Musicals on TV - Bessie (2015)

HBO, 2015

Starring Queen Latifa, Michael K. Williams, Mo'Nique, and Khandi Alexander

Directed by Dee Rees

Music and Lyrics by various

I enjoyed the two biographies of black female singers I watched last year as a transition from Black History Month to Women's History Month so much, I decided to do it again. This time, instead of rock and R&B singers, we're covering the lives of seminal blues and jazz singers. We start with "The Empress of the Blues" Smith, in this HBO original movie that was the most popular film ever made for the network. How does the story of how the blues singer went from rags to riches to rags again...and rediscovered love in the process...look today? Let's start onstage with Bessie (Queen Latifa) as she recalls her life and her recent troubles during a performance and find out...

The Story: Smith started out working for pennies on the black vaudeville circuit, but what she really wants is to appear in a big stage show. At the time, even black stage managers refused to hire darker-skinned women for their shows. She befriends "Mother of the Blues" Ma Rainey (Mo'Nique) after sneaking onto her private train. Ma helps her develop her style, but when Bessie becomes more popular, they have a falling-out and Bessie leaves with her brother Clarence (Tory Kittles) to start her own act. One of the people she hires starting out is Jack Gee (Williams), a security guard who becomes her manager, and later marries her. 

Jack tries to get Bessie a contract with the newly formed African-American record label Black Swan. When they turn her down, he gets her one with Columbia. Bessie's now one of the most popular black recording artists in the US, but her success does come with major drawbacks. She's stabbed after a performance in her home town and has to drive the Klu Klux Klan off from another show. Wealthy whites treat her condescendingly. Despite buying a huge mansion for her and her family and adopting a son she names Jack Jr. (Sylvester Ambrose James II), Bessie continues her affairs with both Lucille (Tika Sumpter) and bootlegger Richard Morgan (Mike Epps). 

She eventually turns to alcohol, which proves to be a problem as the 20's roll into the 30's. Jack finally gets fed up with her affairs after they have a huge fight and not only leaves her, but kidnaps their son as well. The Depression destroys her savings, and she and Morgan move into a small apartment. Bessie does reconcile with Ma Rainey, and with her encouragement and the inspiration of a racy record by blues singer Lucille Bogan, she finally gets back on her feet and reminds audiences that she still has what it takes to be the "Empress of the Blues."

The Song and Dance: Wow. No wonder this is the most-watched HBO original film to date and won an Emmy for best TV movie in 2015. Powerhouse performances bring Smith's tumultuous story to searing life, with Queen Latifa and Williams the stand-outs as the big loving, big feeling Bessie and her hot-headed husband. Mo'Nique steals the few scenes she appears in as Smith's mentor and predecessor as queen of the blues. The costumes and sets detailing Smith's up-and-down descent from struggling singer to lavishly living celebrity and back again are historically accurate and absolutely gorgeous.  

Favorite Number: Singer Pat Bass dubs Mo'Nique, performing Ma Rainey's own "Weepin' Woman Blues" when Bessie watches her perform for the first time. Carmen Twille performs her "Prove It On Me." Bessie tries to audition with "I Got What It Takes, But It Breaks My Heart to Give It Away," but the producers turn her down. She and Bass duet on "Weepin' Woman Blues"...which is when Rainey realizes that her protege is outshining her. 

Bessie's first song on her own - and her first hit - is "Lost Your Head Blues." She gets her biggest hit, "Downhearted Blues," literally as she's walking from the hospital after her stabbing onto the stage. "Preachin' the Blues" is the number that gets cut off when the Klu Klux Klan tries to burn the tent where she's performing...with her, her band, and the entire audience in it. "Till the Cows Come Home" is the real recording by Lucille Bogan that inspires Bessie to start performing again. She sings about that "Long Old Road" to an appreciative crowd. 

Trivia: Sadly, Bessie's comeback proved to be short-lived. She died in a tragic and controversial car crash in 1937. 

Mo'Nique was originally offered Viola, but asked for Ma Rainey instead, since she'd played types like Viola before. 

Was in development for 20 years, including originally being planned for a theatrical release, before it finally went to HBO. 

