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Race Movies: Three Documentaries

© K Cruver

From 1910-57, African American audiences had a choice when it came to how they saw themselves on the screen. They could go to lavishly produced Hollywood films, where they tended to see blacks playing either servants or entertainers or they could see low budget productions called race films, where not only were the casts all-black, but often the directors, writers and producers as well. Often they went to both, but the race films, despite their lack of polish, gave their intended audiences something to be proud of. Here are three documentaries that tell the story of the industry in different ways. Though these films tend to focus on the men in the industry, there are some interviews, film clips and analysis of the women who also made their mark in race films.

Midnight Ramble: Oscar Micheaux and the Story of Race Movies (1994)
This documentary is from the always-illuminating American Experience series on PBS (United States public television). Micheaux has come to be known as the "Dean of Black Film". He directed over forty race films and he was often also screenwriter and producer. Though the focus is on his life and work, there is some discussion about the role of women in these films. There are also interviews with an astounding array of people, including former Micheaux co-workers, actors, journalists and historians.

That's Black Entertainment (1989)
Hosted by actor/producer/director William Greaves, this documentary is essentially a collection of clips, most of them from the Tyler Film Collection. In 1983, the titles that comprise the collection were rescued from distintegration in a warehouse. Their discovery and restoration have made over a dozen race films available to the public. Some, including The Girl in Room 20 (1946), The Blood of Jesus (1941) and Juke Joint (1947) are even available on video.

Here you will find the longest clips of the three films. Great scenes include performances by Lena Horne, Ethel Waters and Bessie Smith. They sing more than they act, but these are great performances and in Smith's case, her only appearance on film.

Black Shadows on a Silver Screen (1974)
This is an installment of the American Documents Series, produced by Post-Newsweek and narrated by Ossie Davis. It is the most complete account of the race film industry as a whole, with a variety of film clips, offscreen interviews (you can only hear the voices of subjects such as actresses Fredi Washington and Lucia Lynn Moses) and a brief historical background of the society that created the demand for a race film industry. Actress clips include Josephine Baker dancing in Siren of the Tropics (1927) and Ethel Waters in Pinky (1949).

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