Gang War

Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

A 16mm release print of the feature film Gang War. It consists of two reels of positive, black-and-white, 16mm acetate film strips with variable-area optical sound. The film is about two Harlem gangs fighting for control of a jukebox “racket.” It opens with a newspaper headline from the Daily Times about a recent surge in crime. This is followed by a scene in a diner in which a gang member, Bob “Killer” Meade (Ralph Cooper), accuses members of a rival gang of conducting business in the wrong territory and a fight erupts between the two gangs. Some of the men flee the diner and run into a waiting car as another man shoots at them through a window. A chase between the men in the car and police officers ensues.

Explore Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture ↗