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Hell Up In Harlem Poster

Hell Up In Harlem (1973)

R Dec 01, 1973 Action, Thriller, Crime, Drama 1h 34m
User Score
56%
41 votes
Internet Movie Database
59%
Rotten Tomatoes
22%

Black Godfather is back... and there's gonna be hell up in Harlem!

Overview

Tougher than Shaft and smoother than Superfly, this high-voltage sequel to Black Caesar explodes with enough action to incinerate New York City. Packed with machine-gun mayhem and riveting adventure, Hell Up in Harlem is nothing less than a modern-day tribute to the classic 30s gangster film. Fred Williamson is Tommy Gibbs, a fearless, bulletproof tough guy who blasts his way from the gutter to become the ultimate soul brother boss. Tommy steals a ledger with the name of every crooked cop and man in the city. Enlisting the aid of his father and an army of Harlem hoods, Gibbs goes from defense to offense, launching a deadly attack on his enemies that sets off a violent chain reaction from Harlem all the way to the Caribbean, climaxing in one of the hottest turf-war shoot-outs in Hollywood history.

Larry Cohen
Director

Part of the Tommy Gibbs Collection

Includes Hell Up In Harlem and other great movies.

View Collection

Top Billed Cast

Fred Williamson
Fred Williamson

Tommy Gibbs
Julius Harris
Julius Harris

Papa Gibbs
Gloria Hendry
Gloria Hendry

Helen Bradley
Margaret Avery
Margaret Avery

Sister Jennifer
D'Urville Martin
D'Urville Martin

Reverend Rufus
Tony King
Tony King

Zach
Gerald Gordon
Gerald Gordon

Mr. DiAngelo
James Dixon
James Dixon

Irish
Ty Randolph
Ty Randolph

Tough Bikini Woman

Full Cast & Crew

Media

Hell Up in Harlem (1973) ORIGINAL TRAILER [HD 1080p]
Hell Up in Harlem (1973) ORIGINAL TRAILER [HD 1080p]
Trailer
Larry Cohen on HELL UP IN HARLEM
Larry Cohen on HELL UP IN HARLEM
Featurette
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Reviews

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A review by John Chard
Written on April 22, 2019

Serious side-burns is back!

After the success of Black Caesar earlier in the year, this sequel was rushed into production to hopefully cash in on the clamour for Blaxploitation shenanigans. Sadly it's a rush job that is all too evidently half baked.

Plot has Fred Wiliamson return as Tommy Gibbs (resurrected from the dead apparently!), who takes on corrupt D.A. Diangelo (Gerald Gordon) whilst dealing with matters of the heart. Directed by Larry Cohen, it's with Cohen's frank honest views on the film that critique should start. He would say that Hell Up In Harlem is a 90 minutes montage movie, and he is absolutely right.

This is jerkily episodic as it runs a course of people talking then cutting to boisterous action, then some talking and cut again to some more boisterous action, an...

Read the full review on TMDb
A review by Chandler Danier
Written on June 26, 2025

A lot of crazy shit happens in this film. Like an entire season's plots in 90 minutes. Some gags too. Airport baggage claim was a good gag. I wasn’t always excited for the action or acting. Jarring but inventive. Best assassin in Harlem for a reason.

Ethan Hunt has nothing on Tommy Gibbs. He’s so fast in those shoes. I tried to run in a movie, Cold War, once. It’s hard. You have to practice before you try to run in a movie. I suppose football provides enough running practice to run in films. This guy is the Terminator. Not even out of breath....

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