Uptown Saturday Night (1974): 15 Shocking Facts You Totally Missed

Uptown Saturday Night (1974): 15 weird facts you never knew Harry Belafonte stuffed cotton balls into his cheeks and studied Marlon Brando's voice for weeks to build his Geechie Dan character. When Brando finally saw the parody, he reportedly burst out laughing. The two lead roles that made Sydney Poitier and Bill Cosby legendary weren't even written for them. Screenwriter Richard Wesley originally created those parts for Richard Pryor and Redd Foxx, until studio executives decided neither man was a big enough draw. Pryor got demoted to a single scene and still stole the movie. In October 1973, Hollywood Reporter announced Hank Aaron had signed on for a role, just months before he broke Babe Ruth's home run record. When the film hit theaters, Aaron was nowhere in it. No explanation, no deleted scene rumor, nothing. Meanwhile Harold Nicholas, one half of the legendary Nicholas Brothers tap dancing duo, appeared in a small gangster role with zero dancing and no wink to his own legendary past. The story is set in Chicago, one of the flattest cities in America, yet the climactic car chase somehow winds through steep mountain roads. Harry Belafonte's character has two completely different names between the opening and closing credits, and nobody has ever explained why. Flip Wilson made his very first film appearance here, dialing his television energy way down. The film was made for 2.5 million dollars and grossed 7.4 million domestically. Warner Brothers greenlit two sequels off that success. A failed NBC spinoff pilot with Cleavon Little aired just once in 1979 and vanished. Will Smith bought the remake rights back in 2002. More than 20 years later, the project has still never filmed a single frame. And the bonus: in 2024, exactly 50 years after release, the Library of Congress selected this film for permanent preservation in the National Film Registry, placing it alongside Citizen Kane, Casablanca, and The Wizard of Oz. ⏱ Timestamps in the chapters below 👇 Which fact surprised you most? Drop it in the comments