Hoodlum (film)
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| Hoodlum | |
 Theatrical poster |
|
| Directed by | Bill Duke |
|---|---|
| Produced by | Frank Mancuso Jr. |
| Written by | Chris Brancato |
| Starring | Laurence Fishburne Tim Roth Andy Garcia |
| Music by | Elmer Bernstein |
| Cinematography | Frank Tidy |
| Editing by | Harry Keramidas |
| Distributed by | MGM |
| Release date(s) | August 27, 1997 |
| Running time | 130 minutes |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| Gross revenue | $23,461,013 (USA) |
Hoodlum is a 1997 crime film that gives a fictionalized account of the gang war between the Italian/Jewish mafia alliance and the black gangsters of Harlem that took place in the late 1920s and early 1930s. The film concentrated on Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson (Laurence Fishburne), Dutch Schultz (Tim Roth), and Lucky Luciano (Andy Garcia).
The film is notable in that it casts Johnson as the ring leader in Schultz's death, influencing Luciano into committing the crime himself. The accepted viewpoint is quite different: Schultz is believed to have been killed by Murder Inc., a group which is only tangentially related to Luciano, due to his threats towards District Attorney Thomas E. Dewey. Johnson, who freely cooperated with Schultz following his takeover, is not known to have had a hand in his death. While the film also shows Dewey accepting payoffs from the mob, there is no evidence for this, historical or hearsay. Hoodlum is followed by Ridley Scott's film American Gangster, which continues the life story of gangster Bumpy Johnson, mainly focusing on the man who eventually took over his operation, Frank Lucas.
[edit] Cast
| Actor | Character |
|---|---|
| Laurence Fishburne | Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson |
| Tim Roth | Dutch Schultz |
| Vanessa L. Williams | Francine Hughes |
| Andy Garcia | Charles "Lucky" Luciano |
| Cicely Tyson | Stephanie St. Clair/Madam Queen |
| Chi McBride | Illinois Gordon |
| Clarence Williams III | Bub Hewlett |
| Richard Bradford | Captain Foley |
| William Atherton | Thomas E. Dewey |
| Loretta Devine | Pigfoot Mary |
| Queen Latifah | Sulie |
| Mike Starr | Albert Salke |
| Beau Starr | Jules Salke |
| Paul Benjamin | Whispers |
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Hoodlum at the Internet Movie Database
- Hoodlum at Allmovie
