Studio:     
Starring: Fred Williamson, D'Urville Martin, Gloria Hendry, Art Lund
Directed by: Larry Cohen
Rated:
Running Time: 87 minutes

Synopsis: A ghetto youth makes a violent rise to the top of New York Citys crime world.

John Miller

REVIEW Black Caesar is one of the great gangster films of the 1970's and argueably legendary director Larry Cohens best film. What a shame that such a remarkable picture has become downgraded thanks to the term "blaxploitation" and relagated to wack packaging schemes that make it look like just another laughable exploitation film from the 70's. At the start of the film we are introduced to a teenage Tommy Gibbs, a shoeshine boy from the wrong side of the tracks putting in work for the mob. All is well until Gibbs is set up by a racist police officer played by Art Lund and sent to prison. A grown man and back out on the streets, Gibbs doesn't just want his revenge, he wants to break into the world of crime starting from the top. Gun in hand, Gibbs violently takes over the streets of Harlem one bullet at a time. The title role of Tommy Gibbs, originally offered to none other then Sammy Davis Jr. is played full throttle by another legend of the grindhouse era, Fred "The Hammer" Williamson. Unlike most most gangster films where the audience is driven to admire the glorification of street life, Cohen and Williamson take a different route, making Tommy Gibbs the kind of man you feel pitty for. No review of Black Caesar would be complete without mentioning the epic score featuring the great James Brown. The films opening theme, Down And Out In New York City is epic to say the least. Also worth mentioning are the performances of co-stars D'Urville Martin as a corrupt preacher and actress Gloria Hendry as the wife of Tommy Gibbs. Both actors should be easily recognizable to fans of black action films for their work in other genre classics. For fans of gangster films this is a classic not to be missed.