Take away the Bobby Womack title song and the flashy threads worn by Doc Johnson's head henchman and this film is just a cop thriller that takes place in Harlem. A particularly violent cop thriller, though. Interesting to note that in each of the three story lines, age is mentioned. The thief, Paul Benjamin, complains that as a 42 year old ex-con, he will never be able to get a legitimate job; Anthony Quinn is worried that at 55, the police department wants him gone and Anthony Franciosa is told by Doc Johnson, that he is just a washed-up mafia errand boy at 45. That is a theme not normally explored in this type gangster movie. Regarding Franciosa, I've always liked him because he always brings a vibrancy to his roles. In this movie, though, I wasn't sure if he was portraying an over-eager mafioso or just a plain psychopath. Nonetheless, this film starts off grim and ends just as grim.
Review of Across 110th Street
