Diractors is an ongoing series in which Hassle writer Jack Draper examines films, new and old, whose directors are better known for their work in front of the camera.

Ossie Davis saw it all. A loud voice of the civil rights activism who witnessed the birth of television and then contributions to Blaxploitation, Davis wore as many hats as you can in the 20th century. In his directorial debut Cotton Comes to Harlem, Davis demonstrated an eye for storytelling as resonant as he was as a person, capturing something honest and fun. To reference a past Diractor, the film reminds me of Sidney Poitier’s Buck and The Preacher for the ability to entertain and educate. Cotton Comes to Harlem is a significant contribution to the genre of Blaxploitation, building on what he accomplished on stage with his better half, the great Ruby Dee.

We are in ’70s Harlem with a pair of detectives (Godfrey Cambridge & Raymond St Jacques) as we see them upholding the neighborhood sociological structure. What starts as stolen money for the community spirals as the two of them begin seeking the truth of their community’s corruption. From what’s attempted to be upkept and preserved for the people is meant to confirm further that we have the scuzzy underbelly we assume as a modern audience. What’s at once a scrappy thriller exploring systemic oppression is revealing itself to be innovative in the field of noir the movie found itself. 

Davis created a world that’s unapologetic of the time that surrounds this noir thriller. Cotton Comes to Harlem gives us confident and challenging leads in Coffin Ed and Gravedigger, who are just as ahead of their time as the movie itself. It may be sold best by the performances or confidence in which Davis characterizes them as heroes from an old-fashioned western, this time with an ability to deal with the mortality of the situation. The movie looks great, shot by Gerald Hirschfeld (Young Frankenstein, Fail Safe), who gives it a real gritty and lived-in look which would inspire other Blaxploitation to come. I’ll say there is a feeling of TV or staginess that hangs over the movie, only naturally, as that’s what Davis was doing more of at the time. This could be the future of cinema, but we lose a dynamism which I’ve seen in other Blaxploitation. 

Davis’s transition from actor to director not only enriched his own career, but also paved the way for future filmmakers of the ’70s. He is a director without flash, but possesses a true love for story and actors. For many decades of work, we see someone really put in the hours on screen and stage. Watching Cotton, it feels like this is just another hat to wear for him in the entertainment industry. Shortly before his passing, Ebert spoke to Davis, and this quote sticks with me: “The Black militants are expressing a sense of necessity and urgency,” he said, “but in the end it is history that will tell the story. The history of the Black man on the frontier – and, indeed, the history of the Indian – has never really been paid attention to in the movies. There is a lot of American history waiting to be rediscovered, once you get away from the official version.” Ossie Davis says something important about heroism, putting the movie at its most radical, and putting Cambridge and St Jacques in the leads birthed a new genre.

Cotton Comes to Harlem
1970
dir. Ossie Davis 
97 min. 

Now streaming on the Criterion Channel