Uptown Saturday Night (1974)

Married men Steve Jackson (Sidney Poitier, who also wrote and directed the film) and Wardell Franklin (Bill Cosby) have snuck off for a night on the town at an upmarket nightclub (Madame Zenobia’s) when it is held up by thieves, and the duo are robbed of their wallets and jewellery.

Meanwhile, factory worker Steve wins $50,000 in a lottery – but his winning ticket is in his stolen wallet!

Keeping everything secret from his wife (Rosalind Cash), Steve and his sly cab driver pal Wardell set out to find the criminals, enlisting the aid of a fumbling investigator, a politician and a preacher to track down the thieves.

Harry Belafonte plays a gang boss named Geechie Dan Beauford with a stunning impersonation of Marlon Brando in The Godfather. Comedian Richard Pryor gives a riotous performance as a conman named Sharp Eye Washington, walking through his small role with Marx Brothers’ intensity and Keystone Cops’ frivolity.

Flip Wilson pulls down some giant laughs in another small role as The Reverend with some of the most hip sermons this side of the Saturday morning radio gospel hours. “Loose lips sink ships,” he says in one sermon, “and the folks in this congregation have been sinking aircraft carriers lately!”

Steve Jackson
Sidney Poitier
Wardell Franklin
Bill Cosby
Geechie Dan Beauford
Harry Belafonte
Sharp Eye Washington
Richard Pryor
Leggy Peggy
Paula Kelly
Sarah Jackson
Rosalind Cash
Congressman Lincoln
Roscoe Lee Browne
Madame Zenobia
Lee Chamberlain
Irma Franklin
Ketty Lester
Geechie’s Henchman
Johnny Sekka
Silky Slim
Calvin Lockhart
The Reverend
Flip Wilson
Little Seymour
Harold Nicholas

Director
Sidney Poitier