Documentary on films produced by the underground black theater industry of the 1930s and 1940s, most of them featuring all-black casts and targeted at black audiences across the nation. Topics discussed include positive and negative black images in these films, appearances by notable black performers (among them Bessie Smith, Paul Robeson, Eubie Blake, Stepin Fetchit, Cab Calloway, Nat King Cole, and Ethel Waters), popular themes, and the presence of blacks in news reports, illustrated by excerpts from many b&w films. Dance excerpts include: the Nicholas Brothers in Pie-pie blackbird (1932); a caricatured African dance in the animated cartoon Jungle jitters (1938); Sammy Davis, Jr. as a child performer in Rufus Jones for President (1933); and Geoffrey Holder as the voodoo priest in Carib gold (1957).
Greaves, William. Director. Host
Nicholas, Fayard, dancer.
Nicholas, Harold, dancer.
Davis, Sammy, Jr., 1925-1990, performer.
Holder, Geoffrey, 1930-2014, performer.
Smith, Bessie, 1894-1937, performer.
Blake, Eubie, 1887-1983, performer.
Robeson, Paul, 1898-1976, performer.
Calloway, Cab, 1907-1994, performer.
Cole, Nat King, 1919-1965, performer.
Waters, Ethel, 1896-1977, performer.
Nicholas Brothers.