Related Research Articles
Charles Robert Starrett was an American actor, best known for his starring role in the Durango Kid westerns. Starrett still holds the record for starring in the longest series of theatrical features: 131 westerns, all produced by Columbia Pictures.
Frankie Darro was an American actor and later in his career a stuntman. He began his career as a child actor in silent films, progressed to lead roles and co-starring roles in adventure, western, dramatic, and comedy films, and later became a character actor and voice-over artist. He is perhaps best known for his role as Lampwick, the unlucky boy who turns into a donkey in Walt Disney's second animated feature, Pinocchio (1940). In early credits, his last name was spelled Darrow.
Mantan Moreland was an American actor and comedian most popular in the 1930s and 1940s. He starred in numerous films. His daughter Marcella Moreland appeared as a child actress in several films.
Harlem on the Prairie (1937) is American race movie, billed as the first "all-colored" Western musical. The movie reminded audiences that there were black cowboys and corrected a popular Hollywood image of an all-white Old West.
James Clarence Wakely was an American actor, songwriter, country music vocalist, and one of the last singing cowboys. During the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, he released records, appeared in several B-Western movies with most of the major studios, appeared on radio and television and even had his own series of comic books. His duet singles with Margaret Whiting from 1949 until 1951, produced a string of top seven hits, including 1949's number one hit on the US country chart and pop music chart, "Slippin' Around". Wakely owned two music publishing companies in later years, and performed at the Grand Ole Opry until shortly before his death.
Rhythm in a Riff is a 1947 medium length musical film produced by William D. Alexander and directed by Leonard Anderson. The film stars Billy Eckstine and his band performing as well as Ann Baker, Hortense Allen Jordan, Sarah Harris, and Emmett "Babe" Wallace. The film is extant. The film was.made in New York City. It was released by Astor Pictures. The film was targeted to am African American audience, features and African American cast, and was produced and directed by African Americans. The film is also known as Flicker Up.
Chi Delta Mu (ΧΔΜ) is a professional fraternity for students and graduates in the allied health professions. Founded at Howard University in 1913, Chi Delta Mu was traditionally an African American fraternity.
Jed Buell was an American film producer, director, and screenwriter who specialized in low-budget B pictures in a variety of subjects including singing cowboy films featuring midgets and black actors.
Jean Starr was an American actress, dancer, and trumpeter who became a Chicago society figure after marrying Chicago numbers racket tycoon and Jones brothers, McKissack "Mack" McHenry Jones, and becoming Jean Starr Jones.
Ebony Parade is a 1947 American musical compilation film made from footage of African-American performers. The three-reel film featured jazz music from many acts with interstitial segments featuring Mantan Moreland as a comedic magician. Advertised as including 20 great stars, it was an Astor Pictures release. The National Museum of African American History and Culture has a poster for the film. Getty Images also has an image of a poster from the film.
One Dark Night is an American film released in 1939. Also known as Night Club Girl. It was directed by Leo C. Popkin. It was produced by Harry M. Popkin. The film features an African American cast including Mantan Moreland in a dramatic role.
Toddy Pictures Company was a film distribution and production company. It was founded in 1941 by Ted Toddy (1900-1983) in a consolidation of his film businesses under the new name. The film company specialized in African-American films.
While Thousands Cheer is a lost American film released in 1940. Leo C. Popkin directed. It was the only football-themed film with an African American lead character for decades. It starred Kenny Washington, a football star from UCLA who went on to become the first African American in the NFL after initially being refused an opportunity to play in the league due to segregation.
Gang Smashers, also released as Gun Moll, is an American film released in 1938. It features an African American cast. Leo C. Popkin directed the Million Dollar Productions film from a screenplay by Ralph Cooper. The University of South Carolina libraries have an 8-page pressbook for the film. Nina Mae McKinney stars in the film a thriller about the Harlem underworld and racketeering.
Maceo Bruce Sheffield was a police detective and an actor in American films. He worked in Los Angeles as a policeman before acting and assisting in the production of films with African American casts. He was also a stuntman and pilot. He portrayed a swindler in Lucky Ghost as Dr. Brutus Blake in the sequel to Mr. Washington Goes to Town. He was the associate producer of both Lucky Ghost and Mr. Washington Goes to Town.
Am I Guilty? is a 1940 American film directed by Samuel Neufeld for the Supreme Pictures Corporation. The film's producer A. W. Hackel, who had founded Supreme Pictures, planned a series of films featuring black casts, but Am I Guilty? was the only one to be released. The screenplay was cowritten by Earle Snell and George Wallace Sayre based on a story by Sherman Lowe.
One Big Mistake is a 1940 American film starring Dewey "Pigmeat" Markham. The featurette film recreated one of Markham's stage routines for film. The story involves a straightman approaching three comedians and offering them advice on how to handle women. Markham wrote and produced the film. It was filmed in four days with an African American cast. Toddy Pictures rereleased the film in 1947 as part of a compilation of Markham films.
Mantan Messes Up is a 1946 film produced in the United States. It stars Mantan Moreland. The film was directed by Sam Newfield. The film was produced by Lucky Star Production Company. It was advertised as having an "All Colored Cast". The Museum of the Moving Image has a still from the film.
Mauryne Eleanor Taylor Brent was an American actress and poet. She starred opposite Mantan Moreland in the film Come On, Cowboy!. For her poetry, she was on the cover of Jet magazine on January 26, 1956. Jazz pianist Billy Taylor was her cousin and her half-sister Shirlee Taylor Haizlip included her in memoir The Sweeter the Juice; A Family Memoir. Her memoir, The Heart Speaks, was published in 1976.
She's Too Mean for Me is a 1948 American film starring comedian Mantan Moreland. It was one of two Goldmax productions. It is a comedy. In the movie, the character portraying Moreland's on-screen wife is after him in the film. It and Come On, Cowboy! were the last two films Ted Toddy produced. Irving Hartley was the cinematographer.
References
- ↑ "Come On Cowboy!". www.loc.gov. January 26, 1948.
- ↑ "Mantan Moreland and Mauryne Brent, all colored cast in a scene from..." Getty Images.
- ↑ "Indianapolis Recorder 7 October 1950 — Hoosier State Chronicles: Indiana's Digital Historic Newspaper Program".
- 1 2 Hanson, Patricia King; Institute, American Film (January 26, 1999). Afi: American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States : Feature Films 1941-1950 Indexes. University of California Press. ISBN 9780520215214 – via Google Books.
- ↑ "Come On, Cowboy (1948)". Talladega Daily Home and Our Mountain Home. June 21, 1949. p. 4 – via newspapers.com.
- ↑ Jones, George William (January 26, 1991). Black Cinema Treasures: Lost and Found. University of North Texas. ISBN 9780929398266 – via Google Books.
- ↑ "Come On, Cowboy (1948)". The South Bend Tribune. February 4, 1951. p. 36 – via newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Come on, Cowboy!". www.tcm.com.
- ↑ Ravage, John W. (January 26, 2008). Black Pioneers: Images of the Black Experience on the North American Frontier. University of Utah Press. ISBN 9780874809411 – via Google Books.
 | This 1940s Western film–related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 | This article related to an American film of the 1940s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |