Richard Widmark is an American conman living in London looking for his next big score. He finds it in the form of a veteran Greek wrestler though he has to contend with the wrestler’s son who effectively controls wrestling throughout London. It’s a somewhat convoluted plot where Widmark must manipulate his associates to get the permissions and the money that he needs to pull the scheme off, but that doesn’t detract from dark desperation that Widmark soon finds himself in. The extras on the Criterion DVD include a comparison of the British and American versions of the film which goes a long way to explaining how much a score can change the tone of a film.    

I don’t know why there were so many of these delinquents being inspired by an idealistic teacher films in the 60s (nor their revival in the late 80s-early 90s) but there is so much sameness to them that they become fairly indistinguishable. Sidney Poitier is the teacher here, a Guianese immigrant to the UK who has taken the job temporarily while he awaits an engineering position. Poitier is always appealing and it’s interesting to see him here as a teacher when he was one of the thugs in the similar Blackboard Jungle. The moralizing lessons and condemnation of non-traditional ways can be eye-roll-y at times, but it’s sweet to see the students change, particularly the females, as they develop more confidence and awareness in themselves.

Based on the novel by Chester Himes, the action begins at a Back to Africa rally being hosted by reverend Calvin Lockhart that is hijacked of tens of thousands of dollars. Soon after the hijacking, junk collector Redd Foxx runs across a large bale of cotton that fell of the hijackers’ truck. I’m still unsure how the cotton came to Harlem. It’s somewhat of a MacGuffin, but does provide an amusing centerpiece for a dance performance toward the end of the film. Though some dispute the categorization, it’s sometimes cited as an early Blaxploitation film. Regardless, it has many similarities to that genre with a mostly Black cast, a great urban setting, and some memorable characters. I really dig the Harlem detectives here, played by Godfrey Cambridge and Raymond St. Jacques, and would enjoy seeing the whole series had been filmed. A Rage in Harlem is the earliest story of the characters, but that film somehow doesn’t feel in the same universe.  

Hedy Lamarr is a beautiful but manipulative young woman who finagles a marriage to the richest man Gene Lockhart in town but then coerces his son Louis Hayward to arrange for the death of his father. She later sets her sights on her best friend’s fiancé George Sanders. It’s not often such a cruel, devious woman gets to lead a film and Lamarr uses her beauty to great effect. The ending is a bit of a let down in its contrived reversal, but it’s a intriguing ride getting there.

When tax attorney Steve Martin opens his door to the woman he thought he had been corresponding with online, he instead finds Queen Latifah, an escaped felon who wants his help in clearing her name. She soon ingratiates herself to him and his family so he offers his assistance. I generally find Queen Latifah very likable, but she has been in a number of stinkers in her career and this is one of them. It’s mostly forgettable except for its very broad racial stereotypes, especially those coming from racist neighbor Betty White.