Jackson, who we recognize as the getaway driver of earlier. Meanwhile, tipped off to the vehicle's location, Mattelli and Pope have the car pulled out of the Hudson River. However, before they can figure out who was driving, Shevvy and D'Salvio have tracked down Jackson to a whorehouse. D'Salvio smashes Jackson in the face with a glass and then beats him to the floor until Jackson is a bloody pulp. Before they leave, Shevvy is given Jackson's clothes and finds a note from a dry cleaners. The police find Jackson tied up in crucifixion and that he's been castrated. Pope and Mattelli try to get Jackson to tell them the identity of his killer in an ambulance, but Jackson is only able to scream in agony before he dies.Joe Logart (Bernard), who we recognize as one of the thieves dressed as a cop at the beginning, nervously sees the TV report of Jackson's murder. He is an employee at the same dry cleaner that Jackson had a note from. He goes to see the other, more trigger happy thief, Jim Harris (Benjamin), to let him know that he's going to try and leave the area. Logart suggests that Harris should escape as well, but Harris refuses and wishes Logart well. We find that Harris lives with his girlfriend and has told her about the robbery. Harris is a 42-year-old ex-con and tells her that there's no way he could make money other than by crime.Mattelli takes Pope to Doc Johnson's office. Mattelli warns Johnson "no more crucifixions!" However, Johnson is again unfazed and denies involvement in Jackson's murder. For Pope's benefit, Johnson announces that Mattelli has long since been paid off by Johnson for looking the other way in numerous crimes. Mattelli nearly attacks Johnson but sadly backs away. Johnson makes it clear that he no longer wants to deal with Mattelli and offers Pope to take his place. However, the honest Pope tells Johnson to take his money and "stick it up your ass". When Shevvy tries to manhandle Mattelli out of Johnson's office, Mattelli assaults him and beats him badly. However, Pope manages to pull Mattelli away.Logart, bags all packed, hails a cab. The cab driver acts suspicuously and calls into say that this be his "last fare of the night". Suddenly, two cars, containing D'Salvio, Shevvy and their henchmen, pull in front of the taxi. The cab driver runs off, but Logart manages to jump to the driver's seat and drive off. He runs down one of Shevvy's men and shoots another. Logart speeds off, but hits traffic with the two cars coming after him. Logart abandons the taxi and runs into an empty high rise being built. He manages to kill a couple more henchman, but Logart is soon surrounded and overpowered on one of the highest floors. D'Salvio and his men hang Logart by his ankles and swing him off the edge of the building. They threaten to let him fall to his death if he doesn't disclose the identity of his crime partner. He eventually does tell them about Harris, but D'Salvio still lets Logart die.Mattelli and Pope go to visit Jackson's estranged wife. They let her know that Jackson has been killed, but Pope claims it was in a car accident. When they question her about Jackson's associates, she recalls Jim Harris's name. Going through police records, Mattelli and Pope narrow the various suspects down to the most likely "Jim Harris". Mattelli soon offers to confess to his various illegal activities so Pope can take his position, but the angry Pope refuses, saying he wants to become Captain on his own terms.Harris leaves his girlfriend's apartment to go to an abandoned hideout nearby. However, he seems to have forgotten his medicine and goes into a seisure. When his girlfriend rushes to his hideout to give him his medicine, she is followed (without her knowledge) by Shevvy, who concludes that she must be going to see Harris. Shevvy and Johnson tip off D'Salvio to Harris's location, after which Johnson claims to know how this situation is going to turn out.The next morning, D'Salvio and a few henchmen go to the building where Harris and his girlfriend are hiding. D'Salvio knocks on his door and claims to be police. Harris immediately opens fire through the door, killing one of D'Salvio's henchmen. D'Salvio returns fire into the apartment, shooting and killing Harris's girlfriend. D'Salvio and Harris shoot it out through the hideout door. Harris eventually shoots D'Salvio and then knocks him over with the door, sending D'Salvio down the stairs to smash his face through a window . D'Salvio dies screaming. Harris goes out the street and mows down all of D'Salvio's henchmen with his machinegun. When a cop car pulls up, Harris also guns down both cops inside.Soon, the building is surrounded by cops, including Mattelli and Pope, and Harris takes refuge inside. The police trade fire with him until he is cornered on the roof. We see an unnoticed Shevvy crouched on the roof a nearby building, armed but seemingly enjoying the violent spectacle. Although Harris kills a few more cops, some snipers shoot him in the side and the arm. Harris throws his bag of hard-fought drug money over the side of the building into a crowd of onlookers, who fight over it. Mattelli climbs up to confront Harris, but lose his footing and is soon at Harris's gun point. However, before Harris can kill Mattelli, Pope arrives, shooting and finally killing Harris. Shevvy sets up his sniper gun on a mount and then shoots Mattelli. Mattelli falls into Pope's hands and dies.

