'

Cotton Comes to Harlem

Play trailer

Cotton Comes to Harlem

R

Released May 27, 1970

1h 37m

Comedy

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

Tomatometer

4 Reviews

67%

Popcornmeter

1,000+ Ratings

Harlem's African-American population is being ripped off by the Rev. Deke O'Malley (Calvin Lockhart), who dishonestly claims that small donations will secure parcels of land in Africa. When New York City police officers Gravedigger Jones (Godfrey Cambridge) and Coffin Ed Johnson (Raymond St. Jacques) look into O'Malley's scam, they learn that the cash is being smuggled inside a bale of cotton. But the police, O'Malley and lots of others find themselves scrambling when the money goes missing.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Buy Now

Brian Orndorf

Blu-ray.com

Harlem is mostly about the ride, with chases and barbed banter urging the movie along, keeping the whole endeavor light on its toes.

Rated: B+

Sep 27, 2014

Full Review

Carol Cling

Las Vegas Review-Journal

Rated: 4/5

Oct 31, 2003

Full Review

Ken Hanke

Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

One of the earliest and best Blaxploitation films.

Rated: 4/5

Nov 5, 2002

Full Review

Philip Martin

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Rated: 3/5

Jul 31, 2002

Full Review

Read all reviews

Darrell S

Solid cop blaxploitation movie. Godfrey Cambridge is perfectly cast as Gravedigger Jones. Redd Foxx always entertains.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/28/25

Full Review

Todd V

A Great movie,always relevant because the subject matter always goes in.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/26/25

Full Review

Audience Member

The best comedy movie ever made!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/26/23

Full Review

delysid d

an ok film about a corrupt preacher

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

09/17/17

Full Review

Audience Member

When folks talk about the groundbreaking blaxploitation films, "Shaft" and "Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song" are usually the main films mentioned. This film is rarely mentioned, even tough it came out the previous year and stars a pair of black actors as cops and was directed by Ossie Davis. This adaptation of a Chester Himes novel is an extremely effective blend of action and comedy. Well worth a look for fans of the genre.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/01/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Another African American favorite

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/20/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Ossie Davis

Director

Godfrey Cambridge

Gravedigger Jones

Raymond St. Jacques

Coffin Ed Johnson

Calvin Lockhart

Rev. Deke O'Malley

Judy Pace

Iris

Redd Foxx

Uncle Bud

View more photos

Synopsis

Harlem's African-American population is being ripped off by the Rev. Deke O'Malley (Calvin Lockhart), who dishonestly claims that small donations will secure parcels of land in Africa. When New York City police officers Gravedigger Jones (Godfrey Cambridge) and Coffin Ed Johnson (Raymond St. Jacques) look into O'Malley's scam, they learn that the cash is being smuggled inside a bale of cotton. But the police, O'Malley and lots of others find themselves scrambling when the money goes missing.

Director: Ossie Davis
Producer: Samuel Goldwyn Jr.
Screenwriter: Ossie Davis, Chester Himes, Arnold Perl
Distributor: United Artists
Production Co: Formosa Productions
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 27, 1970, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 16, 2008
Runtime: 1h 37m
Sound Mix: Mono

Most Popular at Home Now