Some movies when they initially premier, do not do well at the box office and then through the passing of time. they gradually attain cult status amongst a specific movie genre fan base decades later. In this case the film Across 110th Street probably did all right at the box office and then faded in to obscurity. 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. A world that may be harsh and cruel, where guns, bribe money and mob strength rule the inner city. Why I think Across 110th Street fell in to obscurity over the passing of time, rather than in to the cult classic regime was the film had no historical value, and we the audience just got tired of seeing white cops beating up black criminals.After viewing this film for the second time in 40 years, it ends up not having much substance and I viewed it only as an extended chase scene throughout the film, with the cops, and the black and white mobsters hunting down the three black robbers who end up murdering several black and white bad guys and two cops in the process of completing their $300,0000.00 armed robbery of an Italian mob cash counting operation.So the chase is on for recovering the stolen mobs money, vicious interrogations on (innocent) suspects are performed by both the cops and criminals, and if the cops or criminals don't get answers to who the three guys are who committed the robbery and murders people will get hurt and eventually die. It is a predictable ending that I don't think I will be watching again for a third time in the next forty years because there are a lot better crime films from the 1930's that would be on my watch list before Across 110th Street would be.

While not truly "blaxploitation", the integrated cast is of major interest in this story (based on a novel by Wally Ferris) strongly and memorably depicting racial differences. 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. It's got quite a lot of hard hitting violence, and may be uncomfortable to watch at times for some viewers. The music by J.J. Johnson is superb and there are also great songs by Bobby Womack on the soundtrack. There's one ingenious cut a little past the 77 minute mark. The pacing is quite effective and the storytelling always interesting and compelling.Quinn is solid as the old school, bigoted veteran and Kotto is his match as the more disciplined, efficient younger man. Anthony Franciosa is fun in a key supporting role as a mob henchman, and the cast is peppered with many familiar faces. Delivering standout performances are the raspy voiced Richard Ward as gangster Doc Johnson and Paul Benjamin as determined career criminal Jim Harris. 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.

"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. Shear has done something that film directors have rarely done which is to make the land (i.e. Harlem) a character in the film. Everyone wants to escape their depressing lives in Harlem, but none are able to leave. Joe Logard comes close, but then he is pulled right back in by the mafia and the drug lords. So in that sense Harlem not only represents a space for an entirely different world to exist (though it hardly flourishes), it also acts as a prison preventing any of its residents from escaping. Harlem also contains many traps that people could potentially fall into, much like in the projects of "Boyz in the Hood" (another great film about the unique challenges that African Americans face). In one scene, Jim Harris tells his girlfriend Gloria, "You got to get your head out of that white woman's dream," which is his way of saying that the American Dream only exists for white people. He is right, because as a black man without schooling, with no trade and a medical condition, he can only get the lowliest job without any pension. He also tells Gloria, "How would it be when we needed the bread that I told you to do it?" This is a darker statement, a veiled reference to some African-American men forcing their partners into prostitution to make money in time of need. Harlem is also a place that terrorizes people into silence. Early on in the film, Captain Mattelli makes the perceptive remark, "Nobody saw, nobody heard." He knows that the drug lords and the mafia have terrorized the people so thoroughly that they have become complicit in their crimes through their silence. The understanding in Harlem is that you should never speak to the police and you only talk to the people who can protect you and potentially reward you with money, which are the drug lords and the mob.The other important aspect of the film is the violence. Many of the violent scenes are horrific and extreme. But the violence is not there for exploitation purposes. It shows the gritty, uncompromising world of Harlem. Dr. Johnson's men and the mafia use violence to have total control over Harlem. As one mafioso boss tells the sadistic Nick D'Salvio, "We have to teach them a lesson or we lose Harlem." The police, especially Captain Mattelli, use violence because they realize that this is the only way to convince Harlem's residents to cooperate with them instead of the criminals. Finally, the world of Harlem is shaped by the racism of the police and the mob. But it is hard to say, in this violent and terror-filled world, whether the racists are worse than the black drug-dealers. Dr. Johnson is probably just as bad, because he exploits poor needy people - the prostitutes, the gamblers and the drug addicts - for his own financial gain. A brilliant and thought provoking film.

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