Tags: violence, neo noir, blaxploitation

Review:
"Across 110th Street" is arguably the best Blacks Vs Italians thriller ever made, and this intervened with a strong story about two completely unmatchable cops that are forced to work together results in an unimaginably powerful and unforgettable movie; albeit one that only can be enjoyed by people with strong stomachs and nerves of steel as the bloodshed is relentless and the level of suspense is unremitting.
Sounding like a scene right out of "Dead Presidents", our story begins with three African Americans stealing money from the mob, only to transform the simple robbery into a battleground, equipped with machine gun fire and plenty of cops caught in the line of fire.
Needless to say, both sides  the Italian mob who currently has a strong hold on the crime in Harlem  as well as both the upcoming African American police Lieutenant (played by Yaphet Kotto) and the decaying corrupt Captain (played by Anthony Quinn)  are ready to do whatever it takes to bring these men to justice.
Barry Shear directed and Luther Davis wrote (after a novel by Wally Ferrsi) Across 110th Street in 1972 and the film stars Anthony Quinn as Mattelli and Yaphet Kotto as Pope.
The two lead characters try to solve this thing before it is too late, since the mafia is willing to use violent ways in order to get its money back..This is a premise for this classic film.I really love the atmosphere in this film since it is something that totally lacks in most of today's films.
The action scenes are exciting - albeit not too plenty - and everything in this film is as powerful and effective as the director and screenwriter intended to.The most tragic character is Quinn's Mattelli, who is 55 and not so willing to continue his life in police and with all this scum.
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.
Anthony Quinn and Yaphet Kotto both give excellent performances as the NYC cops who have different approaches to trying to bring to justice some petty crooks who have ripped off the Mob. I was also impressed by Tony Franciosa who I knew from his later work in Argento's 'Tenebre'.
In fact, this movie is full of great acting, a tough and realistic script, taut direction from Barry Shear (who also made the 60s exploitation classic 'Wild In The Streets'), and a wonderful theme song from Bobby Womack, later recycled by Quentin Tarantino for 'Jackie Brown'.
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.
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.
Though Anthony Quinn and Yaphet Kotto are the stars along with Tony Franciosa as a middling hood given his last chance to become somebody of respect in the New York Mob get top billing its the above mentioned actors who carry this excellent crime drama which is a far bloodier and grimmer version of The Killing.
Disguised as cops, three black crooks steal a big amount of cash after killing five syndicate runners and two policemen The New York police and the Mafia react with immediate concern Tough police veteran Captain Frank Mattelli (Quinn) resents the intrusion of Lieutenant Pope (Kotto), a black detective, in the case, while Mafia boss Don Gennaro (Frank Mascetta) sends his paranoid son-in-law, Nick D'Salvio (Anthony Franciosa), to reassert control over the Harlem branch and see that the money is recovered The black syndicate, headed by Doc Johnson (Richard Ward) and his assistant Shevvy (Gilbert Lewis), rejects D'Salvio, while promising only token help, and accuses Mattelli, who has been on the take from Johnson for years Anthony Quinn plays well the ageing detective who has long ago perceived that all his efforts are not going to do more than raise the very small part of the cover of crime, but he is not above taking a bribe from a racketeer His method of dealing with a reluctant witness is to hit hard first and ask questions laterThe rigorously legal approach to police work, as exemplified by Yaphet Kotto, is not for Quinn This is his territory, his little kingdom, and he keeps the peace as best he knows.
This ultra-violent '70s cop thriller wastes no time in painting the streets of Harlem as a hard, gritty, unforgiving pit where the law has little meaning and the only way to earn respect is by fear or money.
While the years have slightly diminished the film's power to startle, there's still no denying that for its time this is indeed a strong, raw, bleak piece of cinema.Three down-at-heel blacks - Jim Harris (Paul Benjamin), Joe Logart (Ed Bernard) and Henry J.
Caught up in the hunt too are cops Frank Mattelli (Anthony Quinn) and Det-Lt. Pope (Yaphet Kotto), the former an aging hard-nut who uses violence and intimidation to get results, the latter a young and honest black officer who prefers diplomacy wherever possible.Rarely has New York been portrayed as such a living hell, certainly for those living in poverty and squalor.
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.
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.
This is no cheap thrill, this is very finely crafted and brilliantly acted piece of cinema.Across 110th Street is really one third cop character piece, one third Mafia crime/revenge thriller, and one third (black) social drama.
