Hoodlum (1997)

Director:

Bill Duke

Writer (WGA):

Chris Brancato (written by)

Release Date:

27 August 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

Power is measured in enemies.

Plot:

Black gangsters in 1930 Harlem fights Dutch Schultz who is trying to horn in on their numbers racket.

Plot Keywords:

Dutch | 1930s | New York | Blood | Gangster

Awards:

7 nominations

Cast

Laurence Fishburne	...	Bumpy Johnson
Tim Roth	...	Dutch Schultz
Vanessa Williams	...	Francine Hughes
Andy Garcia	...	Lucky Luciano
Cicely Tyson	...	Stephanie St. Clair
Chi McBride	...	Illinois Gordon
Clarence Williams III	...	Bub Hewlett
Richard Bradford	...	Captain Foley
William Atherton	...	Thomas Dewey
Loretta Devine	...	Pigfoot Mary
Queen Latifah	...	Sulie
Mike Starr	...	Albert Salke
Beau Starr	...	Jules Salke
Paul Benjamin	...	Whispers
Joe Guzaldo	...	Bo Weinberg

Also Known As:

Gangster (USA) (working title)
Hoods (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for graphic ganster violence, strong language, a scene of sexuality and some nudity.

Runtime:

130 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Singapore:M18 | USA:R (certificate #34777) | Canada:R (Ontario) | South Korea:18 | Australia:M | France:U | Germany:16 | Portugal:M/16 (video premiere) | Spain:18 | UK:18

Filming Locations:

Between Cermak Road & 23rd Street, Michigan Avenue, Near South Side, Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

United Artists Pictures

Trivia:

Though set in New York, the movie was filmed in Chicago because it still has buildings that are of the type that were in Harlem in the 1930s unlike present day New York.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: While 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.
Mike Salke: We live in inflationary times

Movie Connections:

References Bambi (1942)

Soundtrack:

Steal Away

A fantastic cast.

Hoodlum is a film with a sparkling cast. The actors did live up to my expectations, considering what they were given to work with, which was not much. The story in Hoodlum is wrought with cliche, and yet takes itself far too seriously. The directing seems to be a mish mash of styles that don't mesh. Take the closing shot, which attempts to be symbolic, but ends up looking like an afterthought.

Both Fishburne and Roth were excellent, as was the entire cast. Unfortunately, the whole film left me with the impression of a high school production.