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1984
Running Time: 2 hours, 45 minutes
Cast: Richard Gere Gregory Hines Diane Lane Lonette McKee Bob Hoskins James Remar Nicolas Cage Allen Garfield Fred Gwynne Lisa Jane Persky Maurice Hines Julian Beck Tom Waits Laurence Fishburne Gwen Verdon Jennifer Grey
Synopsis
It’s the height of the 1920s Jazz Age and Harlem’s famous Cotton Club is the home to both talented performers and gangster molls. Dixie Dwyer (Richard Gere) is a cornet player who unexpectedly saves the life of mobster Dutch Schultz (James Remar). When Schultz takes Dixie under his wing, Dutch’s girlfriend Vera Cicero (Diane Lane) and Dixie become dangerously entangled. Meanwhile, the performers at Owney Madden’s (Bob Hoskins) club, led by Sandman Williams (Gregory Hines) and his brother Clay (played by real-life brother Maurice Hines), balance their lives as stars on the stage with the real-life discrimination of being black. Sandman falls for ambitious light-skinned chanteuse Lila (Lonette McKee) while Dixie moves to Hollywood to become a movie star. The supporting cast is a colorful mix, including musician Tom Waits as club manager Irving Stark; Fred Gwynne (aka Herman Munster) as Madden’s sidekick, Frenchy; Broadway legend Gwen Verdon as Dixie’s mom, Tish; Andy Warhol star Joe Dallesandro as Charles "Lucky" Luciano; and founder of New York’s Living Theater, Julian Beck, as the sinister Sol Weinstein.
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