This is an early blaxploitation flick, that would had probably been considered to be very racist, was it not directed by an African American director and not been a part of the early blaxploitation era.

I mean seriously, just think about it. Here we have a bunch of African American persons who are searching for a bale of cotton, at one point two characters crash into a cart of melons and in an attempt to control a large crowd, one of the characters throws a bunch of chickens into the crowd. But of course the movie isn't racist and is simply a silly black urban comedy, that pokes fun at lots of the prejudices against black society. And as a silly entertaining movie, this movie really works out well.

It by no means is a great movie though. The movie just doesn't always makes sense with its story and also the way it ends seems very random, though the characters all pretend like it was something they planned out. The movie is also often too silly for its own good and the movie really goes over-the-top with its comedy at times.

But luckily this all hardly goes at the expense of its entertainment value. I can definitely see a large crowd having tons of fun with watching this movie.

The movie really has some good characters in it and the two lead cops Gravedigger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson are great charismatic leading characters. I would had loved to see more movies featuring those two but only one sequel starring Godfrey Cambridge and Raymond St. Jacques in those roles got made. Just imaging Shaft times two and you have Gravedigger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson. Not that the actors playing them are very impressive but they are just some two very charismatic and entertaining characters, who don't necessarily always play by the rules. Calvin Lockhart as the main villain of the movie is also a very good and entertaining villain and Calvin Lockhart is probably also being the best actor of the movie and about the only one who also had a decent acting career before and afterward.

But still biggest name involved with this movie was Ossie Davis, who directed this movie. It actually was his directorial debut and you could tell that this movie was low-key and fairly cheaply made. Considering those circumstance, this movie is even more an accomplishment from Davis. He actually directed a bunch of other blaxploitation flicks, that nobody has ever heard off and are even more obscure and hard to get than this movie already is. A bit of a shame, since he really seemed to be a director who understood and embraced the genre. But oh well, at least he still had an all the more impressive career as an actor though, so you don't have to feel bad for him.

By no means a great movie but it's a very entertaining one!

6/10

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"Sweet Sweetback's Baad Asssss Song" has usually been credited as the first blaxploitation film, but wasn't "Cotton Comes to Harlem" released even before that? Anyway, the latter has African-American cops Gravedigger (Godfrey Cambridge) and Coffin Ed (Raymond St. Jacques) investigating whether local clergyman Deke O'Malley (Calvin Lockhart) is really what he seems.

Of course, the movie is really an excuse to show black people breaking away from The Man's white-people mores. And they do just that. My favorite scene is when a white cop goes up to a room with a black woman and both of them proceed to strip. She suddenly runs away and when he tries to follow her, he gets locked out of the apartment completely naked. I just try to imagine being one of the black Brothers or Sisters looking at this idiotic honky walking around.

Anyway, "Cotton Comes to Harlem" is silly but lovable. If we can be certain of only one thing, it's that Ossie Davis was as great a director as he was an actor. And Redd Foxx (before "Sanford and Son") plays a great supporting role.