Black gangsters in 1930 Harlem fights Dutch Schultz who is trying to horn in on their numbers racket.
The film focuses on the war of two gangs in 1930s Harlem for the control of illegal gaming - one headed by black strategic godfather Bumpy Johnson and another by white ruthless hothead Dutch Schultz. Negotiations proposed by white syndicate boss Lucky Luciano never get under way, blood flows and Johnson gets jailed. When Johnson is paroled, he gets the work of enforcer for mighty Stephanie "The Queen" St. Clair. She is also jailed for racketeering and when she leaves she makes him promise "no violence".—Anonymous
Tells the story of how Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson helped Madame Stephanie St. Clair keep Dutch Schultz from taking over her Harlem numbers racket.—Thomas Pluck <[email protected]>
In 1934, the second most lucrative business in New York City is a lottery know to the locals as "the numbers". Someday, Madam Queen, the powerful woman who runs the scam in Harlem, is arrested. Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson takes over the business and must resist against the invasion from merciless mobster Dutch Shultz.—Steve Richer <[email protected]>
In 1934, Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson (Laurence Fishburne) is released from Sing Sing and returns to Harlem, where mobster Dutch Schultz (Tim Roth) asserts his control of the lucrative numbers game. Schultz begrudgingly reports to Mafia boss Charles "Lucky" Luciano (Andy Garcia), who pays bribes to special prosecutor Thomas E. Dewey (William Atherton) to protect his business.Reuniting with his cousin "Illinois" Gordon (Chi McBride), Bumpy returns to the employ of Harlem crime boss Madame Queen (Cicely Tyson), whose business is threatened by Schultz. Bumpy is introduced to Francine (Vanessa Williams), a friend of Illinois' girlfriend Mary (Loretta Devine). Schultz's meeting with the Queen ends in a standoff when he presents her with a rival's testicles. Walking Francine home from a club, Bumpy charms her with his poetry.Madame Queen is attacked by Schultz's men, led by black enforcer Bub Hewlett (Clarence Williams III), but Bumpy and fellow mobster Whispers (Paul Benjamin) repel the assassins and rescue her. At a meeting of the Commission, Schultz states his determination to take over Harlem. After robbing Schultz's operation with Illinois, Bumpy is chastised by Madame Queen for making his own decisions. Schultz then hires two hit men, the Salke brothers, to kill Bumpy, and has his police contact, NYPD Captain Foley (Richard Bradford), arrange for Madame Queen's arrest. At a party, a 17-year-old named Tyrone asks Bumpy for a job, and Francine struggles to reconcile her feelings for Bumpy with his criminal ways.The Salkes break into Bumpy's home, killing his guards, but Bumpy ambushes them and kills one while a terrified Francine shoots the other dead. Illinois is beaten and robbed by Foley and his officers, while Madame Queen is arrested for illegal gambling. Taking over her operation, Bumpy enlists Tyrone as a runner, and ignores the Queen's orders to avoid violence. By May 1935, he is locked in an all-out war with Schultz. His wealth and power grow, as does the body count, including Tyrone. Bumpy's attempt to comfort Tyrone's mother at his funeral is rejected.At an ice cream parlor with Francine, Bumpy realizes his banana split has been poisoned. When the shop owner reveals that Bumpy's associate Vallie ordered him to hire the new teenage employee responsible, Bumpy forces the boy to eat the poisoned ice cream despite his attempts to apologize. Whispers then kills Vallie with a razor. Bumpy confronts Schultz at the Cotton Club with Vallie's severed finger, demanding he cease his Harlem operations, but Schultz refuses.Disguised as truck drivers, Bumpy and Illinois deliver a bomb to one of Schultz's illicit breweries, narrowly escaping before the warehouse explodes. Illinois returns home to find Schultz had Mary killed in retaliation. Threatened by Dewey to end the bloodshed in Harlem, Luciano invites Bumpy and Schultz to a meeting, against both their wills.Visiting Madame Queen in prison, Bumpy is rebuked for inciting a gang war. Finding she can no longer accept who he is, Francine leaves him, and Illinois drunkenly confronts him over the innocent lives lost. Illinois is abducted and tortured by Foley, to Hewlett's disgust, but refuses to betray his cousin. At Luciano's meeting, Bumpy and Schultz refuse to settle their dispute. After finding Illinois' corpse left as a message, Bumpy slits Foley's throat while he's with a black prostitute, but spares Hewlett's life and offers him a partnership.Bumpy accepts an alliance with Luciano, and Luciano's driver - on Bumpy's orders - informs Schultz that Bumpy will be meeting with Luciano's accountant. Schultz and his men burst in but find only the accountant, whom Schultz kills. At a restaurant, Schultz's long-suffering henchman Lulu (Ed O'Ross) shoots him in the bathroom, and Schultz calmly returns to his table before dying. Meeting Luciano outside for payment, Lulu is shot dead. With Dutch eliminated and the gang war settled, Dewey - having received an enormous bribe from Bumpy, delivered by Hewlett - warns Luciano to stay away from Harlem. Hewlett and Bumpy part ways, and Bumpy arrives at Illinois' funeral. After exchanging looks with Francine and Madame Queen, Bumpy walks out into the rain alone.