What I Don't Like: While the raw subject matter makes this more interesting and honest than most biographies, it still hits all the standard beats of the genre. For all the gorgeous details and terrific performances, I wish the movie had gone a little more outside the box and had explored other parts of Bessie's colorful life, like her connection with audiences or her lesbian lovers, even further. Not to mention, some characters have been fudged or combined. Lucille, for instance, is a combination of Smith's many female lovers. Bessie also met Ma Rainey as a teenager, and they never had a falling out. They also gloss over a lot of Bessie's life in the early Depression, including how she lost her money. There's too many characters, and not enough time to deepen them all. 

The Big Finale: If you love the blues, Smith, Queen Latifa, or the music of the early 20th century, you'll want to learn more about Bessie Smith and her world of gin and sin, too. 

Home Media: As a fairly recent and very popular movie, it's easily found on disc and streaming.

DVD

Blu-Ray

Amazon Prime

Musicals On TV - Polly: Comin' Home!

Disney/NBC, 1990

Starring Keisha Knight-Pullman, Phylicia Rashad, Dorian Heywood, and Anthony Newley

Directed by Debbie Allen

Music and Lyrics by various

Polly was one of the biggest hits to run under the banner of The Magical World of Disney. It proved to be so successful, a sequel with almost the entire original cast turned up a year later. Is it just as much fun, or should it be left behind? Let's begin on the road, as Jimmy Bean (Brandon Quintin Adams) waits for his best friend Polly Whittier to return from the hospital in Atlanta, and find out...

The Story: Polly's not the only one arriving in Harrington that day. The new British head of the orphanage Dabney Mayhew (Newley) also arrives that day, and gets quite a shock when the majority of the children in his charge turn out to be black. Polly's Aunt Polly (Rashad), who hired him, sets him straight quickly. Other problems aren't as easily dealt with. Mayhew wants to turn the orphans into "gentlemen," which basically means getting them uniforms and drilling them in manners. Jimmy convinces Polly to run away with him to Atlanta to get Elvis Presley's autograph. Polly's more interested in convincing Dr. Shannon (Heywood) to come home and start seeing Aunt Polly again. Aunt Polly, Mayhew, and Reverend Gillis (Larry Reilly) go after them...and arrive just in time for tragedy to strike Jimmy.

Even when they do get Jimmy home, the town is a hotbed of intrigue. Harrington is having its first open election to find out which of their two mayors should remain in office. Meanwhile, Polly is thrilled when Dr. Shannon comes back with them...but Mayhew's not as happy when he learns Shannon's to observe him, and the orphanage may be shut down and turned into a subdivision.

The Song and Dance: Once again, the charming cast mostly carries the day. Newley is the best of the new additions as the school teacher who is at first offended by his pupils, then becomes one of their biggest advocates after he gets to know them and the town. Pullman may be even more adorable here, especially when she's by Jimmy's side hoping he'll talk to her again. 

Favorite Number: The opening "Comin' Home" winds in almost the entire cast as they celebrate Polly's return from the hospital in Atlanta. The now-pregnant Nancy (Vanessa Bell Calloway) reminds Polly that "You've Got a Family" that loves her no matter what. Newley leads the orphans through a stuffy dance routine to remind them that "What a Gentleman Does" is behave like a "real man." (It ends prematurely with Aunt Polly and Polly almost literally falling into it after they were listening in!) Polly dreams about "Hot 'Lanta, GA," complete with fog and dark lighting and dynamic dancers in slinky bare costumes, right before she runs away with Jimmy. 

Mayor Warren (Ken Page), Nancy's husband George (T.K Carter), and barber Mr. Tarbell (George Anthony join the townspeople in claiming it's "A Distinct Possibility" that the mayor may be ousted. "I Can't Hear My Heart" is the big romantic duet for Dr. Shannon and Aunt Polly as they realize how much they mean to each other; "Show Me the Way" is the chorus number for the townspeople after everyone realizes that races can live in harmony, and people weren't meant to rule alone.

What I Don't Like: First of all, what happened to Mr. Pendergast? He's not even mentioned. Brock Peters is one of the only major actors from the first film who doesn't appear here. Second, the story is even more maudlin here than in the first film. The entire sequence with Jimmy and Polly running off to Atlanta in particular is contrived and ridiculously melodramatic. Polly's dark dream sequence, nifty dance routine aside, seems to have come from a different movie entirely, or maybe a music video of the early 90's. With Menken working on Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin, the songs were written by several different songwriters and lost both their distinctive edge and their doo wop pastiche sound and are now annoyingly generic, especially the modern-sounding "I Can't Hear My Heart."

The Big Finale: If you enjoyed the first film. you'll find just as much to love in this one. 

