Harlem Nights
Encyclopedia
Harlem Nights is a 1989 comedy-drama crime film
starring Eddie Murphy
and Richard Pryor
. The film also featured Michael Lerner
, Danny Aiello
, Redd Foxx
, Della Reese
and Murphy's brother Charlie Murphy
. Murphy and Pryor star as a father-and-son team running a nightclub in late-1930s Harlem, New York
while contending with gangsters and corrupt police officials.
Murphy wrote, and directed the film (Murphy was nominated for Worst Director at the 10th Golden Raspberry Awards, his only directorial effort; the film won Worst Screenplay) and served as an executive producer. He had always wanted to direct and star in a period piece
, as well as work with Pryor, whom he considered his greatest influence in stand-up comedy
. Harlem Nights was a critical failure, but a financial success, grossing 3½ times the amount it cost to make it (worldwide) and is well known for starring three generations of African American comedians (Foxx, Pryor, and Murphy).
) has a dice game going in the back of his candy store. After nearly being killed by an angry man who lost money, Ray is saved when an 8-year-old errand boy shoots the man in the head. The orphan, who goes by the name "Quick," becomes the "good luck charm" for Ray, who raises him.
Twenty years later (1938), Ray and a grown-up Quick (Eddie Murphy
) now run a highly successful nightclub called "Club Sugar Ray", a speakeasy
with a brothel
in back run by tough-talking madam Vera (Della Reese
).
In walks Tommy Smalls (Thomas Mikal Ford
), who works for the notorious gangster Bugsy Calhoun (Michael Lerner
) at the Pitty Pat Club, along with beautiful Miss Dominique LaRue (Jasmine Guy
). Smalls and LaRue have come to check out the club and report back to Calhoun, who has received word that Club Sugar Ray is outgrossing him on a nightly basis.
Ray tells Quick not to mess with Miss LaRue as she is Calhoun's mistress. Calhoun sends corrupt police detective Phil Cantone (Danny Aiello
) to threaten Ray, vowing to shut the club down unless Calhoun gets a huge cut of the action.
All but forced out of business, Ray refuses to go without first making sure he's provided for his friends and workers. An upcoming heavyweight championship fight between challenger Mickey Kirkpatrick and defending champion (and loyal Club Sugar Ray patron) Jack Jenkins (Stan Shaw
) will command a lot of money. Ray's plan is to place a bet on Kirkpatrick to make Calhoun think they have talked Jenkins into throwing the fight. The plan also is to rob Calhoun's booking houses. A sexy hooker is used to distract Calhoun's bag man, Richie Vinto.
Quick goes to Tommy Smalls' apartment but finds him executed. Smalls was killed by Cantone after being accused by Calhoun of coming up short with the nightly receipts at the Pitty Pat Club. Smalls' brother (Arsenio Hall
) sees Quick leaving. A car chase and gunfight ensues, Quick pursued by Smalls' brother and henchmen. In three effortless shots, Quick kills them all.
Earlier that day, Quick had received an invitation to dinner from Dominique LaRue. It turned out to be a recruiting pitch from Bugsy Calhoun, who sends Miss LaRue to seduce Quick or kill him. Quick turns the tables and kills her after they have sex.
Quick explains to Ray what has happened. Ray tells him to lie low. Cantone arrives at Club Sugar Ray, has everyone there arrested and sent to jail. Ray bails them out, then takes a last look at Club Sugar Ray, which has been gutted by a fire set by Calhoun's men.
Throughout all of this there is a love-hate relationship between Vera and Quick. After he accused Vera and her "girls" of coming up short with profits, Vera challenged Quick to a fight, which she was winning until he hit her with a garbage can. She pulled a razor on him, so he shot her pinky toe off. Ray asks him to apologize, knowing Vera views Quick like a son. He does, and tells Vera he loves her.
Vera's girl, Sunshine (Lela Rochon
), successfully seduces Richie Vinto. She convinces him that she also has a pickup to make. Richie agrees to pick her up on the way to collect money for Calhoun. Richie gets into an accident with a car driven by Ray's old friend Bennie (Redd Foxx
) (who is myopic and wears very thick glasses). Ray's henchman Jimmy (Charlie Murphy
) has fixed the switch to the traffic light to changes from green to red).
