Uptown Saturday Night
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- For the Camp Lo album, see Uptown Saturday Night (album)
| Uptown Saturday Night | |
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| Directed by | Sidney Poitier |
| Produced by | Melville Tucker |
| Written by | Richard Wesley |
| Starring | Sidney Poitier Bill Cosby |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
| Release date(s) | July 26, 1974 |
| Running time | 104 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $3,000,000 (approx.) |
| IMDb profile | |
Uptown Saturday Night is a 1974 comedy-film written by Richard Wesley, and directed by Sidney Poitier. Poitier also stars in this film, along with Bill Cosby and Harry Belafonte.
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[edit] Synopsis
Steve Jackson, an average blue-collar worker at a steel mill, has just begun a week-long vacation. He is encouraged—and eventually convinced—by his friend Wardell Franklin to enjoy his vacation by going to a party that Saturday night at "Madam Zenobia" (an upscale after-hours club owned by Madam Zenobia, and frequented by "underworld" criminals.) While the two are at the party, "Madam Zenobia" is robbed by Silky Slim and his gang. The masked bandits steal all of the patrons' loot, including Steve's wallet.
While safely home and reading his newspaper, Steve learns he has hit the lottery, however, the lottery ticket was in the wallet that was stolen at "Madam Zenobia's". Steve spends the remainder of his vacation tracking down his wallet by consulting with politicians, con-artists, and even underworld crime bosses.
[edit] Cast
- Sidney Poitier — Steve Jackson
- Bill Cosby — Wardell Franklin
- Harry Belafonte — Geechie Dan Beauford
- Flip Wilson — The Reverend
- Richard Pryor — Sharp Eye Washington
- Calvin Lockhart — Silky Slim
- Rosalind Cash — Sarah Jackson
- Roscoe Lee Browne — Congressman Lincoln
- Paula Kelly — Leggy Peggy
- Lee Chamberlin — Madame Zenobia
- Johnny Sekka — Geechie's Henchman
- Lincoln Kilpatrick — Slim's Henchman #1
- Don Marshall — Slim's Henchman #2
- Harold Nicholas — Little Seymour Pettigrew
cameo appearances by:
- Ketty Lester — Irma Franklin
- Jophery C. Brown — Geechie Dan henchman
- Gene McDaniels — Member of the Choir
- Ray Parker Jr. — Ray
- George Reynolds — Big Percy
- Richard Warren — Driver
[edit] Trivia
Cosby and Poitier teamed up again for Let's Do It Again (1975) and A Piece of the Action (1977). Although their characters have different names in each film, the three films are considered to be a trilogy.
In 2002, it was announced that Will Smith and his production company, Overbrook Entertainment, had secured the rights to the trilogy for remakes to star Smith and to be distributed by Warner Bros.. Smith stated that he hoped to get Eddie Murphy, Martin Lawrence and other famous African-American stars to be in the films. [1][2]
Shortly after the film's release, NBC commissioned a pilot for a sitcom version of Uptown Saturday Night, starring Cleavon Little and Adam Wade, playing the roles played by Cosby and Poitier in the film. The pilot did not sell, though it was seen on NBC during the summer of 1976 as part of Comedy Theater, one of many showcases featuring unsold pilots.
