Black gangsters in 1930 Harlem fights Dutch Schultz who is trying to horn in on their numbers racket.Black gangsters in 1930 Harlem fights Dutch Schultz who is trying to horn in on their numbers racket.Black gangsters in 1930 Harlem fights Dutch Schultz who is trying to horn in on their numbers racket.
- Awards
- 7 nominations
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaActor Clarence Williams III who plays the character Bub Hewlett, a rival of Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson's, would go on to portray Johnson in the first few scenes of Giang Hồ Mỹ (2007) 10 years later.
- GoofsWhile Bumpy and Madame St. Claire are listening to opera on the Victrola, the record playing displays the Okeh label. Okeh Records, founded in 1918 recorded mainly middle-of-the road popular music, standards, light classical and blues, but not opera.
- Quotes
Dutch Schultz: I remember the days when you could get a guy hit for 40 bucks.
Albert Salke: We live in inflationary times
- SoundtracksIt Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)
Written by Duke Ellington and Irving Mills
Performed by Laurnea Wilkerson
Laurnea Wilkerson appears courtesy of Yab Yum Entertainment
Featured review
The numbers racket
"Hoodlum" is a film that deserved much better. Bill Duke, its talented director, gives us a picture of what the Harlem of the thirties was like. In fact, "Hoodlum" suffers when it's compared to Coppola's "The Cotton Club". Mr. Duke, an actor himself, was able to amass a great cast and he got performances that are amazing from this first rate ensemble.
The cast headed by the brilliant Laurence Fishburn is amazing. Mr. Fishburn is basically the whole reason for watching the film. His Bumpy Johnson is a larger than life figure in that era. Tim Roth also is quite amazing as Dutch Schultz, a white man who saw the hidden treasures of the black community of Harlem and tried to capitalize in that world. Andy Garcia plays Lucky Luciano, an Italian man who also was instrumental in the criminal activities one sees in the film.
Also in the cast, Vanessa Williams, Cicely Tyson, Loretta Devine, William Atherton, Queen Latifah, and the rest, respond well to Mr. Duke's command.
The film is entertaining and will not disappoint fans of the genre, or of Mr. Duke.
The cast headed by the brilliant Laurence Fishburn is amazing. Mr. Fishburn is basically the whole reason for watching the film. His Bumpy Johnson is a larger than life figure in that era. Tim Roth also is quite amazing as Dutch Schultz, a white man who saw the hidden treasures of the black community of Harlem and tried to capitalize in that world. Andy Garcia plays Lucky Luciano, an Italian man who also was instrumental in the criminal activities one sees in the film.
Also in the cast, Vanessa Williams, Cicely Tyson, Loretta Devine, William Atherton, Queen Latifah, and the rest, respond well to Mr. Duke's command.
The film is entertaining and will not disappoint fans of the genre, or of Mr. Duke.
- How long is Hoodlum?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Gangster
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $30,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $23,499,102
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $8,162,768
- Sep 1, 1997
- Gross worldwide
- $23,499,102
- Runtime2 hours 10 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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