Is the movie Cotton Comes to Harlem available on Netflix, Disney+, Prime or Apple TV+?

At Stream Tracker, we’re putting the 1970 Harlem crime caper Cotton Comes to Harlem under the magnifying glass to find out where it’s streaming — Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video or AppleTV+. Directed by Ossie Davis from Chester Himes’ novel, the film follows detectives Gravedigger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson as they chase down a missing fortune hidden in a bale of cotton tied to Rev. Deke O’Malley’s land scam. Equal parts gritty street comedy and social critique, it captures the sermons, swagger and tensions of its time and helped shape the blaxploitation era. In this article the Stream Tracker team will check current availability on each platform and point you to the easiest way to watch or rent this offbeat piece of cinema history.

Synopsis

In Harlem, a charismatic minister named Rev. Deke O'Malley is running a confidence scheme, persuading Black residents that modest contributions will secure them plots of land in Africa. When NYPD detectives Gravedigger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson investigate, they discover the collected cash is being smuggled inside a bale of cotton. Chaos erupts when the money vanishes, sending the police, O'Malley, and a host of others into a desperate hunt.

Release date

1970

Duration

1h 37min

Rating

Director

Ossie Davis

Country

États-Unis

Genre(s)

Action, Comédie, Crime

Cast

Godfrey Cambridge Raymond St. Jacques Calvin Lockhart Judy Pace Redd Foxx Emily Yancy John Anderson