Home Media: Same deal as the first film - only released on DVD as part of the Disney Movie Club in 2008 and now out of print and expensive. You're better off looking for this one used. 

DVD

Cult Flops - Graffiti Bridge

Warner Bros, 1990

Starring Prince, The Time, Morris Day, and Jerome Benton

Directed by Prince

Music and Lyrics by Prince, the Time, and others

Prince made one last shot at movie stardom in 1990. His 1987 concert film Sign O' the Times and 1988 album Lovesexxy were disappointments, but his success with the soundtrack for the 1989 Batman and the single "Batdance" put him back on top. Originally, Prince intended for this to revolve more around Day's band The Time, but somewhere along the line, it mutated into a sequel to Prince's biggest hit Purple Rain. Does it reach the heights of his first film, or is it less-than-heavenly? Let's begin at the Kid's (Prince) club Glam Slam and find out...

The Story: Billy, the owner of the Fifth Avenue Club in the first film, willed half of Glam Slam to him. He willed the other half to Morris (Day), who also owns the club Pandemonium. Morris needs to pay the mayor $10,000 and tries to force the Kid to sell his half. The Kid is considering it. He's done nothing but write songs and letters to his now-deceased father since the latter's passing. 

Into this hotbed of intrigue walks Aura (Ingrid Chavez), an angel who wants to convince the Kid and Morris to repent and lead more straightforward lives. Things really get complicated when both men fall hard for her, which only makes Morris more jealous. He first trashes Glam Slam, then performs outside the club to sway visitors. The Kid finally challenges Morris to a musical duel at Glam Slam that ends in tragedy and makes Kid realize what Aura really meant to him. 

The Song and Dance: Prince explores spirituality, sexuality, and salvation in this look at how one woman changes the lives of two men in Minneapolis. The enormous, neon-drenched sets and funky, urban early 90's gives it a strangely ethereal vibe and contrasts nicely with the other major black musical that year, the more upbeat and goofy House Party. Prince's charisma is in full-force here, whether he's brooding over those letters to his father or lifting up the club goers in the end in a white shirt with wispy fog behind him. 

Favorite Number: We open with the Kid singing about his "New Power Generation" with his current band at his club. He gets down with jazz master George Clinton as they show "We Can Funk." "The Time gets "Release It" in front of the Grand Slam to lure away customers. Young pop and rap sensation Tevin Campbell shows off what made him a hit with kids and adults alike in his big dance routine "Round N' Round." "Seven Corners" is the big number with Aura and the Time at Grand Slam and as they leave. Morris thinks he's a "Love Machine,"and so does the Kid's girlfriend Jill (Jill Jones), but the Kid doesn't agree. Mavis Staples gets another great number as she leads the chorus in singing about her club and who she is, "Melody Cool." "Thieves In the Temple" is the Kid's song as the Time and Morris destroy his band's instruments. The movie ends with a backlit Kid and the Steeles as he insists he "Still Would Stand All the Time" to the entranced club goers.

Trivia: Prince originally wanted Madonna to play Aura, but she thought the script was a load of hogwash. Kim Basinger, whom he was dating at the time, was his second choice, but they broke up and she dropped out. 

This would be Chavez' only film and Tevin Campbell's first film.

Shot almost entirely at Prince's Paisley Park Studios in Minnesota. 

What I Don't Like: This is basically an extended music video. It looks like a music video of the time, and it certainly feels like one, with its disjointed sequences and barely-there plot. No one comes anywhere close to Prince's charisma and cool. Chauvez may be able to write songs, but she can't do much more than look mystical. Day and Benton do have a few amusing sequences that showed they could have made a fairly funny pair with better material. The script is atrocious, the characters negligible. The fantasy elements feel out of place and are completely at odds with the dark, gritty biography in the first film, and it lacks the first film's almost documentary feel and authentic outdoor shooting, too. 

The Big Finale: Good music and a few creatively choreographed dance numbers can't overcome the overwrought and amateurish script and direction. Once again, for major Prince fans only. Everyone else is better off looking up the soundtrack and skipping the film entirely. 

Home Media: Like Prince's other films, easily found on disc and streaming. 

