Across 110th Street

Across 110th Street (1972)

Runtime: 102 minutes

Directed by: Barry Shear

Starring: Anthony Quinn, Yaphet Kotto, Anthony Franciosa, Paul Benjamin, Ed Bernard

From: United Artists

Late last night I viewed this film on Turner Classic Movies; technically it is a blaxploitation although it is a step above most of those, as it's a serious drama concerning the racial implications of a robbery of The Mob by a group of black men and its investigation by two police officers; Anthony Quinn's and Yaphet Kotto's characters have many differences aside from the obvious color of their skin. Quinn is no saint himself, as you soon discover in the movie... in fact, he is openly racist. Many of the characters you see here (who typically are memorable no matter how big their part) are various shades of gray.

It is a sobering look at this situation as it explains the motivations of all the main players, including the ringleader of the robbery; the explanation of why he (a felon) would commit such a brazen robbery of infamous figures does make sense for him. Of course, The Mafia sends a brutal capo to retrieve their money back & extremely harsh things happen to a few people. As 110th Street is the demarcation line which separates “black neighborhoods” from the “white neighborhoods,” race is naturally the aspect that envelops the entire film and there are many unforgettable conversations throughout involving various characters which are all intriguing, and so is the impact on the significant others of the robbery and the aftermath.


It was the first movie to be shot with the Arriflex BL 35 camera and it made the footage of real life New York City (which was the Crappy New York City of Old, a subject I've been interested in for years now) rather vibrant and added legitimacy to the production, which was mostly shot on location in Harlem. A tremendous funky score from Bobby Womack and J.J. Johnson-including its famed title song-is always a treat aurally and this even ends on a high note. As I mentioned in the beginning, this rises above the typical blaxploitation effort, which was typically stereotypical low-budget foolishness.