This is a pity because it's not some " Blaxploitation " fare but more of a New Hollywood thriller at its best The story itself is no great shakes - a couple of black dudes rip off and kill a few members of the Mafia and the black underworld and also kill a couple of uniformed cops in the process and find if not the entire world against them then at least the law enforcers and law breakers of NYC wanting to cap their ass .
There's a subplot featuring character interaction between Anthony Quinn's nasty racist white cop and Yaphet Kotto's not very nasty by the books black cop that might have been clichéd but does seem fresh and realistic , probably down to the fact the performances and writing portraying a rather amoral relationship between the two men and the wider world .
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 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.
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.
The three, who knocked off the mob's monthly take, Jim Harris Joe Logart & Henry Jackson, Paul Benjamin Ed Bernard & Antonio Fargas,are marked for death not only by the Mafia and the Jackson Harlem syndicate but by the NYPD.
Not only are they in a race to get their hands on the three men before the mafia does, but also confronting their own personal plight.Barry Shear's powerful, smart, cynical and nitty gritty crime thriller "Across 110th Street" that stars three gut-busting performances by Anthony Quinn, Yaphet Kotto and the amazing Tony Franciosa is a worthy payout and one of the best of its era.
"Across 110th Street" is a bold, highly original and powerful film about three African-Americans Jim Harris (played brilliantly by Paul Benjamin), Joe Logart (Ed Bernard) and Henry Jackson (Antonio Fargas) who steal $300,000 from black drug-dealers and the mob and murder three blacks, two mafia men and two cops in order to escape capture and death.
After that heist is carried out, the police -- Captain Frank Mattelli (Anthony Quinn who is marvellous as always) and Lt. Pope (Yaphet Kotto, whose performance here proves that he is up there with the Hollywood greats) -- are in a race to find these three men before the mafia and the drug-dealers do.Although the plot is central to this film, Director Barry Shear and writer Luther Davis' achievement goes beyond just producing a well-acted drama.
Look, everyone knows that you don't steal from the mob, and yet you actually feel kinda bad for the murderous schlubs that cross this line - if only because of the mafia's gruesome rampage.And all the while, Anthony Quinn and Yaphet Kotto butt heads as they try to put out the fire.
As a New Yorker, I found this film to be a grim reminder of how much more lawless and dilapidated New York was during this time period.I won't rehash the generally accurate comments of the previous reviewers other than to say that this is one of the best cinematic deglamorizations of crime (and law enforcement) ever.Anthony Franciosa is just great as a Mafia enforcer.
The acting was good with stars like Yaphet Kotto, Anthony Quinn, Tony Franciosa and Paul Benjamin starring in the film and it showed great potential.The film had plenty of action scenes with the old school mentality "beat 'em up" white cop played by Anthony Quinn, and the black cop in charge of the murder investigation played by Yaphet Kotto.
We also have the white Italian crime boss played by Tony Franciosa and the black robber/murderer played by Paul Benjamin.Certain movies are made for a specific era that reflects the current world around us.
As the film plays out D'Salvo and Doc Johnson the black crime boss who runs Harlem for D'Salvo's father-in-law hunt down the three men responsible for the theft and murders.
D'Salvio is also aware of how important it is that these men need to be punished in a way that will deter others from doing the same thing in the future.NYPD Captain Frank Mattelli (Anthony Quinn) assumes that he'll be assigned to the case but is soon informed that he is to work with Lieutenant William Pope (Yaphet Kotto) who has been put in charge of the investigation.
The fear and desperation that Harris and Joe Logart (Ed Bernard) experience is powerfully expressed in Benjamin and Bernard's marvellous performances and Antonio Fargas is also brilliant as their larger-than-life getaway driver.Anthony Franciosa is terrific as the sadistic D'Salvio who's a nervy man with a point to prove to his superiors and Yaphet Kotto and Anthony Quinn also impress as the mismatched detectives.
Eventually, all the men meet their death either from D'Salvio, or the police.One of the best examples of the blaxploitation genre, the film had values in the way director Barry Shear opened up the film by taking the action into the streets of Harlem with the dilapidated tenements, poverty, filth, and desperation.
Harris wipes a black cop and a white cop with bursts of machine gun fire before the villains can extract themselves from their predicament.The Italian Mafia isn't happy about this hold-up, and Nick D'Salvio (Anthony Franciosa of "Rio Conchos") is sent into Harlem to make an example of these three.
