01
Cotton Comes to Harlem
Why this pick
Like its sequel, this is a witty, streetwise Harlem detective story built around the warm, bickering partnership of Grave Digger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson.
A FILM WORTH A CLOSER LOOKTHE FEATURE PRESENTATION
MOVIE1972 1h 40m USA
IF THIS ONE STAYED WITH YOU
Movies like
Come Back, Charleston Blue
CrimeActionComedy
CINEHUNCH / THE NEXT FRAME
Keep the feeling.
SIMILAR PICKS / A PERSONAL CONNECTION
If you loved Come Back, Charleston Blue, try these.
01
02
Shaft
Why this pick
A stylish, tough urban mystery with a cool Black private eye, sharp Harlem atmosphere, sardonic humor, and the same early-1970s crime-film swagger.
03
Across 110th Street
Why this pick
Its vivid Harlem locations, morally pressured cops and criminals, and gritty period texture make it a darker companion to Charleston Blue's neighborhood crime world.
04
Darktown Strutters
Why this pick
For the comic-book side of the original, this exuberant action spoof mixes Black genre-film style, outsized villains, and playful, knowingly heightened crime adventures.
05
Black Belt Jones
Why this pick
Jim Kelly's charismatic hero and the film's breezy blend of martial-arts action, jokes, and neighborhood villainy echo Charleston Blue's pulpy, entertaining momentum.
Finding the atmosphere, tension and little details that made this one stay with you.
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01 / THE STORY
A little about the film.
Harlem Detective are confounded by a string of strange murders in the neighborhood of Harlem. The murders themselves aren't nearly as bizarre as the calling card left by the murderer: a blue steel straight razor. Legend has it that this was the calling card of Charleston Blue, a vigilante who tried to rid the neighborhood of all criminal elements using a straight razor. Blue, having disappeared years ago after he went after Dutch Schultz (with his trusty straight razor) was considered dead by all except his girlfriend, who kept his razors locked away until his "come back."
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02 / FACES IN THE FRAME
The people who bring it to life.
Godfrey Cambridge
Gravedigger Jones
Raymond St. Jacques
Coffin Ed Johnson
Jonelle Allen
Carol
Maxwell Glanville
Caspar
Minnie Gentry
Her Majesty
Dick Sabol
Jarema
Adam Wade
Benjy
Tim Pelt
Earl J