DVD

Blu-Ray

Amazon Prime

Cult Flops - Under the Cherry Moon

Warner Bros, 1986

Directed by Prince

Starring Prince, Jerome Benton, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Steven Berkoff

Music and Lyrics by Prince and the Revolution

Prince was on top of the world after Purple Rain became one of the biggest blockbusters of 1984 and the soundtrack went platinum. Warners pretty much let him do whatever he wanted after that, and apparently, what he wanted was a 1930's-style romantic comedy set in the French Riviera. He tried to do pretty much the same thing he had for Purple Rain, hiring music video director Mary Lambert and his current girlfriend Susannah Melvoin as his leading lady...but this time, it didn't fly. No matter how much he liked her, Melvoin couldn't act and was replaced by Kristin Scott Thomas, and he and Lambert had creative disagreements that led to him taking over the shooting. After all that, how did this black-and-white romance between a gigolo and the rebellious daughter of a billionaire come out? Let's begin in a night club as Christopher Tracy (Prince) performs and find out...

The Story: Tracy and his best friend Tricky (Benton) work at a local nightclub by day and look for rich ladies to marry and gain their inheritance at night. They think they've found the perfect mark in Mary Sharon (Thomas), who is about to inherit a 50 million dollar trust fund from her wealthy father, shipping executive Issac Sharon (Berkoff). They crash her birthday party, and while they get thrown out, Christopher does catch Mary's eye. 

Mary is not amused initially. She even sets him up so he catches his current paramour, Mrs. Wellington (Francesca Annis), having an affair with her father. After that, Tracy and Mary do get closer despite her father's loud objections. He wants her to marry one of his employees. After he drags her out of a restaurant where she's meeting with Tracy and Tricky, she realizes how much control he has over her life and runs away with Christopher. Her father's men and the police follow with guns...and while their relationship ends in tragedy, Mary never forgets the charming young man who won her heart.

The Song and Dance: Bizarre but stylish attempt to resurrect the romantic melodramas of the 1930's. Thomas, who would go on to make more romantic dramas like The English Patient in the 90's and early 2000's, does by far the best of the cast as the spoiled heiress who doesn't know what she wants in life, until Christopher crosses her path. There's some lavish costumes too, with everyone dolled up to the nines in sequins, ruffles, and feathers, and decent black and white cinematography. This was filmed at the real French Riviera, and it certainly makes the film feel a lot more authentic. 

Favorite Number: We open with Christopher performing "Christopher Tracy's Parade" on the piano in the nightclub. Tracy and Tricky say "I Wonder U" as they crash the party...and get kicked back out. Christopher points out how "Girls & Boys" behave when he and Tricky take Mary to an upscale restaurant, only for Daddy to drag her out. 

The big one here is the massive #1 hit "Kiss." And what a kiss it is - the sequence is basically Tracy and Mary making love in the back of his vintage 1964 car, and getting quite into it. The movie ends with the music video-style "Mountains," which Prince and the Revolution sing under the first half of the credits.

Trivia: First film for Kristin Scott Thomas.

Warners was hesitant about filming this in black and white. They originally shot it in color, then converted the film to black-and-white. Only the color version of the credits video for "Mountains" has been found.

What I Don't Like: First of all, stylish though this is, it's still a vanity project for a major rock star of the 80's. Prince never did become much of an actor. It's especially pronounced against the fiery young Thomas. He's not much of a director, either. The movie occasionally looks amateurish and stiff. There's really no reason for it to be in black-and-white. In fact, it might have done better in color. It would have resembled a Technicolor melodrama of the 1950's. If he had to keep the black and white, he probably should have set this in the 1930's, when dramas of this type were far more common. He has no chemistry with Thomas, either, making their supposed passion in the second half look more silly than anything. He works better with Benton than with her.

The Big Finale: This is another one of those cult movies people think is either grossly underrated or the worst movie ever made. While it's far from terrible, it's not that great, either. Only come here if you're a huge fan of Prince or his music. Everyone else is better off looking for the soundtrack album Parade. 

Home Media: Easily found on disc and streaming.

DVD

Blu-Ray

Amazon Prime

Musicals on TV - Polly (1989)

Disney/NBC, 1989

Starring Keisha Knight Pullman, Phylicia Rashad, Dorian Harewood, and Vanessa Bell Calloway

Directed by Debbie Allen

Music by Alan Menken; Lyrics by Jack Feldman

Pollyanna debuted in 1913 and was an instant sensation. The story of "The Glad Girl" who befriended an entire town and spread joy and happiness wherever she went, only for her positive outlook to be tested when tragedy strikes, resonated with people of every age and class. It became so popular, the word "Pollyanna" remains a slang term for an overly cheerful and optimistic person. Disney already had one go-around with this story in live-action in its hit 1960 version with Haley Mills. They dusted it off for their Magical World of Disney anthology series in 1989, with a mostly-black cast and a revised plot based on the 1960 film. How does a somewhat updated "Glad Girl" look now? Let's begin on the bus to Harrington, Alabama, in the 1950's with a sleepy Polly Whittier (Pullman) and find out...

