In a world impoverished by the Great Depression, the single largest business in Harlem is an illegal lottery known as the “Numbers”. For many, a winning numbers slip is the only chance to put food on the table.The undisputed leader of the Harlem Numbers is Madame Queen, who has run this multi-million dollar business quietly and peacefully over a decade. Notorious gangster Dutch Schultz has defied the wishes of his partner, crime chief Charles “Lucky” Luciano and decided it’s time to share in the profits. There is only one obstacle in Dutch Schultz’s path of destruction. His name is Ellsworth “Bumpy” Johnson.

Overall, Hoodlum represents a very respectable entry into the ever-popular gangster genre, and may be the best tale of this sort from the era since Brian DePalma‘s The Untouchables. Also, the movie’s decision to approach the situation from the point-of-view of several Black characters lends a fresh angle to a fairly well-known historical account. For, although Hoodlum is not the definitive chronicle of New York mob activity during the 1930s, its contribution should not be overlooked. — James Berardinelli, 1997.

— Big balls, no brains.