Cotton Comes to Harlem

Deke 'Reverend' O'Malley stages a Harlem rally to sell shares for a Back-to-Africa ship called The Black Beauty. He markets the scheme as a solution to racial problems, drawing in impoverished supporters. His performance masks a more immediate plan to skim cash from donors.

Masked gunmen jump from a meat truck and steal $87,000 donated cash. The heist shocks the crowd as the thieves escape with cool efficiency. Authorities decide to pursue while the money disappears.

As the chase unfolds, a bale of cotton falls from the getaway car and rolls away unremarked. Gravedigger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson begin to suspect that the cash vanished into the bale. The bale's fate becomes a key clue for later investigations.

Captain Bryce orders Jones and Johnson not to treat O'Malley as a suspect, undermining proactive investigation. The detectives begin their own quiet inquiry while upholding the captain's directive. The pair's sympathy for the community's plight clashes with bureaucratic instruction.

Jones and Johnson visit Iris Brown, O'Malley's mistress, expecting to find him there. They are called away before O'Malley arrives, and Iris manages to escape the guard assigned to watch her. The visit reveals O'Malley's web of relationships and sets up later confrontations.

Iris discovers O'Malley seducing Mabel Hill, the widow of one of his subordinate's killed in the robbery. A physical fight erupts between the two women, leaving Iris disillusioned with O'Malley's demeanor. The personal betrayals deepen tensions around the con.

Uncle Budd, a scavenger, finds the bale of cotton and sells it to a junk dealer for $25. He later buys it back for $30, setting up the loop that ties the money to the bale. The fate of the bale becomes central as rival interests close in.

A city-wide reward for the $87,000 triggers rival gangs and detectives to search for the missing money. Gravedigger and Coffin deduce that the money is hidden inside the fallen bale, escalating a violent urban chase. The search brings risk and competition to Harlem.

Iris reveals to Jones and Johnson that the robbery was a ruse to launder O'Malley's image, but Calhoun double-crossed him to keep the money. The white career criminal Calhoun emerges as the true antagonist. The confession clarifies who stands to profit from the deception.

Calhoun kidnaps Iris to torture her for information about the bale's location. A firefight erupts, and Jones and Johnson rescue her from the criminal's grip. The rescue marks a turning point in the pursuit of the stolen cash.

At a theater in Harlem, Billie uses the bale as a prop during her act, drawing both Calhoun and O'Malley to the venue. Jones and Johnson arrest Calhoun, who is wearing blackface, highlighting the era's racial tensions. The confrontation exposes O'Malley's fraud to the audience.

In the theater's back, Johnson beats O'Malley, and Jones and Johnson publicly denounce him as a fraud who exploited the people. The audience turns their backs and walks out, underscoring the conman's fall from grace. The crowd's response reinforces the detectives' moral stance.

Jones and Johnson coerce Tom, a white mob leader, to return the $87,000 to the original donors, completing the operation. They discover Uncle Budd has run off with the money and emigrated to Ghana, living in retirement with his ill-gotten gains. The detectives secure the restitution as justice for the community.