Survey of African-American "race" films of the 1920's through 1940's, particularly the work of Paul Robeson, Oscar Micheaux, Clarence Muse, Spencer Williams, Francine Everett, Sheila Guyse, and July Jones.
50min | Documentary | TV Movie 2002
Director: Walid Khaldi
Stars: Pearl Bowser, Ossie Davis, William Greaves, Mario Van Peebles
Disc: Westerns
This documentary provides a look into the B westerns produced for African-American theatres in the 1930s and 1940s and their impact on westerns featuring African Americans in recent years.
50min | Documentary | TV Movie 6 December 2002
Director: Walid Khaldi
Writer: Sean Whitley
Stars: Mario Van Peebles, Pearl Bowser, Ossie Davis, William Greaves, Herb Jeffries.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0386822/
Interesting information about blacks in the real Western time period, especially Bill Pickett, rodeo star, and the Buffalo Soldiers. Real cowboys sang to sooth the cattle.
DVD extras: full film The Bronze Buckaroo 56min, Ossie Davis interview 19min, Pearl Bowser interview 10min, Herb Jeffries - Cowboy Crooner 6min, Artist Info (text) on Clarence Brooks, Herbert Jeffries, Bill Pickett. The extended interviews are worth watching.
Disc: Comedians
Survey of comedic African-American "race" films of the 1920's through 1940's, particularly the work of Bert Williams, Stepin Fetchit, Mantan Moreland, Spencer Williams, Dusty Fletcher.
50min | Documentary | TV Movie 2002
Director: Walid Khaldi
Stars: Pearl Bowser, Ossie Davis, William Greaves, Mario Van Peebles.
DVD extras: full film Boarding House Blues 87min, Ossie Davis interview 11min, Pearl Bowser interview 35min, Artist Info (text) on Stepin Fetchit, Dusty Fletcher, Mantan Moreland, Bert Williams. The extended interviews are worth watching.
Comments for all:
The discs are edited to be stand-alone titles, which makes for some repeated text/footage. As I wrote in the 2 synopses I authored, this is a survey, not an analysis. I found each interesting. I spent a great deal of time adding Movie Connections to all 3 titles, Cast & Crew to 2 titles.
Indie; 7
