Come Back Charleston Blue

I think the reason I really liked this movie so much is as a child, I remember seeing "Cotton comes to Harlem" on NBC and thought, wow, two black detectives who actually did detecting and didn't do much 'shuck and jiving'. They took their business protecting the streets and the black people of Harlem seriously. Godfrey Cambridge and Raymond St. Jacques are sorely missed! The movie, "A Rage in Harlem" was sooooo awful. Why can't somebody remake THAT, instead of remakes of fairly successful movies or comics or TV shows that were at the best, minor league (Dukes of Hazzard, BeWitched). Give me a break. Somebody will try to do a remake of the Jeffersons next!MY GOD!!!

Just watched this sequel to Cotton Comes to Harlem on YouTube. Once again, Gravedigger Jones (Godfrey Cambridge) and Coffin Ed Johnson (Raymond St. Jacques) are trying to make it safe to live in the streets of Harlem but there's someone running drugs there and the possibility of the title character returning to exact vengeance...While I thought CCTH was pretty entertaining, this one to me was a bit more funny and lively especially with help from Donny Hathway's score and supervision of it by Quincy Jones. I especially liked the performance of Minnie Gentry as Her Majesty who expects her late husband Charleston Blue to return any minute now though probably realizes he may never. Still, she likes to live in the past. Also returning is Dick Sabol as the dumb white cop Jerema though he's a bit more sympathetically treated here. Really, all I'll say now is I highly recommend Come Back, Charleston Blue. P.S. Since this is Black History Month, I'd like to cite other players of color that appeared here: Peter DeAnda as Joe, Percy Rodrigues as Bryce, Jonelle Allen as Carol, Maxwell Glanville as Caspar, Toney Brealond as a drag queen, Tim Pelt as Earl J, Marcia McBroom as a girl barber, Adam Wade as Benjy, Dorothi Fox as a streetwalker, and Theodore Wilson as the cemetery guard. Both Ms. Allen and Wilson previously appeared in Cotton Comes to Harlem as a secretary and Barry, respectively. Oh, and a year later, Ms. Gentry (who's Terrence Howard's great-grandmother) would also be in Black Caesar as Momma Gibbs.

I have seen and own this movie and think it's a "classic". I absolutely love the film from the actors, story and especially the soundtrack to it.

For anyone that may have influence or knows someone who does in regards to this film, I would ask or even implore you to make this film available on DVD!!! I have been waiting for years for this to become available on DVD and it hasn't up to this point. I tell you that I will be one of the first in line to get it. Willie Dynamite was just released a few months ago and it was made, roughly, sometime after Charelston Blue I believe. Please bring it out on DVD. VHS is cool, but...

Anyway, love the movie, and would definitely recommend it to anyone to enjoy.

BTW, was/is there a soundtrack available as well? That's probably on a tape and not a CD huh? LOL!!! Please respond.

This film is sort of a pt.2 to "Cotton comes to Harlem" though it easily stands on its own .Once again we have superb acting and excellent direction by Ozzie Davis .I feel this film is not quite as funny as the previous outing though, and that may be due to the fact that this story revolves around the scourge of drug use and drug dealers .These are things that I believe Ozzie really hated to see going on in the community .As a director he probably recognized that Hollywood was not going to address these issues at the time ,they didn't have the guts.It is worth noting Ozzie made at least three films concerning drug use ,this one ,"Gordons War'and I think "Hit!" starring Billy Dee Williams. In this we see Viet Nam vets involved in the lucrative drug trade ,using the coffins of fallen comrades to ship the stuff in (check it out,this actually happened in the 70's).Much of the film is hilarious though ,and Godfrey Cambridge and the rest make this film memorable .Another film classic to be cherished .

This sequel to "Cotton Comes to Harlem" begins at a social dinner in Harlem, which is suddenly cut short due to a chef's murder and the theft of several turkeys. After examining the scene, the police find a straight-edge razor left behind as the murder weapon, which immediately reminds them of a famous Harlem gangster named Charleston Blue, who was supposedly killed by Dutch Schultz nearly four decades earlier. To follow up on this murder, detectives "Coffin Ed Johnson" (Raymond St. Jacques) and his partner "Gravedigger Jones" (Godfrey Cambridge) question Charleston Blue's former girlfriend, whom they call "Her Majesty" (Minnie Gentry) because of her eccentric personality. Sure enough, after speaking with her, they learn that all of Charleston Blue's trademark straight-edge razors are missing. This sparks widespread speculation throughout Harlem that Charleston Blue isn't dead and has returned to New York City. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that I don't think this movie is as good as its predecessor, mainly due to the twisted plot and weak humor in several scenes. That said, while I don't consider it a bad film, I believe it doesn't quite reach the level of "Cotton Comes to Harlem," and I have rated it accordingly.