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Across 110th Street

Across 110th Street is an American crime drama released in 1972. It was directed by Barry Shear and stars Yaphet Kotto, Anthony Quinn, Anthony Franciosa and Paul Benjamin. The film is set in Harlem and takes its name from 110th Street, the traditional dividing line between Harlem and Central Park that functioned as an informal boundary of race and class in 1970s New York City. Focusing on a heist, murder and their subsequent investigation, Across 110th Street takes inspiration from both the blaxploitation films of the 1970s as well as the film noir genre. Across 110th Street is remembered in part for its soundtrack, which features a classic song of the same name by soul artist Bobby Womack.

Plot

The film begins with a heist. Jim Harris, played by Paul Benjamin, goes with his partners to steal $300,000 from a Mafia-controlled policy bank in Harlem while disguised as police officers. The robbery goes wrong and results in the slaughter of seven men — three black gangsters, two members of the Italian mafia, and two police officers. Yaphet Kotto stars as Lieutenant William Pope, the straight-laced black police officer put in charge of investigating the case. He is assigned to work with the aging Captain Frank Mattelli, a street-wise but racist Italian-American cop played by Anthony Quinn. Captain Mattelli is a rough, old-school type of cop who embodies a “shoot first, ask questions later” ethos. Although Lieutenant Pope works strictly by the books and states throughout the film that he is the one in charge of the investigation, Pope repeatedly struggles to restrain Mattelli as his partner jumps to attack suspects and witnesses to coerce their statement. Mattelli, a cop on the take, receives money in exchange for cooperation with Doc Johnson, the leader of black organized crime in Harlem. Over the course of roughly twenty-four hours, Pope and Mattelli race to get to the criminals before they can be hunted down by the Mafia, which is also searching for Harris’ crew. These Italian gangsters are led by Nick DiSalvio (played by Anthony Franciosa), a savage capo who takes pleasure in beating and abusing his victims. 

Background

The script was written by Luther Davis, the American screenwriter who also wrote The Hucksters and Lady in a Cage. The screenplay was based on the novel of the same name by Wally Ferris. 

Themes

Racial tensions

Racial conflict runs deep in this film. There is tension in the power dynamics between the black gangsters in Harlem and the Italian Mafia. There is racial conflict within the NYPD, embodied in the relationship between Captain Mattelli and Lieutenant Pope, who is specifically put in charge of the investigation to avoid a potential race riot much to the discontent of Mattelli.

In the film, 110th Street forms the dividing line of power between the Mafia and the black organized crime. The Italian gangsters struggle to cling to their control over the gambling and prostitution rings in Harlem. Early in the film Doc Johnson, the leader of black organized crime in Harlem, faces off against Mafia capo DiSalvia. Both men use racial slurs against one another, with an implicit threat of violence, as Doc Johnson tests his ability to buck the old authority of the Italian gangsters.

The late 1960s and early 1970s were a time when racial tensions ran deep, and often exploded into riots. In the summer of 1964, a riot erupted in Harlem after a white off-duty police officer murdered a black teenager. The “hot summer” of 1967 saw riots rip through the country, in major cities throughout the West and the North, as black communities responded in anger to poverty and police brutality. In 1968, just three years before the release of Across 110th Street, numerous businesses and storefronts in Harlem were set on fire as residents reacted in frustration and grief after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.

The 1970s were also a time when feelings of black power were everywhere in African-American communities across the United States. The black power ethos seeped even into the underworld of organized crime, as evident in Across 110th Street, where black gangsters like Doc Johnson are coming to believe that black people should control the organized crime circuits within their neighborhoods rather than the racist Mafia bosses. The tension between Italians and Blacks is emphasized in other major films of the era, as in The Godfather, released mere months before Across 110th Street. In The Godfather, the Mafioso believe firmly in their right to control the gambling and prostitution rings within the black communities of New York City and strategically sell drugs in those communities, intentionally avoiding the majority white areas of the city.

However, despite the overt theme of racial tension, the film does not express much in the way of racial solidarity amongst its black characters. Doc Johnson refers to Lieutenant Pope with a common racial slur, and Lieutenant Pope tells another black man not to call him “brother.” Throughout the film, many black gangsters are willing to work with the racist Mafioso for personal benefit at the expense of the black community they live in.

New York City in the 1970s

Across 110th Street portrays New York City of the 1970s, a decade when crime, drug use and poverty was at an all time high. The city economy was broke, its infrastructure crumbling and pimps and prostitutes filled Times Square. Harlem itself was a place of little opportunity. Middle class residents fled the neighborhood in large numbers, leaving the poor to abandoned buildings and empty storefronts. Burned out buildings were visible on nearly every block of Harlem’s major avenues, 24% of the area’s population was living on welfare, and between 1976 and 1978 the population of east and central Harlem fell by almost a third. In 1971, an estimated 60% of Harlem’s economic activity depended on cash flow from gambling — the illegal “numbers” racket controlled by organized crime.

During a potent scene in the film, Jim Harris explains to his girlfriend why he was forced to turn to robbery to make ends meet. As a middle aged black man, formerly incarcerated, with a health problem and no formal education or highly-paid skills, Harris’ only options are to work a demeaning, low-paying job with no future or to turn to crime. Even the cop Mattelli justifies the bribes he receives as supplemental income for his meager wages as a police officer.

Reception

Across 110th Street opened to mixed reviews and moderate success at the box office. In a 1972 review Variety magazine commended the film for its realism, tight editing and solid performances. While some white critics panned the film it was reasonably popular among black audiences. In 1973 veteran black Chicago journalist Lu Palmer opened his alternative newspaper, Black X-Press Info Paper, with a review of Across 110th Street. He reflected that the film was particularly thoughtful and well-acted compared to the majority of the low-budget blaxploitation pictures of the era, and noted that “this flick ought to be carefully studied — again, for its images and messages.”

Soundtrack

The soundtrack of Across 110th Street reflects the mood and historical context of the film. The songs were written and performed by Bobby Womack, while the score was composed and conducted by J. J. Johnson. Made up of gritty and brooding funk, the soundtrack echoes the dark themes and imagery of the film.