I really like Chester Himes' Harlem novels about Coffin Ed Johnson and Gravedigger Jones. They're violent, hilarious, over-the-top stories about a Harlem that never was. So naturally when this movie appeared in the theaters in 1970, I was right there to see it. While it's probably impossible to capture Himes on film, I wasn't disappointed. The movie has the mix of humor and violence and weirdness of the novels, though in smaller proportions, and the cast is great. Godfrey Cambridge and Raymond St. Jaques play Gravedigger and Coffin Ed. Redd Fox has a great role, and Judy Pace is beautiful. Calvin Lockhart plays a preacher working a back-to-Africa scam, and he loses $87K that's stuffed into a bale of cotton. Everybody wants that money, and the race is on. I got a huge kick out of this movie 41 years ago. I have no idea how it holds up, but I'd like to see it again. I think it's time I read the book again, too.
4 comments:
I terrific movie with a classic poster by Bob McGinnis.
Art Scott
I remember this one.
I liked it still on a random catch about five years ago, after first seeing it chopped to hell for broadcast sometime around '73...
Last time I saw it again, 5-6 years ago, I thought it held up well. The much-later RAGE IN HARLEM, with Stack Pierce and George Wallace as GraveDigger and Coffin Ed, was also pretty good. I don't remember much about COME BACK CHARLESTON BLUE, the official sequel to COTTON.
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