African Americans in Classic Hollywood

It’s been lots of fun celebrating African American History this month at Classic Movies. I feel great admiration for the many black performers who overcame the twin hurdles of a tough industry and a prejudiced society to make their mark in the golden age of Hollywood. Here are some of those wonderful performers:

Eddie "Rochester" Anderson (1905-1977)
Cabin in the Sky (1943), Buck Benny Rides Again (1940)

Louis Armstrong (1901-1971)
The Five Pennies (1959), High Society (1956)

Pearl Bailey (1918-1990)
Carmen Jones (1954), Porgy and Bess (1959)

Count Basie (1904-1984)
Stage Door Canteen (1943), Hit Parade of 1943 (1943)

Louise Beavers (1902-1962)
Imitation of Life (1934), Made for Each Other (1939)

Harry Belafonte (1927)
Island in the Sun (1957), Odds Against Tomorrow (1959)

Willie Best (1913-1962)
The Green Pastures (1936), Cabin in the Sky (1943)

Cab Calloway (1907-1994)
Hi De Ho (1947), St. Louis Blues (1958)

Diahann Carroll (1935)
Carmen Jones (1954), Paris Blues (1964)

Shirley Clarke (1919-1997)
(Director) The Cool World (1964)

Nat "King" Cole (1919-1965)
St. Louis Blues (1958), The Blue Gardenia (1953)

Ralph Cooper (1908-1992)
The Duke is Tops (1938), Gang War (1940)

Dorothy Dandridge (1922-1965)
Carmen Jones (1954), Island in the Sun (1957)

Vivian Dandridge (1921-1991)
The Big Broadcast of 1936 (1935), I Walked With a Zombie (1943)

Ruby Dandridge (1900-1987)
Beulah (TV, 1952), A Hole in the Head (1959)

Ossie Davis (1917-2005)
Shock Treatment (1964), No Way Out (1950)

Sammy Davis Jr. (1925-1990)
Ocean’s Eleven (1960), Robin and the Seven Hoods (1964)

Ruby Dee (1924)
A Raisin in the Sun (1961), The Jackie Robinson Story (1950)

Ivan Dixon (1931-2008)
Nothing But A Man (1964), A Raisin in the Sun (1961)

Katherine Dunham (1909-2006)
Stormy Weather (1943), Mambo (1954)

James Edwards (1918-1970)
Battle Hymn (1957), Home of the Brave (1949)

Duke Ellington (1899-1974)
Black and Tan (1929), Murder at the Vanities (1934)

Stepin Fechit (1902-1985)
Steamboat Round the Bend (1935), Dimples (1936)

Ella Fitzgerald (1917-1996)
St. Louis Blues (1958), Pete Kelly’s Blues (1955)

Theresa Harris (1906-1985)
Hold Your Man (1933), Baby Face (1933)

Juano Hernandez (1901-1970)
Intruder in the Dust (1949), Stars in My Crown (1950)

Billie Holiday (1915-1959)
New Orleans (1947), Symphony in Black: A Rhapsody of Negro Life (1935)

Lena Horne (1917)
Stormy Weather (1943), Cabin in the Sky (1943)

Allen Clayton Hoskins, AKA Baby Farina (1920-1980)
Our Gang

Rex Ingram (1895-1969)
The Green Pastures (1936), Cabin in the Sky (1943)

Eugene "Pineapple" Jackson (1916-2001)
Our Gang

Herb Jeffries (1913)
The Bronze Buckaroo (1939), Harlem Rides the Range (1939)

Noble Johnson (1881-1978)
The Thief of Bagdad (1924), King Kong (1933)

James Earl Jones (1931)
The Comedians (1967), The Great White Hope (1970)

Eartha Kitt (1927-2008)
St. Louis Blues (1958), Anna Lucasta (1959)

Canada Lee (1907-1952)
Lifeboat (1944), Cry the Beloved Country (1952)

Jeni LeGon (1916)
Hooray for Love (1935), Hi-De-Ho (1947)

Hattie McDaniel (1892-1952)
Gone With the Wind (1939), Alice Adams (1935)

Nina Mae McKinney (1912-1967)
Hallelujah (1929), Sanders of the River (1935)