Ray and Quick, disguised as policemen, arrive on the scene and attempt to arrest Richie. They tell him that the woman he's riding around with is actually a notorious drug dealer known as Lady Heroin. Quick attempts to switch the bag that held Calhoun's money with the one Sunshine had placed in the car, but before he can, two white policemen arrive. Richie pulls one aside and explains that he's on a run for Bugsy Calhoun, so they let him go.
The championship fight begins. Meantime, at the Pitty Pat Club, Freddy and Willie, two of Ray's men, chase out the customers, plant a bomb and leave before it blows up. At the fight, Calhoun realizes it was not fixed as he originally thought, and receives word that his club has been destroyed.
Quick and Ray arrive at a closed bank and go inside. Cantone puts a gun on them, but one of Ray's men is pointing a gun at his head. Cantone is sealed in a bank vault and warned him that there's only enough air to last until the next day. (They advise him to take sips of air instead of deep breaths, which he does.)
Calhoun returns to his home, furious. Richie arrives to deliver Calhoun's money, but the bags have been switched. His is filled with powdered sugar. Calhoun then receives a surprise visit from Vera, who tells them how she did not want to be mixed up in robbing him. She tells Bugsy where to find Ray and Quick. Believing her, Bugsy and his men arrive at Ray's house but find it empty. One of his men trips the bomb wired into the door, instantly blowing Bugsy and his men to bits.
Near the waterfront, by a sign that reads "Hoboken
," Ray and Quick pay off the two white men who were disguised as policemen earlier that night. They get into their car and head for parts unknown, but agree there's no place like Harlem.
Crime film
Crime films are films which focus on the lives of criminals. The stylistic approach to a crime film varies from realistic portrayals of real-life criminal figures, to the far-fetched evil doings of imaginary arch-villains. Criminal acts are almost always glorified in these movies.- Plays and films...
starring Eddie Murphy
Eddie Murphy
Edward Regan "Eddie" Murphy is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, singer, director, and musician....
and Richard Pryor
Richard Pryor
Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor was an American stand-up comedian, actor, social critic, writer and MC. Pryor was known for uncompromising examinations of racism and topical contemporary issues, which employed colorful vulgarities, and profanity, as well as racial epithets...
. The film also featured Michael Lerner
Michael Lerner (actor)
-Life and career:Lerner was born in Brooklyn, New York of Romanian Jewish descent, the son of Blanche and George Lerner, who was a fisherman and antiques dealer. He was raised in Bensonhurst and Red Hook. His brother, Ken Lerner, is also an actor...
, Danny Aiello
Danny Aiello
Daniel Louis "Danny" Aiello, Jr. is an American actor who has appeared in numerous motion pictures, including Once Upon a Time in America, Ruby, The Godfather: Part II, Hudson Hawk, The Purple Rose of Cairo, Moonstruck, Léon, Two Days in the Valley, and Dinner Rush...
, Redd Foxx
Redd Foxx
John Elroy Sanford , better known by his stage name Redd Foxx, was an American comedian and actor, best known for his starring role on the sitcom Sanford and Son.-Early life:...
, Della Reese
Della Reese
Delloreese Patricia Early, known professionally as Della Reese , is an American actress, singer, game show panelist of the 1970s, one-time talk-show hostess and ordained minister. She started her career in the 1950s as a gospel, pop and jazz singer, scoring a hit with her 1959 single "Don't You...
and Murphy's brother Charlie Murphy
Charlie Murphy
Charles Quinton "Charlie" Murphy is an American actor, comedian, and writer notable as being a cast member and writer on the Comedy Central sketch-comedy series Chappelle's Show...
. Murphy and Pryor star as a father-and-son team running a nightclub in late-1930s Harlem, New York
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
while contending with gangsters and corrupt police officials.
Murphy wrote, and directed the film (Murphy was nominated for Worst Director at the 10th Golden Raspberry Awards, his only directorial effort; the film won Worst Screenplay) and served as an executive producer. He had always wanted to direct and star in a period piece
Period piece
-Setting:In the performing arts, a period piece is a work set in a particular era. This informal term covers all countries, all periods and all genres...
, as well as work with Pryor, whom he considered his greatest influence in stand-up comedy
Stand-up comedy
Stand-up comedy is a comedic art form. Usually, a comedian performs in front of a live audience, speaking directly to them. Their performances are sometimes filmed for later release via DVD, the internet, and television...
. Harlem Nights was a critical failure, but a financial success, grossing 3½ times the amount it cost to make it (worldwide) and is well known for starring three generations of African American comedians (Foxx, Pryor, and Murphy).
