TCM is starting a month-long series on images of race in film starting tonight. The first movie is actually starting right now (Birth of a Nation). The series will run Tuesdays and Thursdays throughout the month, and features a couple of the movies mentioned in recent “infamous movies” threads including the Amos and Andy movie. Along with the films, noted African-American film historian Donald Bogle (who programmed the series) will offer commentary.
The complete listing of scheduled movies follows. Check the website for specific dates and times.
The Birth of a Nation
Haunted Spooks
Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1927)
The Jazz Singer
Hallelujah!
The Green Pastures
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1939)
Baby Face
Judge Priest
Check and Double Check <— the Amos and Andy movie
The Mad Miss Manton
The Ghost Breakers
A Day at the Races
Imitation of Life (1934)
The Littlest Rebel
Show Boat (1936)
Going Places
New Orleans
Gone with the Wind
Way Down South
Cabin in the Sky
Home of the Brave
Pinky
Intruder in the Dust
Lost Boundaries
Bright Road
The World, the Flesh and the Devil
A Patch of Blue
The Member of the Wedding
In the Heat of the Night
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?
Shaft (1971)
Super Fly
Sounder
Rocky III
Devil in a Blue Dress
Get on the Bus
I’ve seen Birth of a Nation a million times, but I do have my VCR set for Uncle Tom’s Cabin tonight.
I highly recommend the red-hot pre-Code Baby Face. The only reason I can see it’s in this series is for the wonderful Theresa Harris, who plays Barbara Stanwyck’s pal. She was a pre-Dorothy Dandridge, pre-Lena Horne hottie who stole every scene she was in.
I saw Birth of a Nation on its first run. Just kidding, but I did see it a long time ago.
I started to watch it again tonight, but I don’t have the cinematic expertise to appreciate it as a film, and I had to turn it off. I don’t have a filter that will let me see it as anything but racist bullshit. Maybe I should have watched the Bogle commentary first.
That’s a long list. What can you recommend in addition to Baby Face?
Well, it’s got the Eve Stamp of Approval, so I’ll get the word out and get a tape of this. I’ve seen most of these movies, and a lot of them are not so much “classics” as they are relevant. Anyway, I have no cable anymore, so I have to impose upon friends to get any of these.
According to IMDB, two people to keep a sharp eye out for two “Our Gang” alumni: A pre-Gang Stymie Beard, and “Our Gang’s” favorite crotchety old codger, Clarence Wilson. His appearances are in:
Come Back, Miss Pipps (1941), the principal who fires the teacher for daring to celebrate a birthday in the last five minutes of a school day.
Clown Princes (1939), the landlord who is about to evict Porky’s family because she can’t afford the rent of three dollars!
Little Sinner (1935), the man who runs Spanky off from his pond
Shrimps for a Day (1934), Mr Crutch, the man who runs the orphanage (Spanky ends up beating the crap out of him)
Irrespective of any racial issues I’m going to be sure to catch Show Boat because it’s the rarely seen James Whale (Frankenstein) version and The Member of the Wedding because Julie Harris is truly heartbreaking.
I’m glad you started this thread. I’ve been behind on my TCM threads, and while I had intended to bring this up my recent track record makes it unlikely that I would have.
Some fascinating films on that list. Race as depicted by Hollywood is one of my personal fascinations, and I own several of those movies. I recently showed Judge Priest to my reading/movie group, specifically because of the racial questions it raises. Well, that and it’s one of my favorite movies. It bothered me that Spike Lee lifted images from it out of context as part of his racism-in-media montages in Bamboozled, because while Judge Priest portrays a racist setting–two in fact; the post-Civil War Kentucky of the fictional setting, and the 1934 Hollywood of the film’s production–the important personal relationships are decidedly, and explicitly, non-racist: the white Judge Priest, played by Will Rogers, is really not comfortable with any other person than his best friend, Jeff, played by Stepin Fetchit. Their friendship is an island of no-nonsense in a ridiculous world. And the relationship the judge has with his housekeeper Aunt Dilsey, played by Hattie McDaniel, is similarly natural and “real.” John Ford makes it pretty explicitly clear that what matters most to Judge Priest is honesty and decency, and race just doesn’t enter into it.
re:* Baby Face*: try to see the recently discovered pre-censor print. It’s infinitely nastier. I don’t think it’s available on disc yet, and the last time TCM showed it was the censored version. The pre-censor print was touring the art houses last year, and is well worth seeking out. I hope TCM has managed to get a hold of it. If not, just remember that when Stanwyck’s mentor mouths the words telling her to make the best of herself in the big city, and always to be honest and good, what the actor really said, before the censor got to him, was to tell her that she should use her seductive power over men to her advantage, and not to be afraid to walk all over them to get what she wanted. And the ending, that feels tacked on? It is.
*
Hallelujah; Cabin in the Sky; Pinky; The World, the Flesh, and the Devil*–all movies I watch every chance I get.
Watched Hallelujah. I was all ready to say I didn’t like it – lots of over acting – but the more I think about it, it was pretty good. Chick didn’t stay saved for long, did she? She loved Zeke, I think, but was too much of a material girl to stay with him. The movie looked great – I wouldn’t know if the backgrounds were realistic, but I’m guessing they were.
When Chick was dancing in that club, with the waiters standing behind her, she did some swivel hip moves that were exactly like Elvis. Made me wonder if Elvis saw the movie.
She should have been in more scenes. About five minutes worth, not nearly enough. I couldn’t help but wonder what Chico’s life was like in New York. What was she doing while Stanwyck was sleeping her way to the top? We didn’t get nearly enough of her.
lissener, the other cool thing about Judge Priest is the naturalness of the dialogue. Except for Rome’s mother, with the hoity-toity “I declare”, everyone talks like normal people. Along with that, the actors moved in natural ways – nothing looked staged. I can see why this movie is a favorite of yours – there’s a lot to recommend it.
I was surprised at that comment in the barbershop about a shotgun wedding. Isn’t that kinda racy talk for the 1930’s?
It’s taking me forever to watch all of these, and I’m afraid I’m missing some. I still have to watch Showboat and Intruder in the Dust, and schedule some more.
