Hell Up In Harlem (1973) **1/2 [Tommy Gibbs Double Feature Pt. 2]
Hell Up In Harlem (1973), Larry Cohen's third feature and the sequel to Black Caesar (1973) (my review here), was rushed into production without a script and released only ten months after its predecessor.
It shows—while there is some fun to be had, while it's nice that much of the cast of the first film returned, and while Fred Williamson is again good, Tommy Gibbs' Papa's (Julius Harris) turn as criminal is unconvincing, his wife Helen's (Gloria Hendry) treatment is worse than in the first film, the rival Mr. DiAngelo (Gerald Gordon) is meh, and the whole thing feels pretty slapdash (even for Cohen).
James Brown's intended score was famously rejected and became his album (and hit song) The Payback, so Edwin Starr was enlisted instead. Starr's theme "Big Papa" is memorable and enjoyable, but Brown's album was #1 on the Soul Albums chart for two weeks, along with being his only studio album to be certified gold, and his song was the first in an unbroken succession of three singles by him to reach #1 on the R&B charts that year, his second (and final) single to be certified gold by the RIAA, not to mention it's been sampled and used in media countless times (and is rightfully considered a classic)—so I think he got the better end of the deal.
Williamson would return to work with Cohen one more time in the director's final film, 1996's Original Gangstas (my review here)—a film which, while I rated it the same, is definitely a step up from HUIH, so it may deserve my reassessment.
You can find my Larry Cohen Feature Films Ranked list here.
It shows—while there is some fun to be had, while it's nice that much of the cast of the first film returned, and while Fred Williamson is again good, Tommy Gibbs' Papa's (Julius Harris) turn as criminal is unconvincing, his wife Helen's (Gloria Hendry) treatment is worse than in the first film, the rival Mr. DiAngelo (Gerald Gordon) is meh, and the whole thing feels pretty slapdash (even for Cohen).
James Brown's intended score was famously rejected and became his album (and hit song) The Payback, so Edwin Starr was enlisted instead. Starr's theme "Big Papa" is memorable and enjoyable, but Brown's album was #1 on the Soul Albums chart for two weeks, along with being his only studio album to be certified gold, and his song was the first in an unbroken succession of three singles by him to reach #1 on the R&B charts that year, his second (and final) single to be certified gold by the RIAA, not to mention it's been sampled and used in media countless times (and is rightfully considered a classic)—so I think he got the better end of the deal.
Williamson would return to work with Cohen one more time in the director's final film, 1996's Original Gangstas (my review here)—a film which, while I rated it the same, is definitely a step up from HUIH, so it may deserve my reassessment.
You can find my Larry Cohen Feature Films Ranked list here.
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