Part of Music City Mondays and Nashville: A City on Film
Mon, Mar 2 at 8:00pm: Introduction from T. Minton, Belcourt's public historian and archivist
Directed by Ossie Davis and based on Chester Himes’ novel, COTTON COMES TO HARLEM follows Harlem detectives Gravedigger Jones (Godfrey Cambridge) and Coffin Ed Johnson (Raymond St. Jacques) as they investigate a brazen robbery at a Back-to-Africa rally. When $87,000 in community donations vanishes, the detectives’ hunt leads through layers of deception — including corrupt preachers, white criminals in blackface, and a suspicious bale of cotton hiding more than symbolic weight.
The film marked the screen debut of comedian Redd Foxx and featured a powerhouse cast including Judy Pace, Calvin Lockhart and then Broadway staple, Helen Martin. With a theme song performed by Melba Moore, the film blends comedy, politics and genre to celebrate Black resilience and cultural power. It became a surprise box-office hit and is widely credited as a landmark precursor to the blaxploitation genre.
A graduate of Pearl High School and a former student at Fisk University, Nashville-born actress Helen Martin — who appears in a comedic role as a churchgoer — went on to become a celebrated Broadway actress, an important figure in New York’s Black theater scene, and reflecting presence of how Nashville helped cultivate generations of Black performers who influenced and reshaped American cinema culture.
“This adaption of Chester Himes’ novel was one of the most financially successful of all blaxploitation flicks, with a standout performance from Cambridge and a scene-stealing turn by Foxx, one which is credited for helping him land the starring role on TV’s Sanford and Son.” —Matt Brunson, Film Frenzy
