Cotton Comes to Harlem

"Introducing COFFIN ED and GRAVEDIGGER. Two detectives only a mother could love."

May 27 1970 R 1h 37m
Action, Comedy, Crime

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

Plot

Gravedigger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson are two black cops with a reputation for breaking the odd head. Both are annoyed at the success of the Reverend Deke O'Mailey who is selling trips back to Africa to the poor on the installment plan. When his truck is hijacked and a bale of cotton stuffed with money is lost in the chase, Harlem is turned upside down by Gravedigger and Coffin Ed, the Reverend, and the hijackers. Much of the humor is urban black, which was unusual in 1970.

Written by

Chester Himes, Arnold Perl, Ossie Davis

Directed by

Ossie Davis

Cast

Godfrey Cambridge, Raymond St. Jacques, Calvin Lockhart

Crew

View crew

Production Countries

United States of America

Production Companies

Formosa Productions

Languages

English

Awards

1 win & 1 nomination

Trailers
Cotton Comes To Harlem (1970, trailer) [Godfrey Cambridge, Raymond St. Jacques, Calvin Lockhart]
Cotton Comes to Harlem ? 1970 ? Trailer
Scores
# of Votes
3,148
Average Rating
6.5 out of 10
Metascore
NA
Popularity
NA