Fails the Bechdel test
Harlem Nights
1989. Directed by Eddie Murphy, written by Eddie Murphy.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
1 / 3
Fails
-
Yes
1. At least two women
9 women characters. 5 of them speak. -
No
2. Who talk to each other
Our parser found no scene where two women talk to each other. -
No
3. About something besides a man
Not reached: the film fails an earlier rule.
Second opinion
Not rated bechdeltest.com readers haven't rated this film.
The film
"Sugar" Ray is the owner of an illegal casino, who contends with the pressures of vicious gangsters and corrupt policemen who want to see him go out of business. In the world of organized crime and police corruption in the 1930s, any dastardly trick is fair.
- Released
- 17 Nov 1989
- Genres
- Comedy, Crime, Drama
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 6.1 / 10
- Metascore
- 16 / 100
- Awards
- Nominated for 1 Oscar. 2 wins & 2 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Ray 143 lines, man
- Quick 141 lines, man
- Vera 55 lines, woman
- Calhoune 52 lines, man
- Cantone 51 lines, man
- Bennie 46 lines, man
- Richie 28 lines, man
- Dominique 23 lines, woman
- Bugsy 21 lines, man
- Tony 21 lines, man
Full cast, 68 people
- Eddie Murphy as Quick
- Richard Pryor as Sugar Ray
- Redd Foxx as Bennie Wilson
- Danny Aiello as Phil Cantone
- Michael Lerner as Bugsy Calhoune
- Della Reese as Vera
- Berlinda Tolbert as Annie
- Stan Shaw as Jack Jenkins
- Jasmine Guy as Dominique La Rue
- Vic Polizos as Richie Vento
- Lela Rochon as Sunshine
- David Marciano as Tony
- Arsenio Hall as Crying Man
- Thomas Mikal Ford as Tommy Smalls
- Uncle Ray Murphy as Willie (as Uncle Ray)
- Michael Goldfinger as Max
- Joe Pecoraro as Joe Leoni
- Robin Harris as Jerome
- Charlie Murphy as Jimmy
- Miguel A. Núñez Jr. as Man with Broken Nose
- Desi Arnez Hines II as Young Quick
- Ji-Tu Cumbuka as Toothless Gambler
- Bobby McGee as Gambler
- Reynaldo Rey as Gambler
- Nick Savage as Gambler
- Johnny Lee Smith as Huge Man (as Johnny Smith)
- Robi Reed as Woman Employee (as Robin Lynn Reed)
- Ty Granderson Jones as Crapshooter
- Dan Tullis Jr. as Crapshooter
- Don Blakely as Crapshooter
- Christopher Jackson as Crapshooter
- Roy Lee Jones as Crapshooter
- Sandman Sims as Crapshooter
- Roger E. Reid as Crapshooter
- Rudy Challenger as Patron
- Steve White as Patron
- Dexter A. Wilkins as Patron
- Nona Gaye as Patron
- Bill Bateman as Orderly
- Kathleen Bradley as Lady
- Clarence M. Landry as Old Man
- Carmen Filpi as Doorman
- Alvin Silver as Headwaiter
- Clifford Strong as Man at Front Seat (as Cliff Strong)
- Margaret Wheeler as Elderly Woman
- Joe Littlefield as Elderly Man
- Rick Aiello as Man #1
- Donald Nardini as Man #2
- Robert Vento as Bartender
- Mike Genovese as Desk Sergeant
- Dennis Lee Kelly as Cop
- William Utay as Cop
- Michael Buffer as Announcer
- Marc Figueroa as One of Calhoune's Boys
- George Kyle as Man at Bugsy's
- Eugene Robert Glazer as Detective Hogan (as Eugene R. Glazer)
- Michael Stroka as Detective Simms
- Eddie Smith as Driver
- Gene Hartline as Michael Kirkpatrick
- Karen Armstead as Bennie's Girlfriend
- Lezley Price as Nurse
- Randy Harris as Todo La Noche
- Woody Omens as Ringside Announcer
- Don Familton as Referee
- Dennis Kemper as Bathroom Attendant
- Larry L. Johnson as King Blue
- Prince C. Spencer as Prince Spencer
- Roberto Durán as Roberto
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 10% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 106
Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.
Show the numbers
| Scenes | Women's lines | Men's lines |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 3 | 0 | 2 |
| 4 to 6 | 11 | 101 |
| 7 to 9 | 9 | 5 |
| 10 to 12 | 0 | 14 |
| 13 to 15 | 12 | 50 |
| 16 to 18 | 1 | 2 |
| 19 to 21 | 6 | 31 |
| 22 to 24 | 0 | 24 |
| 25 to 27 | 2 | 33 |
| 28 to 30 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 to 33 | 0 | 14 |
| 34 to 36 | 0 | 9 |
| 37 to 39 | 0 | 2 |
| 40 to 42 | 0 | 4 |
| 43 to 45 | 3 | 31 |
| 46 to 48 | 0 | 7 |
| 49 to 51 | 0 | 2 |
| 52 to 54 | 0 | 2 |
| 55 to 57 | 0 | 3 |
| 58 to 60 | 4 | 26 |
| 61 to 63 | 8 | 8 |
| 64 to 66 | 11 | 19 |
| 67 to 69 | 0 | 21 |
| 70 to 72 | 0 | 18 |
| 73 to 75 | 14 | 32 |
| 76 to 78 | 2 | 8 |
| 79 to 81 | 2 | 11 |
| 82 to 84 | 0 | 3 |
| 85 to 87 | 0 | 1 |
| 88 to 90 | 0 | 2 |
| 91 to 93 | 0 | 0 |
| 94 to 96 | 5 | 47 |
| 97 to 99 | 0 | 13 |
| 100 to 102 | 8 | 36 |
| 103 to 105 | 0 | 12 |
| 106 to 106 | 2 | 13 |
The evidence
- Straight from the script
- Counted from the script and the credits
Tap an exhibit to open it.
Exhibit A: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 14 are women's.
100 lines from women, 606 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit B: who's in it
9 women and 46 men in the cast. 5 women and 35 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 50 of 784.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 56 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 13% of the words (1,385), men 87% (9,642). Women have 14% of the lines, so their lines run shorter than men's.
Exhibit D: the test the other way
Two named men talk to each other about something besides a woman. It passes the reverse test.
Conversations between two named characters
Two women
0
Two men
59
Exhibit E: behind the camera
None of the 8 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 0% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Eddie Murphy (man)
- Written by
- Eddie Murphy (man)
- Produced by
- Mark Lipsky (man), Robert D. Wachs (man)
- Shot by
- Woody Omens (man)
- Edited by
- Alan Balsam (man), George Bowers (man)
- Music by
- Herbie Hancock (man)
The crew, department by department
-
Costume & Make-Up
0 women, 3 men
-
Production
0 women, 3 men
-
Editing
0 women, 2 men
-
Art
0 women, 1 men
-
Camera
0 women, 1 men
-
Directing
0 women, 1 men
-
Sound
0 women, 1 men
-
Writing
0 women, 1 men
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit F: how old the stars were
Women: 42 on average. Men: 46 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Jasmine Guy 27, Berlinda Tolbert 40, Della Reese 58
Men
Eddie Murphy 28, Stan Shaw 37, Vic Polizos 42, Richard Pryor 48, Michael Lerner 48, Danny Aiello 56, Redd Foxx 66
Exhibit G: the money
It made 2.0 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $30 million
- Box office
- $60.9 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 106 scenes and 784 lines of dialogue. How the test works
