Directed by Rene Martinez Jr (The Road of Death and The Six Thousand Dollar N***er) in 1977, The Guy From Harlem is a blaxploitation/ martial arts/ b-movie that has to be seen to be believed. A true classic in the so bad it’s entertaining category the movie stars Loye Hawkins (Angel City) in his only lead role as a private investigator, Al Connors, a streetwise brother hailing originally from the mean streets of Harlem but practising his trade in Miami, Florida. 

The CIA are concerned about the welfare of a visiting African dignitary, a princess under the name of Mrs Ashanti, (Patricia Fulton, in her only feature-length appearance) and ask Al Connors to act as her bodyguard while she is in Florida. Al does so obligingly, especially when he realises that she is a beautiful African princess. After several attempts on her life, Connors takes princess Ashanti into hiding at a girlfriend’s house and takes steps to track down the crime boss behind the attempts on her life, Big Daddy (played by Wayne Crawford, Jake Speed, Snake Island and U’Bejani).  After successfully protecting princess Ashanti, he is approached by Harry De Bauld (Steve Gallon, Petey Wheatstraw and Ain’t That Just Like A Honky!) to track down his daughter Wanda (Cathy Davis in her only ever acting role) who is being held captive by the aforementioned Big Daddy.

The Guy from Harlem is a decidedly ropey piece of 1970s blaxploitation cinema. The plotline, script and acting is abysmal. The action sequences are laughable and the whole thing feels like it cost about 50p to make, however it has a special charm all of its own. Filmed in 1977 towards the end of the blaxploitation explosion of the 1970s, it features a killer soundtrack by unknown funkateers, the Brand New Review whose Sly Stone/George Clinton/Isaac Hayes-inspired score lifts the film above mere cheese. Alongside this, the utterly preposterous fight scenes look they were choreographed by a 6-year-old in the playground and the whole thing feels like a bad 70s porn movie without the sex. 

This DVD from Cheezy Movies is bare bones featuring only the movie and a trailer. The print looks like it was drawn from an old VHS tape, it has some damage and looks pretty out of focus at times, but it’s probably the best we’re going to get for such an obscure cult movie. 

Despite all of its problems, I can’t help but have a soft spot for this one. The cool music, bell bottom jumpsuits and street slang all add up to make this a fun viewing experience for fans of both blaxploitation and the more general exploitation cinema.