The Story: After the death of her parents, Polly's sent from Detroit to live with her Aunt Polly (Rashad), a descendant of a founder of Harrington and the richest woman in town. Aunt Polly is proud of being able to provide the townspeople with anything they may need...but in her attempt to show how strong she is, she's shut everything else out, including music and laughter. Little Polly brings a great deal both to the depressed townspeople. She befriends orphan Jimmy Bean (Brandon Quintin Adams) when he makes fun of her for being rich, brings menacing Mr. Pendergast (Brock Peters) out of hiding, and convinces meek Reverend Gillis (Larry Riley) to write  his own sermon that lifts people up rather than damning their souls. 

Harrington is all-black because a bridge connecting the black and white sides of the town burned down in the 1930's. No one knew who did it. Miss Snow (Celeste Holm), the head of the white side of the town, blamed the black side, and Aunt Polly blamed Miss Snow and her people. It's Polly who finally brings the two sides together when she makes amends with Miss Snow. Aunt Polly's furious when the town holds a bazaar to raise money for music instruction for the orphans without her approval. It's not until her niece is grievously injured while sneaking out that Polly realizes how much her rigid and unfeeling behavior has hurt not only her niece, but both sides of the town.

The Song and Dance: Pullman and Rashad, then stars of the hit NBC sitcom The Cosby Show, are the thing here. Pullman is hilarious, charming with her aunt and the townspeople and an absolute riot with Jimmy, claiming she can spit further and run faster than him! Rashad comes off best of the adults as the tough woman who's coldness hides her belief that the only way people will love her is to make them fear her. Holm and Peters also do well as a far more frightening version of the shut-in older hermits Pollyanna cheers up in the book and the 1960 film. The costumes and sets are fairly lavish for 1989 television and go a long way towards showing off the world of rural 1950's Georgia and how segregation affected it. 

Favorite Number: Polly insists to her new friends, the cook Mrs. Conley (Barbara Montgomery) and maid Nancy (Calloway) that she's "By Your Side" when they bring her up to her small but clean and cute room. "Honey Ain't Got Nothin' On You" is the big girl-group number on the radio that has Polly and the saleswomen at the dress shop dancing along when she insists they put on that "be boppin' Detroit sound." Jimmy Bean and his fellow orphans really get going outside the church with "Sweet Little Angel Eyes." Polly even joins in, but Aunt Polly isn't as impressed. 

Aunt Polly tells herself she shouldn't want "Something More" after arguing with Dr. Shannon (Dorian Heywood) about letting go of her hold over the town...but the truth is, what she wants is to be loved. Polly sings about a "Rainbow Maker" after she goes to sleep...but she, Nancy, and her aunt sing about three very different ideas of having a rainbow in your life. Dr. Shannon, Nancy's sweetheart George (T.K Carter), and Mayor Warren (Ken Page) encourage the townspeople to "Shine a Light" and find it in themselves to defy the Harringtons. Likewise, when the Reverend finally trades in the gloomy fire-and-brimstone sermons for one based around "the glad texts," he encourages the entire congregation to "Stand Up!" in the film's best dance routine. 

Trivia: Last movie for film legend Butterfly McQueen, who plays one of the fussy ladies in the town. 

What I Don't Like: This has even less to do with the original book than the 1960 film. In the book, Pollyanna was hit by a car. Poor Polly doesn't even make it to the bazaar here. Aunt Polly was rich but not a rigid businesswoman, and the town wasn't under her control and didn't put on a bazaar. No bridge, either - that was invented purely for this movie, probably to emphasize the civil rights theme. Speaking of, that theme is hammered home with all the subtlety of a picnic basket to the face. The music is good, but not terribly memorable, especially compared to some of Menken's other work in this era. 

The Big Finale: Charming and sweet fare for families and lovers of Menken's other work if you can find it.

Home Media: You'd think this would be a natural for Disney Plus, but to date, it's only release was a now-expensive DVD put out for the Disney Movie Club in 2008. You're better-off looking for this one used. 