Plot
In Harlem, New York, 1918, Sugar Ray (Richard PryorRichard Pryor
Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor was an American stand-up comedian, actor, social critic, writer and MC. Pryor was known for uncompromising examinations of racism and topical contemporary issues, which employed colorful vulgarities, and profanity, as well as racial epithets...
) has a dice game going in the back of his candy store. After nearly being killed by an angry man who lost money, Ray is saved when an 8-year-old errand boy shoots the man in the head. The orphan, who goes by the name "Quick," becomes the "good luck charm" for Ray, who raises him.
Twenty years later (1938), Ray and a grown-up Quick (Eddie Murphy
Eddie Murphy
Edward Regan "Eddie" Murphy is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, singer, director, and musician....
) now run a highly successful nightclub called "Club Sugar Ray", a speakeasy
Speakeasy
A speakeasy, also called a blind pig or blind tiger, is an establishment that illegally sells alcoholic beverages. Such establishments came into prominence in the United States during the period known as Prohibition...
with a brothel
Brothel
Brothels are business establishments where patrons can engage in sexual activities with prostitutes. Brothels are known under a variety of names, including bordello, cathouse, knocking shop, whorehouse, strumpet house, sporting house, house of ill repute, house of prostitution, and bawdy house...
in back run by tough-talking madam Vera (Della Reese
Della Reese
Delloreese Patricia Early, known professionally as Della Reese , is an American actress, singer, game show panelist of the 1970s, one-time talk-show hostess and ordained minister. She started her career in the 1950s as a gospel, pop and jazz singer, scoring a hit with her 1959 single "Don't You...
).
In walks Tommy Smalls (Thomas Mikal Ford
Thomas Mikal Ford
Thomas Mikal Ford , known and credited also as Tommy Ford, is an American actor who is best known for his character Tommy Strawn in the sitcom Martin...
), who works for the notorious gangster Bugsy Calhoun (Michael Lerner
Michael Lerner (actor)
-Life and career:Lerner was born in Brooklyn, New York of Romanian Jewish descent, the son of Blanche and George Lerner, who was a fisherman and antiques dealer. He was raised in Bensonhurst and Red Hook. His brother, Ken Lerner, is also an actor...
) at the Pitty Pat Club, along with beautiful Miss Dominique LaRue (Jasmine Guy
Jasmine Guy
Jasmine Guy is an American actress, singer and dancer. She is best known for her starring role as Whitley Gilbert in the television sitcom A Different World.-Biography:...
). Smalls and LaRue have come to check out the club and report back to Calhoun, who has received word that Club Sugar Ray is outgrossing him on a nightly basis.
Ray tells Quick not to mess with Miss LaRue as she is Calhoun's mistress. Calhoun sends corrupt police detective Phil Cantone (Danny Aiello
Danny Aiello
Daniel Louis "Danny" Aiello, Jr. is an American actor who has appeared in numerous motion pictures, including Once Upon a Time in America, Ruby, The Godfather: Part II, Hudson Hawk, The Purple Rose of Cairo, Moonstruck, Léon, Two Days in the Valley, and Dinner Rush...
) to threaten Ray, vowing to shut the club down unless Calhoun gets a huge cut of the action.
All but forced out of business, Ray refuses to go without first making sure he's provided for his friends and workers. An upcoming heavyweight championship fight between challenger Mickey Kirkpatrick and defending champion (and loyal Club Sugar Ray patron) Jack Jenkins (Stan Shaw
Stan Shaw
Stan Shaw is an American actor.Born in Chicago, Illinois, he is the son of Bertha Shaw and saxophonist Eddie Shaw, and cousin of the late soul singers Sam Cooke and Tyrone Davis Brother of Vaan Shaw...
) will command a lot of money. Ray's plan is to place a bet on Kirkpatrick to make Calhoun think they have talked Jenkins into throwing the fight. The plan also is to rob Calhoun's booking houses. A sexy hooker is used to distract Calhoun's bag man, Richie Vinto.
Quick goes to Tommy Smalls' apartment but finds him executed. Smalls was killed by Cantone after being accused by Calhoun of coming up short with the nightly receipts at the Pitty Pat Club. Smalls' brother (Arsenio Hall
Arsenio Hall
Arsenio Hall is an American actor, comedian, and former talk show host. He is best known for his talk show The Arsenio Hall Show, which ran between 1989 and 1994, and his roles in the films Coming to America and Harlem Nights.Hall is also known for his appearance as Alan Thicke's sidekick on the...
