Don't Believe the Hype

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Blistering performances.

THE GUY FROM HARLEM is an extremely low rent blaxploitation film of the late 1970s which is so cheap that the whole thing has been filmed in just a couple of locations. The story is about a black private investigator, who desperately wants to be Shaft, who is tasked with bodyguarding an African princess for 24 hours. He contends with various goons along the way, and after that storyline is finished, he randomly goes off to rescue a kidnapped girl. The whole thing is stately and slow, with poor production values and an entire lack of incident to make it the least bit interesting. They throw in a lot of skin to try to keep the attention of their viewers, but it's a waste of a film overall.

Al (Loye Hawkins) is the title guy and is a Miami private detective....I guess from Harlem. We see him on two jobs, one is to protect a princess from Africa (Patricia Fulton) and the other is to rescue a girl (Cathy Davis) part of a gang kidnapping and ransom. Things go very smooth for Al who easily subdues the bad guys.The sound was uneven. The lines corny. It was nice to see the 70's wood paneling style as well as bell bottoms and wide lapels. It has been a long time since I have seen 2 brothers simply shake hands without a fist bump. Available on multi-packs.Guide: No swearing. Near rape. Sex and nudity (Cathy Davis, Patricia Fulton

"The Guy From Harlem" is strictly filled with amateurs--and NOTHING about the film is polished or appears very good. It truly looks as if no one from the film had any experience in the industry and they were all just winging it! It is a terrible film--though I have seen worse.The CIA wants the hero to protect the wife of an African head of state. So, inexplicably, instead of protecting her themselves, they seek out the private dick, Al Connors. Connors completes this assignment--along with beating up a few baddies and having his way with the sexy lady. Then, a mobster approaches Connors--his daughter has been kidnapped. So, Connors beats up some baddies and, not surprisingly, has his way with this lady as well. Both plots are amazingly similar and I have no idea why they didn't just have one plot instead of two which were nearly identical.Al Connors (Loy Hawkins) is one of the lowest energy and least exciting blaxploitation heroes I've ever seen in a film. He lacks style but makes up for it in crappy fighting skills and no charisma. He isn't helped any by the fact that most of the supporting actors cannot deliver their lines--at least Hawkins does not stumble over his lines--he more just strolls through them in slow-motion. Overall, you've got cheap sets, poor acting, horrendous dialog, a repetitive plot and nothing positive to distinguish this film from the pack. Dull beyond belief.

Watching this tale of a detective from Harlem, who now works in Florida (hence the title) I was struck by how much better this film would be if there was some hardcore sex in it. The idea may make me seem like an absolute pig but if you watch this movie for more than five minutes you too will be struck by two thoughts: First - when is the sex going to start because this movie looks and feels like a bad 1970's porn film. Second - when is the sex going to start since this movie is so awful that its probably the only thing the film makers could do to make this movie even remotely interesting.This movie is a turkey. Its cheap, badly filmed, badly acted with awful action and a stupid plot (its got something to do with the kidnapping of an African Ambassador's wife or daughter or something). Its on that fine line between so bad its good and so bad its bad and it wobbles back and forth across it minute by minute.If you're a true bad movie lover see it. If you're any other type of movie lover stay away because there is no sex to spice things up.