Hell Up in Harlem

70s action and a blaxploitation classic with Fred Williamson (The Inglorious Bastards - 1978, MASH) as Black Caesar leading the way backed up by the luscious Gloria Hendry.

Lots of shoot-em-up action as the black gangsters take on the Mafia and the crooked cops that support them.

Things settle down, Black Caesar moves to LA, and comes back with a vengeance when his pops is killed. Cute scene where Mafia in park dies with hot dogs in their mouths.

The dialog and story wasn't the greatest, but if you are looking for righteous action, you've come to the right place.

This sequel to the popular blaxploitation hit "Black Caesar" was cheaply and hastily shot, and it shows. It is pretty obvious at times that star Fred Williamson wasn't always available, meaning that he's either doubled or his character simply doesn't appear at all in a scene. The low budget and speedy production also shows in other aspects, one being the screenplay. There isn't too much of a story here. Indeed, it seems at times writer/director Larry Cohen was making things up during the shoot. But despite the crude nature, the movie all the same kind of works. It is fast paced, and never boring. And Fred Williamson does manage to make his character magnetic enough that you keep watching him. Apparently audiences agreed, since this sequel was successful enough at the box office that the studio planned a third movie concerning the adventures of character Tommy Gibbs, but those plans were eventually cancelled.

No, this is not one of the greatest blaxploitation movie ever made; and yes, it has its flaws. But man, is this one a fun ride or what? It's an hour and a half of pure action with one of the greatest action hero of all time. It's ass kicking after ass kicking, as Tommy Gibbs takes revenge on everybody that have ever been dumb enough to mess with him. The fight scenes are great, inventive and plentiful. The cinematography is quite decent too and the story fun enough to keep you interested in it. Larry Cohen once more delivers the goods in this one. It's actually much better then most action stink fest that Hollywood produce this days. So sit tight and enjoy the roller coaster ride while it last.

Go Fred Williamson!

Hell Up in Harlem (1973)

** (out of 4)

Sequel to Black Caesar has Fred Williamson surviving his assassination attempt and slowly moving up the ranks. How does he do this? By killing any Italian person he can get his eyes on. This film has a somewhat legendary making of since both the star and director were busy doing other things and they just got together on the weekends to shoot this film. I think it's easy to tell that the movie was rushed because there isn't any evidence of a screenplay having been written. The movie is nothing but non-stop, bloody violence from the opening to the closing. There's nothing wrong with this as it adds a lot of fun to the movie but if you're expecting anything deep then you can forget it as this thing is weak, story wise, even when compared to the poorest written blaxploitation film. Williamson is once again good in his role and he has the perfect attitude for this type of film. There are all sorts of shoot outs, explosions and even some kung fu thrown in for some good laughs.

You know how people say "don't quit your day job" when you want to do something very much, but haven't got the talent, skills or resources? Cult/exploitation masters Larry Cohen and Fred Williamson definitely turned this expression upside-down! They owned all the required skills to make a great sequel to the massively successful "Black Caesar", and yet they still opted NOT to abandon their regular day jobs in order to do so! Around the time of filming, not even half a year after the release of "Black Caesar", Williamson was working hard on "That Man Bolt", whereas Cohen was making his beloved horror-oddity "It's Alive". The studio persisted to have the sequel ready asap, and so Cohen and his crew just filmed "Hell Up in Harlem" during the weekends. Now, that's what I call dedication!

Much later, Larry Cohen admitted in an interview that "Hell Up in Harlem" was a largely unprepared effort. Well, that must be the understatement of the (previous) century! From the opening sequences, and until the end-credits start rolling, the script of "Hell Up in Harlem" appears to be improved on the spot, and the dialogues/monologues ad-libbed. This resulted in a film with a minimalistic plot and an incredibly hectic narrative structure, but with also a lot of awesome and ingenious action sequences. Numerous pieces of action footage are downright unforgettable, contrary to thin storyline of Tommy Gibbs introducing his father to the criminal world and his warfare against the corrupt NY district attorney. The fantastic opening scene, for instance, in which Tommy's friends take an entire hospital hostage at gunpoint in order to prevent him from getting arrested immediately after his treatment to remove a bullet. There's also the violent invasion of a Florida Keys' island, complete with trigger-happy black maids and Kung-Fu bikini babes. And so many more highlight, including a chase on the airport luggage transporter, a "he-died-with-a-hotdog-in-his-mouth" moment, and - my ultimate favorite - Gibbs impaling a sunbathing gangster (during broad daylight at a crowded Coney Island) with a sharp beach umbrella.