Hell Up In Harlem

"Black Godfather is back... and there's gonna be hell up in Harlem!"

1973 1h 35m EN

😐

5.5

MID

★5.5TMDB · 51

ActionThrillerCrimeDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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

“Black Godfather is back... and there's gonna be hell up in Harlem!”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Fred Williamson
Tommy Gibbs
Julius Harris
Papa Gibbs
Gloria Hendry
Helen Bradley
Margaret Avery
Sister Jennifer
D'Urville Martin
Reverend Rufus
Tony King
Zach
Gerald Gordon
Mr. DiAngelo
James Dixon
Irish

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Larry Cohen
Writers: Larry Cohen
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

53 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Tommy Gibbs Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Larry Cohen, shot by Fenton Hamilton. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Fonce Mizell. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Franco Guerri shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Fred Williamson and Julius Harris and Gloria Hendry carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Black Godfather is back... and there's gonna be hell up in Harlem!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0070169 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Larry Cohen directs. Fenton Hamilton behind the camera. Fonce Mizell scores. Franco Guerri cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

153 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Part of the "Tommy Gibbs Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
3Directed by Larry Cohen, shot by Fenton Hamilton. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Fonce Mizell. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Franco Guerri shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Fred Williamson and Julius Harris and Gloria Hendry carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Black Godfather is back... and there's gonna be hell up in Harlem!".
8IMDB entry: tt0070169 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 51 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Fenton Hamilton
Original score: Fonce Mizell
Editing: Franco Guerri
Runtime: 95 min · 1h 35m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Hell Up In Harlem (1973)

Part of

Tommy Gibbs Collection

Fred Williamson stars as Tommy Gibbs in these blaxploitation crime movies

Also by

Larry Cohen

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2019-04-22
★ 6/10
Serious side-burns is back! After the success of Black Caesar earlier in the year, this sequel was rushed into production to hopefully cash in on the clamour for Blaxploitation shenanigans. Sadly it's a rush job that is all too evidently half baked. Plot has Fred Wiliamson return as Tommy Gibbs (resurrected from the dead apparently!), who takes on corrupt D.A. Diangelo (Gerald Gordon) whilst dealing with matters of the heart. Directed by Larry Cohen, it's with Cohen's frank honest views on the film that critique should start. He would say that Hell Up In Harlem is a 90 minutes montage movie, and he is absolutely right. This is jerkily episodic as it runs a course of people talking then cutting to boisterous action, then some talking and cut again to some more boisterous action, and on it goes for the complete run time. That the action is so gripping - and some choice dialogue zingers in the mix as well - keeps this from being an unwatchable mess. You also have to have respect for this type of guerrilla film making, it literally is filmed on the fly. Regardless of the unbelievable aspects of it all, the oodles of bright red fake blood, and poorly executed stunt work, the rawness of the violence keeps things above average. In fact there's a bit of bad taste simmering away in the violent dynamics, with no legal consequences of lead character's actions, which of course is a blaxploitation trait. It's messy, but it's entertaining mess within the genre it sits in. 6/10
Chandler Danier2025-06-26
★ 7/10
A lot of crazy shit happens in this film. Like an entire season's plots in 90 minutes. Some gags too. Airport baggage claim was a good gag. I wasn’t always excited for the action or acting. Jarring but inventive. Best assassin in Harlem for a reason. Ethan Hunt has nothing on Tommy Gibbs. He’s so fast in those shoes. I tried to run in a movie, Cold War, once. It’s hard. You have to practice before you try to run in a movie. I suppose football provides enough running practice to run in films. This guy is the Terminator. Not even out of breath.