Hell Up in Harlem was originally to be titled Black Caesar's Sweet Revenge.

Production was so rushed on Hell Up in Harlem that Larry Cohen began with only half a shooting script.

Because Fred Williamson was shooting That Man Bolt (1973) for Universal, Cohen used a double for the actor in long shots.

Larry Cohen shot Hell Up in Harlem back to back with his horror film It's Alive (1974).

Hospital scenes for Hell Up in Harlem were captured at Harlem Hospital, where Cohen also shot sequences for It's Alive.

Larry Cohen's mansion in the Coldwater Canyon section of the Hollywood Hills stood in for both District Attorney DiAngelo's office and Tommy Gibbs' California pied-à-terre.

The mansion, which was built by the Hearst Family, had previously belonged to director Sam Fuller and actor Clint Walker, who both lost it in divorce settlements.

Fred Williamson "borrowed" many of his costumes for That Man Bolt for use in Hell Up in Harlem.

Although James Brown had scored Black Caesar, AIP was unhappy with his score for Slaughter's Big Rip-Off (1973) and nixed the Godfather of Soul's participation on Hell Up in Harlem.

The purple Rolls Royce seen in the film actually belonged to Yunosuke Aoki, founder of the Benihana restaurant chain.

Extras during the beach house shootout include Mindi Miller, Fred Williamson's girlfriend at the time, and writer Mario Puzzo's son Eugene.

Larry Cohen shot death scenes for certain actors he suspected might be difficult in the event that he wanted to fire them early in the production.

The actor shot in the back on the subway by Julius Harris was Tony King, in a death scene for Zach that was never used.

Larry Cohen used his own bed for a love scene between Fred Williamson and Margaret Avery.

Academy Award® nominated film editor Peter Honess got his first cutting job on Hell Up in Harlem.

In her last scene, Gloria Hendry walks by a movie marquee for Across 110th Street (1972), the movie she made prior to Black Caesar.

In an interview with writer Tony Williams for his book on the director, Cohen commented on his final cut of Hell Up in Harlem: "I think I put too many action sequences into the film, such as the attack on the island and the assault on Tommy and his girlfriend in California. There were just too many confusing plot developments. I don't think the later scenes with the Reverend (D'Urville Martin) really worked. However, looking back at the film now, it's not as bad as I once felt it was. By the way, the Chicago newspapers only last week profiled a black minister who was a former pimp. The very character Martin played."

Compiled by Richard Harland Smith

Sources:
Larry Cohen, director audio commentary Hell Up in Harlem DVD
Fred Williamson interview by Brett McCormick, Psychotronic Video No. 10, 1991.
Fred Williamson interview by Steve Ryfle, Shock Cinema No. 15, 19
Flying Through Hollywood by the Seat of My Pants by Sam Arkoff with Richard Trubo
Larry Cohen: The Radical Allegories of an Independent Filmmaker by Tony Williams