Easily one of the most overlooked movies of the 1970s, Across 110th Street belongs in the pantheon of seventies NYPD thrillers with The French Connection, The Seven-Ups, Report to the Commissioner and Prince of the City for no-holds-barred action, no-bullshit dialogue and shot-on-location authenticity. Yaphet Kotto, a straight-arrow African-American homicide detective, is paired with racist partner, Anthony Quinn, after the knockover of a Harlem numbers bank leaves both mafia soldiers and black mobsters dead. Quinn knows his way around the Italian-American underworld, including the latest shenanigans of capo Tony Franciosa (Tenebre) and his henchmen. The race is suddenly on to find the lethal thieves before Franciosa and his mob get there first – and make mincemeat out of them. Underrated director Barry Shear cut his teeth churning out “Man from U.N.C.L.E.” episodes, as well as the pop political satire Wild in the Streets and the teenage serial killer opus The Todd Killings. Bobby Womack did the memorable title theme song, which was a Top 20 hit and later used to great effect in Quentin Tarantino’s Jackie Brown. See this one on the big screen for maximum impact.
“What distinguishes Across 110th Street’s bloodletting from that in other Hollywood films of the time is its unsparing inescapability and its matter-of-factness – these qualities give the work its moral charge.” – PopMatters.com
Marc Edward Heuck discusses Across 110th Street on the New Beverly blog.
