Atlanta Jewish Film Festival – The Plot Against Harry

Late Night at Plazadrome

A cinephile’s dream, AJFF joins forces with the Historic Plaza Theatre and cult film purveyor Videodrome to unearth the best in Jewish underground cinema.

55th Anniversary

A rediscovered treasure of Jewish American cinema, this mobster comedy follows a big city Kosher Nostra schlemiel hustling through the underworld, juggling family drama and a quest for redemption.

Martin Priest embodies Harry Plotnick, a grizzled, dour bookie, fresh from the slammer, reentering the Manhattan scene, only to find his old turf overrun by fresh faces and rival ethnic gangs. A relic from the past, this gefilte fish out of water fumbles to keep up in a world that’s moved past the rough-and-tumble streets and cutthroat characters he once ruled. Unexpectedly, Harry’s past and present collide when he runs into his ex-wife (Maxine Woods) and a mishpocha he never knew—literally; his car rams theirs—hurling him into the land of suburban meshugas. Trading his gangster fedora for an apron, he joins the catering biz—a world of call girls, bar mitzvahs, lingerie shows, and hotel pajama parties. Harry’s tough shell starts to crack, as he mulls ditching his shady life for one as a mensch.

Shot in stark black-and-white on a shoestring budget, filmmaker Michael Roemer captures the raw, unglamorized spirit of late ’60s New York, eschewing famous landmarks for an authentic depiction of the city. Shelved in 1969 after a lackluster preview, the film was a hit two decades later, leading to a 4K restoration, and cementing its bona fides as a quirky, oddly endearing masterpiece.

Seating is General Admission.