Said found out during principal photography that the first production model of the much-anticipated and groundbreaking Arriflex 35BL camera had just arrived in New York. #Across 110th street seriesSaid had cut his teeth as a cameraman on the pioneering NBC TV series I Spy, which broke new ground for American television by mixing studio work with location footage shot all over the world a feat made possible by abandoning the ubiquitous but unwieldy Mitchell cameras of the day in favor of the lightweight Arriflex 35 IIC. Undeterred, Shear took on Fouad Said, an unrivalled expert in location shooting, as a co-producer. Hollywood colleagues warned him that New York was the worst city in which to film, due to labor costs and permit nightmares, and Harlem the worst part of New York, due to its status at that time as the most lawless ghetto in the US. When planning the film, director Barry Shear was adamant that only by filming in real locations could he bring a suitably raw and genuine feel to its themes of gang warfare and bloody street violence. Quinn relented and Yaphet Kotto was chosen to play Pope. Upon hearing the news, Harlem residents disagreed with the choice, claiming Poitier was too Hollywood and not urban enough for the role. Additionally, he hoped to get Sidney Poitier to play Lt. Both passed, as did Burt Lancaster, leaving Quinn to take the part. The Italians are led by Nick DiSalvio, a savage capo who plans to torture the robbers, when he finds them, to deter others from trying what they did.Īnthony Quinn, who also served as executive producer, originally wanted John Wayne and then Kirk Douglas for the lead role of Captain Mattelli. Over the course of roughly twenty-four hours, Pope and Mattelli race to get to the criminals before they can be hunted down by the Mafia, which is also searching for Harris’ crew. Lieutenant William Pope, a straitlaced black police officer is assigned to work the case with aging Captain Frank Mattelli, a streetwise but aging Italian-American cop.Īlthough Lieutenant Pope works strictly by the book and states that he is in charge of the investigation, he struggles to restrain Mattelli, who receives money from Doc Johnson, the leader of black organized crime in Harlem. The robbery goes wrong and results in the deaths of seven men - three black gangsters, two members of the Mafia, and two police officers. Jim Harris goes with his partners to steal $300,000 from a Mafia-controlled policy bank in Harlem, disguised as police officers.
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