The Plot Against Harry
1h 20m
Directed by Michael Roemer • 1969 • United States
Starring Martin Priest, Ben Lang, Maxine Woods
A treasure of American independent filmmaking that was neglected for decades until its triumphant rediscovery, writer-director-producer Michael Roemer’s feature follow-up to his landmark NOTHING BUT A MAN is a wryly observed, delectably deadpan comedy set in the world of New York’s Jewish community and the small-time mobsters operating within it. After two decades behind bars, low-level racketeer Harry Plotnick (memorably cow-eyed Martin Priest) is released into a changed city he hardly recognizes. As he attempts to reconnect with his estranged family, he finds himself launched on a subtly surreal journey through an unfamiliar, middle-class world that seems to have no place for him.