DVD

Cult Flops - The Emperor Jones

United Artists, 1933

Starring Paul Robeson, Dudley Digges, Frank H. Wilson, and Fredi Washington

Directed by Dudley Murphy

Music and Lyrics by various

Paul Robeson was a strong, virile black actor at a time when minority actors in the major studios were more often relegated to comic relief or musical numbers that could be easily snipped out for white audiences in the south. However, in the 20's and the 30's, more white authors began writing plays that required partially or entirely black casts. One of those was The Emperor Jones by Eugene O'Neill. On Broadway in 1920, it was the first play to have a black actor in a starring role in a major play, rather than someone in black makeup. Robeson appeared in a 1925 revival and so impressed O'Neill, he wouldn't allow the movie to be made without him. How does this movie look now? Let's start with a rousing black choir, just as local boy Brutus Jones (Robeson) is leaving to become a Pullman porter, and find out...

The Story: Brutus has big plans. He wants to work his way up to being the stevedore for the President's private car. His white boss doesn't appreciate his fast ascent, and he's easily swayed by loose women and men who want to make a fast buck. One night, after a dice game gets out of hand, he accidentally stabs Jeff (Wilson), who had introduced him to gambling and to the lady they both loved Undine (Washington). 

He ends up in a prison chain gang, but breaks out after he strikes a warden for abusing a prisoner. He convinces his girlfriend Dolly (Ruby Elzy) to help him flee the country. He takes a job shoveling coal on a steamer bound for the Caribbean. Catching sight of a remote island, he decides that's the place for him and swims to shore. He befriends the only white man, the con-artist merchant Smithers (Digges), then dethrones the previous ruler and makes himself emperor. However, his subjects aren't too thrilled with the way he over-taxes them and pockets the proceedings and revolt against him. Haughty Jones thinks he can survive in the jungle, but too many of his demons finally lead him straight to his doom.

The Song and Dance: Wow, this is intense. Robeson is mesmerizing as the black man who has been denied power all his life by those who rule society in the US, only to be corrupted by it when he finally gets the chance to be the lord of his own domain. He totally dominates the proceedings, whether he's shooting dice with that eager wide grin or sitting majestically on a throne, demanding his underlings pay him tribute. Some nice shooting, too. You'd never know they filmed this at the same Astoria Studios in New York as The Smiling Lieutenant. The second half in particular looks great, with its fetid jungles and languid tropical atmosphere. Great costumes, too, from the gowns and tuxes on the ladies at the clubs to the uniforms on Jones and his people in the Caribbean after he takes over.

Favorite Number: We open with the church congregation in Jones' Georgia home town really rolling with the traditional black spiritual "Now Let Me Fly." Jones even lends his rich baritone at one point near the end. "St. Louis Blues" turns up at a party in New York where the ladies get into a major cat fight. Before that, a very young Harold Nicholas goes to town in a tap routine that's a preview of the things he and his brother would do a decade later. Robeson ladles that tenor into the sorrowful "Water Boy" while on the chain gang and the somewhat more upbeat "I'm Travelin'" while he's working on the ship. "Daniel" is his big number with the chorus on the island.

Trivia: Shot in New York because Robeson had a clause in his contract that he wouldn't shoot south of the Mason-Dixon Line, due to the Jim Crow laws there...and that included southern California and the Florida swamps, both originally intended as shooting locations. Haiti was also considered, but ruled out due to budget restrictions. 

The movie had censorship trouble the moment it came out. Censors cut it to 72 minutes, which was the only one available until the Library of Congress restored it to 76 minutes in 2002. A full version has yet to be found, and would seem to be gone forever. 

What I Don't Like: Let's discuss the dialogue that left the censors - and many black audiences - in an uproar. The N-word is bandied around quite a bit in this movie, both in the US and the tropical island, and has been restored in the current Criterion print. It'll be even rougher on the ears of many current audience members. This is also a very violent movie, between Jones killing his friend over gambling and women, beating the prison guard, and then getting run down by his own people on the island. No one's performances come anywhere near Robeson's. Digges tries too hard to be comic relief; all of the other actors fade into the woodwork. There's also some brief topless dancers under the credits in the opening. 

The Big Finale: There's no movie quite like The Emperor Jones. If you're a fan of Robeson and want to see what he can do with a leading role, or are interested in the history of black cinema and can handle the violence and language, hop a steamer and check it out. 

