'Sugar' Ray is the owner of an illegal casino and must contend with the pressure of vicious gangsters and corrupt police who want to see him go out of business. In the world of organised crime and police corruption in the 1920s, any dastardly trick is fair.
Acting
Pryor and Murphy's chemistry—two generations of comedy genius colliding.
Costume
Those 1920s Harlem suits? Absolutely immaculate period drip.
Production
Jazz Age sets that commit to the aesthetic despite the budget.
Director
Eddie Murphy
Eddie Murphy
Quick
Richard Pryor
Sugar Ray
Redd Foxx
Bennie Wilson
Danny Aiello
Phil Cantone
Michael Lerner
Bugsy Calhoune
Della Reese
Vera
Berlinda Tolbert
Annie
Stan Shaw
Jack Jenkins
Jasmine Guy
Dominique La Rue
Vic Polizos
Richie Vento
Lela Rochon
Sunshine
David Marciano
Tony
Arsenio Hall
Crying Man
Thomas Mikal Ford
Tommy Smalls
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This was Eddie Murphy's directorial debut at age 28, making him one of the youngest directors to helm a major studio film—Warner Bros gave him $30 million largely on his word.
The film remains notable for gathering multiple generations of Black comedy legends—Pryor, Foxx, Reese, and Murphy—in one project, something Hollywood rarely facilitated before or since.
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