Why It’s in the National Film Registry

Preserved as Sidney Poitier’s directorial effort “dispelling stereotypes” of the Blaxploitation era through an entertaining crime comedy ensemble cast.

Source: Library of Congress National Film Registry 2024 announcement

My Thoughts

My friend Mehone recommended Uptown Saturday Night to me a year or two ago. I watched it back then and enjoyed it, but I never logged it or wrote about it since it was just a fun weekend movie at the time. However, now that I’m working my way through the National Film Registry (starting with the 2024 additions), I decided to revisit it, and I’m finding a lot to like.

The Setup

The plot follows Steve Jackson (Sidney Poitier), a blue-collar worker who has two weeks of vacation. It looks like a foundry of some kind but I believe they call it a factory in the movie for some reason it’s something that is sticking in my mind. Since his wife is still working, he plans to just relax around the house. However, his best friend, Wardell Franklin (a young beareded Bill Cosby), thinks Steve needs to unwind a little more aggressively.

Wardell suggests going to Madame Zenobia’s, a high-class, after-hours club. Everyone knows about it, but not everyone can get in. Wardell manages to forge a letter of introduction using his wife’s employer’s stationery, claiming they are important players in the diamond business. Surprisingly, this gets them in the door. The Incident

The club is a showcase of the hottest looks of the era with big hats, wonderful hairstyles, and wild outfits. Steve and Wardell eventually find their way to a room behind the red door where gambling is taking place. In the 70s there was also an early adult film called “Behind the Green Door” I dont know if it is a nod to that or not but it is a little funny to have that in mind when you are watching this scene play out. The casino is obviously a high-stakes environment and the bouncer warns the guys that just watching isn’t allowed and the buy-in is 150 bucks. Steve lends Wardell some cash, and he starts betting on Leggy Peggy who is on a hot streak. He’s turned his 50 dollar bet into a few hundred!

Unfortunately, the celebration is cut short when a crew busts in to rob the place. In a strange twist, or maybe it was just a thing they did at the time, the robbers force everyone to strip down to their underwear. They say in case one of you has a heater which I think means a concealed weapon. It also helps to prevent anyone from chasing them immediately. (One woman claims she isn’t wearing underwear, but they make her strip anyway! The movie keeps it PG and doesn’t show anything explicit).

The robbery sets up the central conflict: Steve had a lottery ticket in his wallet containing his lucky numbers. The next day, he sees those numbers hit the jackpot in the newspaper, and realizes the ticket is lost! The ticket is worth $50,000 (which is over $320,000 adjusted for inflation). It’s life changing amount money that would allow his family to move out of the inner city. The rest of the movie is a hilarious race to find the wallet without letting anyone know what is in it.

A Star-Studded Cast

The film features a massive roster of wonderful actors, and everyone gets a moment to shine.

Harry Belafonte plays Geechee Dan, a menacing gangster who looks like he has bad allergies or is just really sick. 

Flip Wilson plays the Reverend who preaches "No joy juice at the picknic!"

Richard Pryor has a cameo as Sharp Eye Washington, a con man, who posed as a private eye briefly.

Calvin Lockhart plays Silky Slim a rival gangster to Geechee Dan.

Rosalind Cash plays Steve’s wife, Sarah Jackson. She has some of the best lines! 

Paula Kelly and Lee Chamberlin (Madame Zenobia) also turn in great performances.

One of the funniest performances comes from Roscoe Lee Browne, who plays Congressman Lincoln. His character satirizes politicians embracing the Black Power movement for votes. When constituents arrive, he hurriedly flips a picture of Richard Nixon around to reveal a portrait of Malcolm X and changes from a suit into a dashiki to play the part. It was a hilarious reminder of how post-Watergate movies depicted politicians as chameleons willing to say anything for a vote. The Elephant in the Room

It is impossible to discuss this film without acknowledging that Bill Cosby has since been convicted of heinous sex crimes. However, looking strictly at the film as a 1970s comedy, the character he plays does not have any romantic entanglements or questionable “adult” situations. If you can, as they say, separate the art from the artist’s off-screen behavior, his dynamic with Poitier is genuinely funny.

The 70s Aesthetic

There are some very specific “70s things” in this movie that I really enjoyed. For one, the church picnic scene is massive. The church actually owns a Greyhound style bus to transport the congregation to a fairground for food and games it really captures the community vibe of the era.

The fashion is also incredible. As a child of the 80s and 90s, I used to think bellbottoms and wide lapels looked ridiculous. Watching it now, I totally get it. The lines, the colors, and the energy that the right pair of shoes or jacket conveyed allowed people to really stand out. Plus, the slang is a blast to listen to you don’t hear people getting called “turkeys” enough anymore. Preservation and Quality

To wrap things up, I was struck by how well preserved this film is. Because it is on film it was also possible to be scanned in at high resolution and detail. The audio is just as crisp as when it was recorded.

It makes me wonder about our current digital era. We record video just to compress it immediately. Many movies were left behind on VHS, then DVD, then Bluray. In 30 years, when we are watching on “2060’s Hottest new Retina 20K” displays, our current digital footage might look blown out and pixelated. But Uptown Saturday Night? It will still look sharp.

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