Weekend Buff

Across 110th Street (1972)

Across 100th Street (1972)

The 70’s provided us with some great police films as crime spiked around the country and the cop movies became grittier and more realistic. Crime was on everyone’s mind as a heroin epidemic spread throughout the United States, cops were being executed, and the murder rate reached unimagined proportions. The seemingly unstoppable crime wave brought with it serious concerns that were often portrayed on the silver screen.

Across 100^th Street (1972) was one of these films. The movie starts with a robbery of a drug location in Harlem operated by the mafia and local dealers. The robbery is committed by black men dressed as police officers. They kill everyone in the drug spot. The fleeing perps then kill two cops responding to the call for shots fired.

NYPD detectives respond and politics immediately becomes an issue. Veteran investigator Captain Frank Mattelli is pulled off the case in favor of the young, black rising star, Lieutenant William Pope. Mattelli is old-school – corrupt, heavy handed, and effective. Pope is the future of modern policing – refined, analytical, and professional - with a college education. The two square off in a power struggle of old vs new.

They aren’t only up against the murderous perps. The mafia in embarrassed by the drug rip. They are out to find the perps as well and teach a serious and public lesson. Mob justice would be a black eye to the legitimacy of the NYPD. It’s a race to find justice – either the street variety or the court process is to be determined.

Captain Frank Mattelli is played by the incomparable Anthony Quinn. Yaphet Kotto is excellent as Lt William Pope. Little Italy’s own Tony Franciosa plays the mobster out to get revenge on the men who ripped off the family’s money. Paul Benjamin, Ed Barnard, Antonio Fargas, and Richard Ward are familiar faces from 70’s crime films that play supporting roles.

The film was released the same month as the Knapp Commission’s final report. The Knapp Commission started in 1970 and showed systemic corruption and misconduct in the NYPD. The NYPD was in a bad position – its cops were corrupt, it was losing the war on crime, and had lost its legitimacy with the public. But the NYPD was battling back.

1970 also brought a new commissioner to the NYPD. Patrick Murphy was a modern kind of commissioner. A straightlaced, scientific type with a master’s degree that wanted to bring professionalism and diversity to the NYPD. A forward thinker – but could he be effective?

The state of the NYPD is on display here in Across 100^th Street. Old vs new, black vs white, educated vs street wise are heavy themes running through the movie. The police force is modernizing, but will it be effective and bring justice to these cop killers? It is the question of the movie and the reality that it interprets.

Across 100^th Street is filmed entirely in New York City. The movie captures New York at the time, dark, dilapidated, and dirty. A shadow of its former self. Hope does not spring eternal north of 110^th Street.

The movie is a microcosm of all these issues affecting New York City at this time. The film probably does not get the credit it deserves as an important reflection of a city and its police. Plus, it’s got a great soundtrack!

Across 100th Street runs an hour and 45 minutes. You can catch it for free on Amazon Prime, so you’ve got that going for you. Take a look back to one of the low points in the history of New York with an underappreciated film. Enjoy!

Side note: The NYPD deals with police impersonation robberies on a regular basis. And just like in this film, they are also often of drug locations just like in this film. It happens often enough that there is a special unit in the NYPD that investigates them. The Internal Affairs Bureau’s Group 51 is the PIIU (Police Impersonation Investigation Unit). They handle all those cases, because, unfortunately, not all police impersonation robberies are done by impersonators.

Thanks for reading The Ops Desk. Stay Safe!