Dancing Darkies | |
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Directed by | William K.L. Dickson |
Produced by | William K.L. Dickson |
Distributed by | Edison Manufacturing Company |
Release date |
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Country | United States |
Language | Silent |
Dancing Darkies is an 1896 American, short, black-and-white, silent documentary film shot by William K.L. Dickson.
Blackface is the practice of performers using burnt cork, shoe polish, or theatrical makeup to portray a caricature of black people on stage or in entertainment. Scholarship on the origins or definition of blackface vary with some taking a global perspective that includes European culture and Western colonialism. Scholars with this wider view may date the practice of blackface to as early as Medieval Europe's mystery plays when bitumen and coal were used to darken the skin of white performers portraying demons, devils, and damned souls. Still others date the practice to English Renaissance theatre, in works such as William Shakespeare's Othello.
The following is an overview of the events of 1896 in film, including a list of films released and notable births.
The minstrel show, also called minstrelsy, was an American form of theater developed in the early 19th century. The shows were performed by mostly white actors wearing blackface makeup for the purpose of comically portraying racial stereotypes of African Americans. There were also some African-American performers and black-only minstrel groups that formed and toured. Minstrel shows stereotyped blacks as dimwitted, lazy, buffoonish, cowardly, superstitious, and happy-go-lucky. Each show consisted of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music performances that depicted people specifically of African descent.
My Old Kentucky Home is a short animation film originally released in June 1926, by Max and Dave Fleischer of Fleischer Studios as one of the Song Car-Tunes series. The series, between May 1924 and September 1926, eventually totaled 36 films, of which 19 were made with sound. This cartoon features the original lyrics of "My Old Kentucky Home" (1853) by Stephen Foster, and was recorded in the Lee de Forest Phonofilm sound-on-film system.
"Old Folks at Home" is a folk song written by Stephen Foster in 1851. Since 1935, it has been the official state song of Florida, although in 2008 the original lyrics were revised. It is Roud Folk Song Index no. 13880.
Sunday Go to Meetin' Time is a 1936 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Friz Freleng. The short was released on August 8, 1936. The name of the short comes from the colloquial adjective "sunday-go-to-meeting", describing something appropriate for church or otherwise presentable.
George White's Scandals were a long-running string of Broadway revues produced by George White that ran from 1919–1939, modeled after the Ziegfeld Follies. The "Scandals" launched the careers of many entertainers, including W. C. Fields, the Three Stooges, Ray Bolger, Helen Morgan, Ethel Merman, Ann Miller, Eleanor Powell, Bert Lahr and Rudy Vallée. Louise Brooks, Dolores Costello, Barbara Pepper, and Alice Faye got their show business start as lavishly dressed chorus girls strutting to the "Scandal Walk". Much of George Gershwin's early work appeared in the 1920–24 editions of Scandals. The Black Bottom, danced by Ziegfeld Follies star Ann Pennington and Tom Patricola, touched off a national dance craze.
Christopher Haverly (1837–1901), better known as J. H. Haverly or John H. "Jack" Haverly, was an American theatre manager and promoter of blackface minstrel shows. During the 1870s and 1880s, he created an entertainment empire centered on his minstrel troupes, particularly Haverly's United Mastodon Minstrels and Haverly's Colored Minstrels. Under his guidance, these troupes grew to impressive sizes and featured elaborate sets and costumes. They toured widely, enlarging minstrelsy's audience to encompass the entire United States as well as England. Haverly's methods sparked a revolution in minstrelsy as other troupes scrambled to compete. As the costs of minstrelsy increased, many troupes went out of business.
Sylvester Louis "Vess" Ossman was a leading five-string banjoist and popular recording artist of the early 20th century.
"That's Why Darkies Were Born" was a popular song written by Ray Henderson and Lew Brown. It originated in George White's Scandals of 1931, where white baritone Everett Marshall performed the song in blackface.
Flesherin is a small village on the Point peninsula of the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. Located near Portnaguran, the village has a population of around 100. Flesherin is within the parish of Stornoway. Flesherin is home to the famous accordionists Tommy Darky and John 'Tonkan' Macdonald. Flesherin is also home to the mother of Stuart Braithwaite, from the Glasgow rock band Mogwai and Ronnie McKinnon the famous Scotland football player.
David Sibusiso Nyathi is a retired South African soccer player, who is currently the assistant coach at Ajax Cape Town, and previously coached their under-19 team.
The Raggedy Rawney is a 1988 British drama film starring Bob Hoskins, Dexter Fletcher, Zoe Nathenson, and Zoë Wanamaker. The story is about a young army deserter (Fletcher) in an unspecified time and country, who disguises himself as a madwoman and joins a nomadic gypsy caravan. The film involves the themes of the destruction and futility of war, the culture of the Romani people, and the bonds generated by love and family. The film was also co-written and directed by Bob Hoskins. Musician Ian Dury has a small role as a character named Weazel. The movie marked Hoskins' debut as a director.
"Mississippi Mud" is a 1927 song written by Harry Barris, first sung by Bing Crosby as a member of Paul Whiteman's Rhythm Boys. Its musical composition entered the public domain on January 1, 2023.
Dangerous Darkies were a former South African association football club from Nelspruit. The club played in the National Soccer League from 1991 to 1992. In the late 1990s the club merged with the other big Mpumalanga team Witbank Aces to form Mpumalanga Black Aces F.C.
The Federation Professional League (FPL) was a South African football (soccer) league founded in 1969. It was established to allow coloureds and Indian South Africans to participate in a competitive league.
The 1990 edition of the Federation Professional League was the final competition to take place. Five teams from the FPL joined the National Soccer League structure following the competition.
Ear of Beholder is the debut double LP by British saxophonist Lol Coxhill, released in 1971 by John Peel's Dandelion Records in the UK, Ampex Records in the U.S. and Canada, and reissued at different times by various labels around the world, in different formats.
The Good Darky is a controversial 1927 American statue of a generic, unnamed, elderly African American man. Originally erected in Natchitoches, Louisiana, it stood there until 1968, but is now in a back lot off a gravel road at the Louisiana State University Rural Life Museum in Baton Rouge.