Black Caesar (film)

Black Caesar
Theatrical release poster
Directed byLarry Cohen
Written byLarry Cohen
Produced byLarry Cohen
StarringFred Williamson
Gloria Hendry
D'Urville Martin
Julius Harris
CinematographyFenton Hamilton
Edited byGeorge Folsey Jr.
Music byJames Brown
Production
company
Larco Productions
Distributed byAmerican International Pictures
Release date
  • February 7, 1973 (1973-02-07)
Running time
87 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$2 million (US/ Canada rentals)[1][2][3]

Black Caesar (stylized as Black Cæsar and released in UK cinemas as Godfather of Harlem) is a 1973 American blaxploitation crime drama film written and directed by Larry Cohen and starring Fred Williamson, Gloria Hendry and Julius Harris. It features a musical score (Black Caesar) by James Brown (with heavy input from his bandleader Fred Wesley), his first experience with writing music for film. A sequel titled Hell Up in Harlem was released in late 1973.[4]

  1. ^ "Big Rental Films of 1973", Variety, 9 January 1974 p 19
  2. ^ Samuel Z Arkoff & Richard Turbo, Flying Through Hollywood By the Seat of My Pants, Birch Lane Press, 1992 p 203
  3. ^ Donahue, Suzanne Mary (1987). American film distribution : the changing marketplace. UMI Research Press. p. 301. ISBN 978-0-8357-1776-2. Please note figures are for rentals in US and Canada
  4. ^ Gary A. Smith, The American International Pictures Video Guide, McFarland 2009 p 25