A Rage in Harlem (1991)
Average Rating: 6.4/10
Reviews Counted: 12
Fresh: 9 | Rotten: 3
No consensus yet.
Average Rating: N/A
Critic Reviews: 3
Fresh: 1 | Rotten: 2
liked it
Average Rating: 3.2/5
User Ratings: 3,184
My Rating
Movie Info
Bill Duke directs this quirky film adaptation of Chester Himes' crime novel -- a heavily plotted gangster tale with a sweet love story hidden underneath. The film begins in Natchez, Mississippi in 1956. During a police shoot-out with the mob leader Slim's (Badja Djola) gang, Slim's moll Imabelle (Robin Givens) takes off with a cadre of stolen gold. As a result, Imabelle is chased by Slim's mob from Mississippi to New York. By the time she reaches Harlem, she is broke and has to figure out a way
May 3, 1991 Wide
Sep 2, 2003
HBO Video
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Cast
-
Forest Whitaker
Jackson -
Gregory Hines
Goldy -
Robin Givens
Imabelle -
Zakes Mokae
Big Kathy -
Danny Glover
Easy-Money -
Badja Djola
Slim -
Ron Taylor
Hank -
Willard E. Pugh
Claude X -
Jack Beatty
Sheriff -
John Toles-Bey
Jodie -
-
T.K. Carter
Smitty -
Tyler Collins
Teena -
James Copeland
Jailer -
Leslie Dockery
Chorus Dancer -
Anthonia Dotson
1st Female Mourner -
Clebert Ford
Porter -
Edgar Godineaux Jr.
Chorus Dancer -
Birdie M. Hale
1st Domestic -
Kimberly Hester
Chorus Dancer -
Leonard Jackson
Mr. Clay -
Helen Martin
Mrs. Canfield -
Olivette Miller-Briggs
2nd Domestic -
Hajna O. Moss
Chorus Dancer -
Tasha O'Bryant
Minna -
Joni Palmer
Chorus Dancer -
John Parks
Chorus Dancer -
Stack Pierce
Coffin Ed -
Ernest Perry Jr.
Jackie -
Wendell Pierce
Louis -
Herbert Rawlins
Chorus Dancer -
Romelle Reaux
Chorus Dancer -
Reynaldo Rey
Blind Man -
Eugene Robinson Jr.
Henchman -
Mike Roscoe
Chorus Dancer -
Kevin Ruthven
Bus Driver -
William L. Schwarber
Goon -
-
Wynonna Smith
Chorus Dancer -
James Spinks
Bartender -
Cornelius Stafford
Weasel -
Tracy A. Taylor
Skanky Whore -
Kemper Sam Williams Jr.
Gus Parsons -
Beatrice Winde
Clerk -
Screamin' Jay Hawkins
Himself -
John Seitz
Lester Bunton -
-
George Wallace (II)
Grave Digger -
John W. Hardy
Reverend Gaines -
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All Critics (19) | Top Critics (8) | Fresh (9) | Rotten (3)
It's hard to believe but this film offered the first to feature a black glamorous woman--Robin Givens--since Diana Ross's ill-fated Mahogany.
Strong adaptation of Chester Himes' pulp thriller
Forgoes good taste in the name of exuberant entertainment.
Surprisingly funny
Audience Reviews for A Rage in Harlem
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Surprised to see so few votes and comments for A Rage in Harlem - it was a modest commercial hit in Britain, so perhaps the all-black casting and setting just didn't play Peoria.
The tone of this stylish, good-looking period crime adventure swings wildly between brutal, raunchy, tragic and comic, but a clever, funny script and likeable characters - especially Gregory Hines's big-hearted wiseguy Goldy, but also several delightfully written minor roles - maintain attention and sympathy throughout what could otherwise have been a bumpy ride. It's an emotionally engaging film, much more character-driven than the average urban thriller of the 1990s.
Its purely incidental pleasures are many, topped by a splendid musical treat in the shape of cult R 'n' B hero Screamin' Jay Hawkins, giving a no-holds-barred performance of his voodoo classic I Put a Spell on You at the Harlem Undertakers' Ball. If you have a taste for the old school of black show business, this sequence will have you holding up the rest of the picture until you've given Screamin' Jay an encore.
Thrills, laughs, and pathos, dished up with verve and heart, make a film that many of us still remember very affectionately.