O'Ross as Bernard 'Lulu' Rosenkrantz Eddie Bo Smith Jr. as Tee-Ninchy Mike Starr as Albert Salke Beau Starr as Jules Salke Paul Benjamin as 'Whispers' Tony Rich as Duke Ellington Production Although set in 1930s Harlem, the film was shot in Chicago. Soundtrack A soundtrack containing hip hop and R&B music was released on August 12, 1997 by Interscope Records. It peaked at #94 on the Billboard 200 and #23 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. Reception The film received mixed reviews from critics. Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 43% based on 21 reviews. Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade B on scale of A to F. Critic Roger Ebert noted that "the film is being marketed as a violent action picture, and in a sense, it is" and that director Bill Duke having made "a historical drama as much as a thriller, and his characters reflect a time when Harlem seemed poised on the brink of better things, and the despair of the postwar years was not easily seen on its prosperous streets." It was also criticized for many historical inaccuracies. See also Hoodlum at Wiktionary American Gangster (film) Godfather of Harlem: a 2019 Epix television series, starring Forest Whitaker as Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson. References External links 1997 films American crime thriller films Biographical films about gangsters Films scored by Elmer Bernstein Films about race and ethnicity Films set in New York City Films shot in New York City Films shot in Chicago Films directed by Bill Duke Films about African-American organized crime Hood films Films about the American Mafia Films about Jewish-American organized crime Films set in Harlem Films set in the 1920s Films set in the 1930s United Artists films Cultural depictions of Lucky Luciano Cultural depictions of Duke Ellington Cultural depictions of Dutch Schultz 1990s English-language films 1990s American films