Home Media: This is one time you'll want to spring for the DVD. If you love Robeson, Criterion has a whole set devoted to his work. It includes this one as fully restored as it's likely to get at this point, with the original blue tints in the last 20 minutes intact. Avoid all of the inferior public domain streaming and DVD copies that use an older, unrestored print. 

DVD - Paul Robeson: Portraits of the Artist

Amazon Prime

My Sweet Valentine - Sepia Cinderella

Herald Pictures, 1947

Starring Billy Daniels, Sheila Guyse, Tondeleyo, and Jack Carter

Directed by Arthur H. Leonard

Music and Lyrics by various

Let's celebrate Valentine's Day this year with one of the most charming of all "race films." These independent B flicks were made from the 20's through the late 40's for black audiences in smaller, segregated houses. They didn't have the resources of even the "Poverty Row" studios in the era, but what they lacked in largess, they often made up for in vitality...and that's true of this year's Valentine's Day romance. How does the fairy tale look as the story of an up-and-coming songwriter and the girl who truly loves him? Let's start at the boarding house where Barbara (Guyse) and Bob (Daniels) live and find out...

The Story: Barbara helps Bob write what becomes a hit song, "Cinderella." It becomes a hit, but the success goes to Bob's head and he abandons his friends and seldom comes home to the boarding house. He falls for the wiles of devious rich club owner Vivian (Tondeleyo), who sets him up in his own club and milks his popularity for all its worth. Not only does this upset Barbara, but Vivian's fiancee Ralph (Jack Carter) isn't happy, either. When it seems the public's losing interest in Bob, his press agent (Fred Gordon) sets up a contest where he'll choose a woman's shoe out from the dozens entered, then sing with her. Barbara and the residents of the boarding house are determined that she should be the one he chooses...and that he should realize how much she really means to him.

The Song and Dance: "Adorable" isn't a word that comes up often in B-musicals with any kind of cast, but this is just so sweet. Guyes is so lovely and charming, one wonders how Bob can ignore her for so long, and Tondeleyo has just as much fun seducing him. Carter gets a few good moments as her scorned lover mid-way through the film, including a club number of his own. Look for a now-grown Freddie Bartholmew as himself in the audience near the end of the movie. There are some decent numbers, too, including the "Cinderella" song that causes all the ruckus. It's also not as obviously cheap - some of the ladies' gowns are lovely

Favorite Number: "Cinderella" turns up four times, starting with when Bob and Barbara write it in the beginning. Bob sings it at least twice, once in his own "Cinderella Club," while Barbara gets to solo on it near the end. We kick off with Bob's band really tearing into a jiving instrumental routine. They're so good, they get a major ovation from Barbara and Mama Keyes (Hilda Offley). Bob's other big number at the nightclub is the more upbeat "Ring Around My Rosie." Deek Watson and the Brown Dots get two numbers at the contest later, wondering "Is It Right?" and singing about "Long Legged Lizzie." Even the press agent gets to lay into "Oh Ho, It's a Lovely Day." 

Trivia: Bartholmew went to World War II when his voice changed and ended his career. He attempted a comeback on TV and in smaller movies in the late 40's and early 50's, but it never stuck, and he finally gave up acting for television directing and producing in 1952. 

Billy Daniels' first movie. He'd have a real-life hit a year later with his rendition of "That Old Black Magic."

Look fast for Sidney Poitier as an extra. 

What I Don't Like: The cliches fall hard and fast here. Bob's one of the most naive, oblivious idiots you've ever seen, and not just because he fell so hard for the extremely obvious Vivian. He's an easy mark for pretty much everyone, from the fast-talking press agent to the jealous Ralph. While the musical numbers are inserted less awkwardly than in Juke Joint, they're still kind of shoehorned in. Despite them constantly playing the "Cinderella" song, the story doesn't feel particularly "Cinderella" until the last ten minutes or so when they hold that contest. Also, the scene where a black man is obviously playing a stereotypical Chinese being conned by a phony psychic may not sit well with some folks today. 

The Big Finale: Charming and sweet, this is a lovely little romance for Valentine's Day and when you're looking for something lower-key. 

Home Media: It's in the public domain, so it's pretty easy to find anywhere. It can often be found streaming for free.

DVD - Harlem Double Feature - Dirty Gertie From Harlem USA/Sepia Cinderella

Tubi