Thursday, March 14, 2013

Across 110th Street (1972)



          This gritty crime picture crams a dizzying number of characters, storylines, and themes into 102 frenetic minutes. Ostensibly a police thriller about two mismatched detectives investigating a Mafia-related shooting in Harlem, the racially charged movie also devotes considerable screen time to infighting among criminals. Based on a novel by Wally Ferris and written for the screen by Luther Davis, the film does a great job of taking viewers inside the minds of hoodlums, thereby conveying a morally gray picture of life in the big city. However, because the detectives are the lead characters, the potential impact of this humanistic approach to criminality is dulled—it’s hard for viewers to know whether they’re being asked to root for the heroes, the villains, both, or neither. In short, Across 110th Street has great texture but lacks a clear point of view.
          When the movie begins, black street crooks deliver a cash payoff to white Mafia lieutenants in a dingy Harlem apartment. Then uniformed police offers “raid” the apartment—but it turns out the cops are robbers in disguise. The theft goes smoothly until a crook reaches for a gun, at which point the lead robber, Jim Harris (Paul Benjamin), gets trigger-happy. Jim and his two partners, Joe (Ed Bernard) and Henry (Antonio Fargas), escape with the Mafia’s cash, leaving a pile of bodies behind.
          Two factions respond to the incident. The first is the Mob, represented by Nick D’Salvo (Anthony Franciosa), a godfather-in-waiting who’s reached middle age without proving himself; Nick becomes obsessed with killing the robbers in order elevate his standing. Also responding is the NYPD, specifically a veteran white cop named Capt. Mattelli (Anthony Quinn) and a younger black cop named Lt. Pope (Yaphet Kotto). Mattelli wants to handle the investigation his usual way (abuse informants until secrets are spilled), but Pope—who is given jurisdiction over the case for political reasons—wants to exercise post-Miranda Act restraint.
          The most interesting material in this overstuffed movie concerns the disintegrating relationships between the robbers, who react in varied ways as pressure mounts for their capture. Benjamin commands the movie with a jittery, raging performance as a black man robbed of life choices by hard circumstance, so whenever he’s onscreen, the movie sizzles. And even when the storyline meanders, director Barry Shear and cinematographer Jack Priestley create a vivid sense of place with the use of grungy locations and verité-style shooting on New York streets. Across 110th Street is a mess, but it’s an interesting mess.

Across 110th Street: FUNKY

6 comments:

Peter Smith said...

You forgot to mention the excellent theme music, which turned up here, and then wasn't heard again until Tarantino used it in Jackie Brown.

By Peter Hanson said...

Good point. The title song is among my favorite tracks on a terrific compilation album called "Pimps, Players, and Private Eyes," which I've had for years and listen to every so often.

Rich Pniewski said...

I always felt that this was a movie that left a lot on the cutting room floor. As it is, it is worthwhile.

SoulPhilly said...

Indeed. The movie shows some flashes of pure brilliance. Just some. But worth the effort. Like the scenes with Pope, Matelli and Doc in the garage or when the car is recovered from the river or when Jim leaves Joe. Just great. Overall, the first part of the film I found unconvincing, especially Quinn's thug performance (its just a bit too obvious for me) but from then on, after it gets warmed up, it is, quintessential 1970's cinema - soundtrack, cinematography, the lot - it is all there. Thank you for bringing to my attention.

Unknown said...

I can't help feeling there were chunks of this film- particularly dealing with the Quinn character- that ended up on the cutting room floor. There just seems to be missing exposition

squeak said...

Across 110th Street is an excellent film and a very downbeat realistic drama---one of the best crime dramas of the early '70s. I do think it gets overlooked because it got shoved into the "blaxsploitation" movie catagory, and that it's very underrated because of that. It should be up there with '70s crime classics such as The French Connection, as far as I'm concerned.