Historic Hampton House has an important role in the film “One Night in Miami.”
The movie details the night that Muhammad Ali, Malcolm X, Sam Cooke, and Jim Brown met in Miami in February 1964.
“One Night in Miami” is a fictionalized take on the meeting of boxing legend (Then) Cassius Clay (later to be known as Muhammed Ali), civil rights activist Malcolm X, football star Jim Brown and soul singer Sam Cooke at the Legendary Hampton House.
“The Hampton House is a silent star in the movie,” said Dr. Enid Pinkney who spearheaded its reopening in 2015.
Directed by Academy award-winning actress Regina King, the story follows the four during the night of Feb. 25, 1964, after Clay’s upset victory over Sonny Liston, before the upstart changed his name Cassius X and then later to Muhammad Ali.
The fight took place at the Miami Beach Convention Hall (later renamed the Convention Center).
With limited access to luxury in the Jim Crow South, African-Americans spent their leisure time in Green Book-approved places like the Hampton House. Despite the racism awaiting them outside the door, the four men always looked sharp inside the motel.
“It was very important that the men always look good in this room,” said King who made her film directorial debut. “And in order to do that, we took a big risk and completed the set at the last minute because we wanted to see each actor in front of different colors of wood to make sure that the choice complimented all four complexions.”
Out now through Amazon Prime, the film shines a renewed spotlight on the Hampton House, a place that has changed dramatically in the past decade.
Photos by Getty Images