Harlem Nights is a 1989 American crime comedy-drama film starring and directed by Eddie Murphy, who also wrote. The film co-stars Richard Pryor, Michael Lerner, Danny Aiello, Redd Foxx (in his last film appearance before his death in 1991), Della Reese, and Murphy's older brother Charlie. The film was released theatrically on November 17, 1989, by Paramount Pictures. The film tells the story of "Sugar" Ray and Vernest "Quick" Brown as a team running a nightclub in the late 1930s in Harlem while contending with gangsters and corrupt police officials. Harlem Nights was Eddie Murphy's only directorial effort. 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. Reviews of the film were panned. Nonetheless, the film was a financial success, grossing $95 million against a $30 million budget. It has since been regarded as a cult classic. Plot In 1918 Harlem, small-time hustler Sugar Ray is running a craps game. Nearly killed by an angry gambler who threatens him with a switchblade, Ray is saved by seven-year-old errand boy Vernest Brown, who shoots the man with Ray's gun. After being told that his parents are dead, Ray decides to raise the boy as his own, naming him "Quick" on account of his savvy. Twenty years later, Ray and Quick, now wealthy club owners, run a nightclub called "Club Sugar Ray", with gambling and dancing in the front, and a brothel in the back that's run by Ray's old friend Madame Vera. Tommy Smalls, a black enforcer working for white gangster Bugsy Calhoune, and Miss Dominique LaRue, Calhoune's mistress, arrive to assess the club's profitability. Later, Calhoune sends corrupt policeman Sgt. Phil Cantone to threaten Ray with having the club shut down unless Calhoune gets a cut. Ray decides to relocate rather than pay, but only after making sure his friends and workers are taken care of. An upcoming fight between boxer Michael Kirkpatrick and defending champion (and loyal Club Sugar Ray patron) Jack Jenkins is expected to bring in large sums of money in bets. Ray places a large bet on Kirkpatrick to make Calhoune think he paid Jenkins to throw the fight. Secretly, Ray instructs his men to intercept the bets Calhoune's friends and associates have bet on the match and steal them. A sexy call girl named Sunshine is used