Later, the cops arrive in droves with Captain Frank Mattelli (Anthony Quinn of "The Guns of Navarone") heading up the investigation until another officer (Tim O'Conner) pulls him aside and points out that a younger guy, Lieutenant Pope (Yaphet Kotto of "Live and Let Die") has been assigned to the case for political reasons because he is black and the crime occurred in Harlem.
Harris, Logart, and Jackson spend their time hiding from an investigation by older, White detective Mattelli (Anthony Quinn) and young, Black lieutenant Pope (Yaphet Kotto) while avoiding Black mobster Doc Johnson (Richard Ward) and Italian mafioso Nick D'Salvio (Anthony Franciosa), who are looking to recover their stake.
Because the crimes took place in Harlem, Lt. Pope (Yaphet Kotto), a young, by-the-book black detective, is put in charge of the investigation, much to the chagrin of Capt.
ACROSS 110th STREET is remembered more nowadays for it's title track which was used in Tarantino's Blaxploitation homage JACKIE BROWN in 1997 (though the version used in the eponymous film is markedly different).This is somewhat a disservice to the original as it is in many ways a top notch example of it's kind (but not without flaws).Three black petty thieves (two disguised as cops) stumble across a mafia/Harlem gang deal worth hundreds of thousands of dollars,though the opportunist raid goes disastrously wrong,with it's main protagonist Jim Harris (Paul Benjamin) mowing down five gangsters and one policeman,with another later dying from his injuries.As well as being pursued by the mob,the police are also hot on the raiders' trail,with a veteran Italian-American Captain (Anthony Quinn) at odds with a young, articulate,liberal,well educated black Lieutenant (Yaphet Kotto).Scarcely anyone comes off sympathetically in ACROSS 110th STREET.Harlem itself is shown in its grittiest,dirtiest,most squalid glory,all seedy apartment blocks,junk infested alleys,seedy nightclubs and bars,and dreary,ugly functional business and police buildings,with it's cynical,brutalised,racist,downtrodden,often sadistic characters on opposite sides of the law.Underrated director Barry Shear brilliantly captures such an unrelenting milieu in often cramped,claustrophobic surroundings,with hand held cameras and what seems merely natural light.
It's violence is never glamorised,being savage and chaotic with horrific consequences for it's victims with zero hopes for redemption or happiness.The performances are uniformly good,with a decent script providing insight for deeper than usual characterisations in films of this sort,with Anthony Franciosa, Kotto and even Quinn (thankfully avoiding his Zorba-style tendencies here) giving honest,realistic portrayals.As the small-time crook turned mass killer,Paul Benjamin incredibly manages to make such a character as disreputable as this oddly sympathetic (Kotto is just about the only other character on show with any redeeming features), with a powerful speech which all too readily describes the plight of many uneducated,disabled blacks in areas like this in the US.And Antonio Fargas is a long way from the wisecracking,jive-talking,affable stool pigeon Huggy Bear that he would memorably portray in STARSKY AND HUTCH a few years later on TV,as one of the doomed raiders who is sadistically tortured and murdered by the vicious psychopathic hit-man Franciosa.For all it's praiseworthy qualities though,ACROSS 100th STREET is a film that is to be respected and appreciated,but not liked.It's tone is admirably realistic (along with authentic Harlem locations),but utterly humourless and often repellent because of this.The relentless tension from virtually the first shot is superbly marshaled by Shear, though this often sits uneasily with the equally uncompromising atmosphere of despair and pessimism,which reduces the entertainment value and a feeling of disappointment by the film's conclusion,which predictably ends on a downbeat note,though it thankfully never lurches into outright melodrama.Nevertheless despite it's flaws,ACROSS 110th STREET is an undervalued urban thriller of the early 70's which deserves reappraisal,and is much more than mere Blaxsploitation fodder,being more thoughtful,socially aware and better written than most subjects of said genre,in the midst of it's often harrowing and unrelenting violence.RATING:7 and a half out of 10..
The cops get involved, lots of people are killed, and nothing is resolved.This could actually be considered a "Northern" version of "In the Heat of the Night" where an Italian cop (Anthony Quinn) is paired with a black one (Yaphet Kotto) to solve this case where the mafia got an execution style assassination where $300,000 is stolen.
Police Captain Frank Mattelli (Anthony Quinn) has been the face justice for good and bad in Harlem for years, ruling over it more like a medieval county sheriff than a 20th century cop.
white dynamic with Mattelli being the more effective cop than Pope, but the black gangsters proving themselves smarter and more capable than their Mafia superiors.Race isn't the only aspect of life at work in this film.
Mattelli (Anthony Quinn) and the young black Lt. Pope (Yaphet Kotto).