) sees Quick leaving. A car chase and gunfight ensues, Quick pursued by Smalls' brother and henchmen. In three effortless shots, Quick kills them all.
Earlier that day, Quick had received an invitation to dinner from Dominique LaRue. It turned out to be a recruiting pitch from Bugsy Calhoun, who sends Miss LaRue to seduce Quick or kill him. Quick turns the tables and kills her after they have sex.
Quick explains to Ray what has happened. Ray tells him to lie low. Cantone arrives at Club Sugar Ray, has everyone there arrested and sent to jail. Ray bails them out, then takes a last look at Club Sugar Ray, which has been gutted by a fire set by Calhoun's men.
Throughout all of this there is a love-hate relationship between Vera and Quick. After he accused Vera and her "girls" of coming up short with profits, Vera challenged Quick to a fight, which she was winning until he hit her with a garbage can. She pulled a razor on him, so he shot her pinky toe off. Ray asks him to apologize, knowing Vera views Quick like a son. He does, and tells Vera he loves her.
Vera's girl, Sunshine (Lela Rochon
Lela Rochon
Lela Rochon is an American actress who is best known for her role as Robin Stokes in the movie Waiting to Exhale....
), successfully seduces Richie Vinto. She convinces him that she also has a pickup to make. Richie agrees to pick her up on the way to collect money for Calhoun. Richie gets into an accident with a car driven by Ray's old friend Bennie (Redd Foxx
Redd Foxx
John Elroy Sanford , better known by his stage name Redd Foxx, was an American comedian and actor, best known for his starring role on the sitcom Sanford and Son.-Early life:...
) (who is myopic and wears very thick glasses). Ray's henchman Jimmy (Charlie Murphy
Charlie Murphy
Charles Quinton "Charlie" Murphy is an American actor, comedian, and writer notable as being a cast member and writer on the Comedy Central sketch-comedy series Chappelle's Show...
) has fixed the switch to the traffic light to changes from green to red).
Ray and Quick, disguised as policemen, arrive on the scene and attempt to arrest Richie. They tell him that the woman he's riding around with is actually a notorious drug dealer known as Lady Heroin. Quick attempts to switch the bag that held Calhoun's money with the one Sunshine had placed in the car, but before he can, two white policemen arrive. Richie pulls one aside and explains that he's on a run for Bugsy Calhoun, so they let him go.
The championship fight begins. Meantime, at the Pitty Pat Club, Freddy and Willie, two of Ray's men, chase out the customers, plant a bomb and leave before it blows up. At the fight, Calhoun realizes it was not fixed as he originally thought, and receives word that his club has been destroyed.
Quick and Ray arrive at a closed bank and go inside. Cantone puts a gun on them, but one of Ray's men is pointing a gun at his head. Cantone is sealed in a bank vault and warned him that there's only enough air to last until the next day. (They advise him to take sips of air instead of deep breaths, which he does.)
Calhoun returns to his home, furious. Richie arrives to deliver Calhoun's money, but the bags have been switched. His is filled with powdered sugar. Calhoun then receives a surprise visit from Vera, who tells them how she did not want to be mixed up in robbing him. She tells Bugsy where to find Ray and Quick. Believing her, Bugsy and his men arrive at Ray's house but find it empty. One of his men trips the bomb wired into the door, instantly blowing Bugsy and his men to bits.
Near the waterfront, by a sign that reads "Hoboken
Hoboken
Hoboken may refer to:*Hoboken, New Jersey, United States*Hoboken, Antwerp, a district of Antwerp, Belgium*Hoboken, Georgia, United States*Hoboken, Alabama, United States*"Hoboken", a song on Operation Ivy's 1988 album Hectic-See also:...
," Ray and Quick pay off the two white men who were disguised as policemen earlier that night. They get into their car and head for parts unknown, but agree there's no place like Harlem.
Cast
- Eddie MurphyEddie MurphyEdward Regan "Eddie" Murphy is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, singer, director, and musician....
... Vernest "Quick" Brown - Richard PryorRichard PryorRichard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor was an American stand-up comedian, actor, social critic, writer and MC. Pryor was known for uncompromising examinations of racism and topical contemporary issues, which employed colorful vulgarities, and profanity, as well as racial epithets...
