Dark Manhattan

An all-Black gangster film produced by and co-directed with its star Ralph Cooper, Dark Manhattan reimagines the Hollywood gangster picture through a Black gaze. Cooper plays Curly Thorpe, a ruthless numbers racketeer who rises to power in Harlem by pushing aside mob boss Larry Lee (Clarence Brooks), only to face betrayal and violence as he pursues nightclub singer Flo Gray (Cleo Herndon). Produced by Randol-Cooper Productions for Black audiences, the film emphasizes interpersonal conflict and betrayal over the spectacle of violence that characterized mainstream gangster films of the era. The film is in the public domain.