Butterfly McQueen (1911-1995)
Gone With the Wind (1939), The Women (1939)

Oscar Micheaux (1884-1951)
Independent Movie Producer/Writer/Director

Juanita Moore (1922)
Imitation of Life (1959), Walk on the Wild Side (1962)

Mantan Moreland (1902-1973)
Cabin in the Sky (1943), Docks of New Orleans (1948)

Ernest “Sunshine Sammy” Morrison (1912-1989)
Our Gang

Etta Moten (1901-2004)
Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933), Flying Down to Rio (1933)

Clarence Muse (1889-1979)
Hearts in Dixie (1929), Dirigible (1931)

Harold Nicholas (1921-2000) and Fayard Nicholas (1914-2006), AKA The Nicholas Brothers
Stormy Weather (1943), Tin Pan Alley (1940)

Brock Peters (1927-2005)
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), Carmen Jones (1954)

Sidney Poitier (1927)
The Defiant Ones (1958), The Lilies of the Field (1963)

Oscar Polk (1899-1949)
The Green Pastures (1936), Gone With the Wind (1939)

Paul Robeson (1898-1976)
Show Boat (1936), The Emperor Jones (1933)

Bill "Bojangles" Robinson (1878-1949)
Stormy Weather (1943), The Little Colonel (1935)

Jackie Robinson (1919-1972)
The Jackie Robinson Story (1950)

Hazel Scott (1920-1981)
I Dood It (1943), Rhapsody in Blue (1945)

Woody Strode (1914-1994)
Sergeant Rutledge (1960), The Professionals (1966)

Madame Sul-Te-Wan (1873-1959)
Carmen Jones (1954), The Birth of a Nation (1915)

Libby Taylor (1902-1990)
I’m No Angel (1933), Belle of the Nineties (1934)

Fredi Washington (1903-1994)
Imitation of Life (1934), The Emperor Jones (1933)

Ethel Waters (1896-1977)
Cabin in the Sky (1943), The Member of the Wedding (1952)

Dooley Wilson (1894-1953)
Casablanca (1942), Stormy Weather (1943)

Am I missing anyone? Let me know and I’ll add them!

Quote of the Week

Don't be afraid to feel as angry or as loving as you can, because when you feel nothing, it's just death.

-Lena Horne


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Saturday Dance: Jeni Le Gon

When dancer Jeni Le Gon migrated from the East coast to Hollywood, she hoped to be a tap star in the movies. However, in an industry that saw African American women as maids and mammies, she didn’t get the support she needed to make it to the top. Fortunately, she still managed to film some great performances in shorts, specialty numbers and race movies.

Here Le Gon looks charming in a white tux and top hat as she sings The Boy From Harlem in this specialty number from Fools For Scandal (1938):

 

This is one of Le Gon’s most famous movie performances, singing and dancing I’m Livin’ in a Great Big Way with Bill “Bojangles” Robinson and Fats Waller in Hooray for Love (1935):

 

And here she is at 92 years, showing the young ones how it’s done:

 

After seeing that clip, I wish I could spend an afternoon with Ms. Le Gon. She looks like a lot of fun!

Here’s a few more links if you’d like to see more:

I love Le Gon’s lively rendition of Getting it Right With You from Double Deal (1939). She could tap so fast!

She shows off great technique in the Swing is Here to Sway number from Ali Baba Goes to Town (1937).

Ms. Jeni was also Minnie the Moocher opposite Cab Calloway in the musical short Hi De Ho (1947) (she doesn't sing or dance here, but she does show that she could act.)

Free Classic Movies with African Americans

Many of the movies that I watched to celebrate African American History month are legally available online. I thought I'd share a few titles with you all (click on the links to watch the flick):

Bronze Buckaroo (1939)
Herb Jefferies as the first and only African American singing cowboy.

Bubbling Over (1934)
A musical short with a young Ethel Waters.

The Duke is Tops (1938)
Ms. Lena Horne makes her movie debut. Also with Ralph Cooper.

The Emperor Jones (1933)
One of Paul Robeson’s best movie roles. With Fredi Washington in a small part.

