Genre Guesstimation – Across 110th Street (1972)

The idea behind this feature (Genre Guesstimation) is for me to watch a bunch of new movies (or ones that I haven’t seen many times) from the chosen monthly GG genre in order to expand my knowledge of movies within that particular genre.

This month’s genre has been chosen by Paul of Silver Screen Classics and we will be reviewing our favorite New York Films of the 70’s.

Please get me your submissions by the 25th of Jun by sending them to NYC70spaul@movierob.net

Try to think out of the box! Great choice Paul!

Let’s see if I felt that this movie would be worthy of being in the company of my others favorite movies in the genre of New York Films of the 70’s….

“Look at me, huh. Look at me! You’re looking at a 42 year old ex-con nigga with no schooling, no trade, and a medical problem! Now who the hell would want me for anything but washing cars or swinging a pick? You gotta get your mind out of that white woman’s dream! ” – Jim Harris

Number of Times Seen – 1 (5 Jun 2020)

Brief Synopsis – Two police detectives must try and find a group of thieves who robbed a mafia safe house before the mob finds them on their own in order to make an example of them.

My Take on it – This is yet another film that I knew nothing about before coming across it during my quest to find films to watch for this month’s genre.

They do a great job keeping the story gripping and that is helped a lot by the lead performances of Anthony Quinn and Yaphet Kotto.

These two characters are quite different in their style and methods yet find a way to bridge those differences in order to solve this mystery.

The story is filled with a lot of racial tension that is able to enhance the urgency for these characters to find the criminals before the mafia are able to get their hands on them.

There are some very brutal scenes in this movie yet they are able to enhance the realistic feel of it all.

The musical score of the film along with the theme song help add to the tone and atmosphere of it and tat also allows for things to feel eve more genuine as it all begins to unravel.

Check out the theme song here:

Bottom Line – Really gripping film that works largely due to the great lead performances by Kotto and Quinn. The characters are quite diverse yet despite their differences, they find a way to try and work together. The story is filled with lots of racial tension which adds to the urgency of the attempt to find the criminals before the mafia does. The story can be quite brutal in certain instances and that adds to the realism of it all. Great musical score and theme songs also helps get the atmosphere and tone right for this kind of story. Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – According to a contemporary article in the Los Angeles Times, John Wayne, Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas turned down the role of Capt. Frank Mattelli, leading Anthony Quinn–the film’s executive producer–to star in the part himself. (From IMDB)

Genre Grandeur Worthy? – Not really. Definitely gets the atmosphere and tension of the time right, but something is missing that would make it even more powerful to watch.

Rating – Globe Worthy (7/10)