Research Catalog

That's Black entertainment

Title
That's Black entertainment / directed by William Greaves and G. William Jones.
Publication
[Place of publication not identified] : Skyline Entertainment : Distributed by Video Communications, 1989.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Filter by

1 Item

StatusFormatAccessCall NumberItem Location
Moving imageUse in library Sc Visual VRA-722Schomburg Center - Moving Image & Recorded Sound

Details

Additional Authors
  • Greaves, William
  • Jones, G. William (George William), 1931-
  • SkyLine Entertainment, production company.
  • Video Communication (Firm), film distributor.
Description
1 videocassette (60 min.) : sound, color and black and white; 1/2 in.
Summary
  • In the 1930's and 1940's an underground film industry sprang up in the black community. Since Afro Americans were not always welcome in white movie theatres and were badly represented in white movies, they made their own movies. These black cast films were never intended to be viewed by white audiences. Black producers, directors and actors were truer to the realities of life as they experienced and felt them than their white counterparts. This tightly run underground film industry operated efficiently until the mid-fifties. Its demise was basically a result of changing economic tides and (thankfully) the growing hope of integration. This is a tribute to the treasures of black cinema. Rare and historic movie footage from many forgotten films has been compiled in this special videocassette.
  • 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).
Subjects
Genre/Form
  • Documentary films.
  • Nonfiction films.
  • Feature films.
  • Film excerpts.
Credits (note)
  • Screenwriter, G. William Jones ; producers, G. William Jones, Fred T. Kuehnert ; executive producers, Norm Revis, Jr. ; David Arpin ; Skyline/T.B.E. Limited.
Performer (note)
  • Paul Robeson, Lena Horne, Sammy Davis, Jr., Nat King Cole, Cab Calloway, Spencer Williams, Stepin Fetchit, Cicely Tyson, and others.
System Details (note)
  • VHS.
Contents
Murder in Harlem (1935) -- Souls of sin (1949) -- Blood of Jesus (1941) -- Juke Joint (1947) -- Miracle in Harlem (1948) -- Broken earth (1939) --Rufus Jones for president (1933).
Call Number
Sc Visual VRA-722
OCLC
21096403
Title
That's Black entertainment / directed by William Greaves and G. William Jones.
Imprint
[Place of publication not identified] : Skyline Entertainment : Distributed by Video Communications, 1989.
Country of Producing Entity
United States.
Type of Content
two-dimensional moving image
Type of Medium
video
Type of Carrier
videocassette
Cast
Paul Robeson, Lena Horne, Sammy Davis, Jr., Nat King Cole, Cab Calloway, Spencer Williams, Stepin Fetchit, Cicely Tyson, and others.
Credits
Screenwriter, G. William Jones ; producers, G. William Jones, Fred T. Kuehnert ; executive producers, Norm Revis, Jr. ; David Arpin ; Skyline/T.B.E. Limited.
System Details
VHS.
Connect to:
Request Access to Schomburg Moving Images and Recorded Sound
Added Author
Greaves, William, film director.
Jones, G. William (George William), 1931- screenwriter.
SkyLine Entertainment, production company.
Video Communication (Firm), film distributor.
Publisher No.
9301 Video Communications, Inc.
Research Call Number
Sc Visual VRA-722
View in Legacy Catalog