One of the niftiest "B" gangster films of the "noir" era tells the story of ex-con Vincent Lubeck

One of the niftiest "B" gangster films of the "noir" era tells the story of ex-con Vincent Lubeck

The white-run Mafia and the black-run numbers game meet head on with explosive impact in this period crime thriller. Ellsworth Bumpy Johnson (Laurence Fishburne) is an African-American ex-con who, after a stay in prison, returns to Harlem at the height of its renaissance before World War II. Looking for work, Bumpy becomes a lieutenant for Stephanie St. Clair (Cicely Tyson), the queen of Harlem's numbers racket. Bumpy's old friend Illinois Gordon (Chi McBride) gently expresses his concern about Bumpy's life of crime, and social worker Francine Hughes (Vanessa L. Williams), who is attracted to Bumpy (and vice versa), suggests he should be doing something more positive with his life. But Bumpy contends that the numbers game is the only business in the community that blacks are able to control themselves. The numbers game is very profitable -- enough so that mob boss Lucky Luciano (Andy Garcia) wants in on the action. He assigns one of his key men, Dutch Schultz (Tim Roth), to try to strike a deal with Stephanie