The Jackie Robinson Story (1950)
Starring Jackie Robinson as himself and Louise Beavers as his mother.

Made for Each Other (1939)
Starring Carole Lombard and Jimmy Stewart, but Louise Beavers is effective in a supporting role.

Sanders of the River (1935)
The British Empire stuff is a bit silly, but I can’t complain too much about a movie with both Paul Robeson and Nina Mae McKinney

They Call Me MISTER Tibbs! (1970)
Starring Sidney Poitier. Also with Juano Hernandez in his last role.

Classic Links

A review of The Pumpkin Eater (1964), starring Ann Bancroft (with great art as well!)-- Silents and Talkies

A review of The Whisperers (1967), with Dame Edith Evans-- Classic Movies Digest

Hmm, I thought I knew all The Wizard of Oz (1939) trivia there was to know, but this post has proven me wrong. Interesting stuff-- Blonde Episodes

If you haven’t seen it yet, check out the remarkable Esquire profile of Roger Ebert-- Esquire

Classic Links

Some interesting history about the supporting player Oscar— And. . .Scene

The fabulous story of Burns and Allen— A Mythical Monkey Writes About the Movies

A review of Fear in the Night (1947) with a revealing short bio. of source novelist Cornell Woolrich— The Night Editor

A film student shares some early movie history (lots of good clips)— Lolita's Classics

Quietly Confident Juano Hernandez

Juano Hernandez had such a powerful presence that I always forget that he was primarily a supporting player. Though he was capable of disappearing into a large cast, more often than not he made a leading man’s impact with just a few lines. He was a versatile actor, and a solid talent, but I sometimes think the bulk of his appeal really came down to his eyes: sad, wise and still.

Hernandez would have had a fascinating life without Hollywood. In fact, his movie days are just about the least interesting part of his story. Born in Puerto Rico in 1901, he was the self-educated son of a seaman. He spent a good piece of his childhood in Brazil, where he performed on the street for coins. As a teenager, he joined a Cuban circus, which somehow brought him to the American vaudeville circuit.

Vaudeville led to work at the Cotton Club, and eventually Broadway, were Hernandez performed in the chorus of the 1927 production of Show Boat. He also appeared in the popular African American stage extravaganza, Blackbirds. He was also one of few African Americans of the time to find steady work as a radio performer.

When Hernandez made his first big movie in Hollywood, he was nearing his fifties (though he had appeared in a handful of “race” films earlier in his career). Still, it did not take him much time to make an impression. Perhaps his proudest legacy is that his screen persona was a big step away from the submissive servant roles most African American men played at the time. He was not without humility, but more often than not, his characters were quietly confident and emotionally intelligent men who found their way in society without bending to the white man.

Hernandez did not make many movies, but he was fortunate enough to appear in several high quality productions. Here are a few of his most remarkable performances:

Intruder in the Dust (1949)

Hernandez made a memorable impression in his first major movie role, an adaptation of the William Faulkner novel about an African American man who is falsely accused of murder. His very entrance is impressive, a slow camera span from the tips of his boots to his silent, wise face. Hernandez’ character is a proud man, but even more importantly, he is aware of his self-worth. He does not pander to the white man, which enrages several of the townspeople. In fact, it is clear that while he may be in jail for suspected murder, these people would just as soon see him hang for his pride. I can think of hardly another leading man who moves with the confidence of Hernandez in this role. He looks as though he were incapable of flinching, let alone doubting himself.

Stars in My Crown (1950)

As a humble sharecropper in danger of losing his land to a greedy miner, Hernandez is less steely, but no less sure of his purpose in this small town drama. When faced with an angry mob determined to strip him of his property, he demonstrates the courage required to face your enemies and refuse to fight. However, this man would never claim to be heroic in any way; he makes it clear to his benefactors that he is simply set in his ways, and would rather die than change. Hernandez manages to make his character seem simultaneously frail and powerful.

Something of Value (1957)

As a participant in the violent Mau Mau uprising, Hernandez takes a passionate departure from his typical strong, silent characters. He has an otherworldly energy in his brief scenes, as if he is listening to the advice of spirits. Those soulful eyes compound mesmerizing effect of his presence.

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