... Sugar Ray - Redd FoxxRedd FoxxJohn Elroy Sanford , better known by his stage name Redd Foxx, was an American comedian and actor, best known for his starring role on the sitcom Sanford and Son.-Early life:...
... Bennie Wilson - Danny AielloDanny AielloDaniel Louis "Danny" Aiello, Jr. is an American actor who has appeared in numerous motion pictures, including Once Upon a Time in America, Ruby, The Godfather: Part II, Hudson Hawk, The Purple Rose of Cairo, Moonstruck, Léon, Two Days in the Valley, and Dinner Rush...
... Phil Cantone - Michael LernerMichael Lerner (actor)-Life and career:Lerner was born in Brooklyn, New York of Romanian Jewish descent, the son of Blanche and George Lerner, who was a fisherman and antiques dealer. He was raised in Bensonhurst and Red Hook. His brother, Ken Lerner, is also an actor...
... Bugsy Calhoune - Della ReeseDella ReeseDelloreese Patricia Early, known professionally as Della Reese , is an American actress, singer, game show panelist of the 1970s, one-time talk-show hostess and ordained minister. She started her career in the 1950s as a gospel, pop and jazz singer, scoring a hit with her 1959 single "Don't You...
... Vera - Berlinda TolbertBerlinda TolbertBerlinda Tolbert is an American actress best known for her role as Jenny Willis Jefferson on The Jeffersons. She also appeared in the film Harlem Nights. She was born one day after actor Mike Evans, the man who played her boyfriend/husband Lionel Jefferson in The Jeffersons. They were both born...
... Annie - Stan ShawStan ShawStan Shaw is an American actor.Born in Chicago, Illinois, he is the son of Bertha Shaw and saxophonist Eddie Shaw, and cousin of the late soul singers Sam Cooke and Tyrone Davis Brother of Vaan Shaw...
... Jack Jenkins - Jasmine GuyJasmine GuyJasmine Guy is an American actress, singer and dancer. She is best known for her starring role as Whitley Gilbert in the television sitcom A Different World.-Biography:...
... Dominique La Rue - Vic Polizos ... Richie Vento
- Lela RochonLela RochonLela Rochon is an American actress who is best known for her role as Robin Stokes in the movie Waiting to Exhale....
... Sunshine - David MarcianoDavid MarcianoDavid Marciano is an American actor who appeared as Detective Raymond Vecchio in the television series Due South...
... Tony - Arsenio HallArsenio HallArsenio Hall is an American actor, comedian, and former talk show host. He is best known for his talk show The Arsenio Hall Show, which ran between 1989 and 1994, and his roles in the films Coming to America and Harlem Nights.Hall is also known for his appearance as Alan Thicke's sidekick on the...
... Crying Man - Thomas Mikal FordThomas Mikal FordThomas Mikal Ford , known and credited also as Tommy Ford, is an American actor who is best known for his character Tommy Strawn in the sitcom Martin...
... Tommy Smalls - Charlie MurphyCharlie MurphyCharles Quinton "Charlie" Murphy is an American actor, comedian, and writer notable as being a cast member and writer on the Comedy Central sketch-comedy series Chappelle's Show...
... Jimmy - Robin HarrisRobin HarrisRobin Hughes Harris was an American comedian and actor, known for his recurring comic sketch about Bébé's Kids.-Childhood:...
... Romeo - Ray Murphy Sr.(credited as Uncle Ray Murphy) ... Willie
- Desi Arnez Hines IIDesi Arnez Hines IIDesi Arnez Hines II is an American film and television actor. He is best known for his role as the 10-year old Tre Styles in the 1991 hit John Singleton-produced motion picture Boyz n the Hood...
... Young Quick - Michael BufferMichael BufferMichael Buffer is an American professional ring announcer for boxing and professional wrestling matches. He is known for his trademarked catchphrase, "Let's get ready to rumble!" He is known for pioneering a distinct announcing style in which he rolls certain letters and adds other inflections to...
... Ring Announcer - Reynaldo ReyReynaldo Rey-Biography:Rey was born Harry Reynolds in Sequoyah County, Oklahoma. He is of African American and Native American descent. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Kansas State Teacher's College, majoring in Education.-Filmography:...
... Gambler
Nominated
- Academy AwardsAcademy AwardsAn Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
:- Academy Award for Best Costume Design (Joe I. Tompkins)
- Golden Raspberry Award
- Worst Director (Eddie Murphy)