Hell Up in Harlem

1973Movie⏱️ 1h 34mR

ActionCrimeDramaThriller

⭐ 5.9

IMDB Rating

2,037 votes

A gangster in Harlem must rescue his ex-wife, who has been kidnapped by the Mafia.

Director

Larry Cohen

Writers

N/A

Stars

Fred Williamson, Julius Harris, Gloria Hendry

Language

English

Country

United States

💬 31

Reviews

📋 3.3K

Watchlists

📽️ View on IMDB

🎭 Top Cast

Fred Williamson

as Tommy Gibbs

Julius Harris

as Papa Gibbs

Gloria Hendry

as Helen Bradley

Margaret Avery

as Sister Jennifer

D'Urville Martin

as Reverend Rufus

Tony King

as Zach

Gerald Gordon

as Mr. DiAngelo

👤

Bobby Ramsen

as Joe Frankfurter

James Dixon

as Irish

👤

Esther Sutherland

as The Cook

💰 Box Office

$1,452,828

Domestic Gross

🎬 Technical Specs

Aspect Ratio

1.85 : 1

Color

Filming Location

Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Production

American International Pictures (AIP), Larco Productions

🏷️ Keywords

male nudityblaxploitation filmblacks versus italiansfemale topless nudityfemale martial artist

🎯 Categories

ActionCrimeDramaThriller

⭐ Featured Review

You never know whose doing up your socks and underwear.

by lastliberal • 2010-07-24

6/10

"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...."

💡 Did You Know?

James Brown was originally slated to do the music, but Larry Cohen rejected it. Motown artist Edwin Starr did the music, and Brown released the rejected music in the album, "The Payback".