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6D
FEBRUARY 18, 1999
Race movies: The 1930 s and 1940 s
By Donald Bogle :
From A Separate Cinema
Duringthe 1930 s and 19405,
race-movie producers still
struggled to pull together
funds to finance films. Oscar
Micheaux directed and pro
duced until the release of his
last film, The Betrayal, in
1948.
Another important African-
American filmmaker of the
period was Spencer Williams,
who ironically is now best re
membered for his role as the
cigar-chomping Andy on the
television series of the 19505,
Amos ‘n’Andy. Williams, how
ever, was a unique director/
writer/actor, who directed
such personal “folk dramas”
as The Blood of Jesus (1946)
and Go Down, Death (1944),
in which he examined aspects
of the African-American reli
gious experience, its imagery,
symbols, and obsessions.
Other Williams-directed
films included Dirty Gertie
from Harlem U.S.A. (1946, a
reworking of Somerset
Maugham’s Rain), the 1947
Juke Joint (which captures
and evokes the rhythms and
tones of old-style ethnic the
ater), Jivin’ in Be-Bop (1946),
Marching On! (1943), and
Beale Street Mama (1947). He
also wrote scripts for other
films and acted in his own
films as well as in other race
movies.
Among the other African-
American filmmakers of this
era were George Randol and
African Americans in Augusta history
1880, Ware High school built
1880 - Ware High School is built. It
provided education for blacks during a
period when African Americans were not
allowed to attend white-only schools. It
was closed in 1899 by the white school
board. Blacks then sued to withhold pub
lic support for white schools. The legal
battle that followed reached the U.S. Su
preme Court (Cummings vs. Richmond
County). The man who launched the suit
was named Frank Cummings, an African
American. The high court ruled that it
was improper for Blacks to request with
holding financial support for white pub
lic schools. Ware was located at 1099
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Ralph Cooper was a friple threat. He wrote the original
story, screenplay and starred in Gangsters On The
Loose in 1937. Racket Doctor came out in 1940.
Ralph Cooper. In Los Ange
les, they formed a production
company to produce the gang
ster film Dark Manhattan
(1937), which Cooper not only
starred in but wrote as well. It
premiered at the Tivoli The
atre in Los Angeles. In his
autobiography, Amateur
Night at the Apollo, Cooper
recalled that the film wasalso:
...ahugehitin Harlem. I
got a big kick out of hear
ing that when the movie
was screened at the %pollo,
it broke all attendance
records back in my home
theatre. (Robert)
Schiffman played the
movie at the Apollo and
the. Harlem Opera House
at the same time. People
naturally wanted to see it
at the Apollo even though
R T N e [
‘ founded
1882 - Paine College, origi
nally Paine Institute, is
founded by the Methodist
Episcopal Church, South.
First classes were in rented
rooms on Broad Street. In
1886, it moved to the
Woodlawn sectionof Augusta,
its present location. In 1903,
it was re-chartered as Paine
College. J
AUGUSTA FOCUS
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it cost more, because they
got to see the stage show
along with the film. So he
oversold every perfor
mance at the Apollo, and
when the seats were filled,
he sent the extra ticket
holdersdown tothe Harlem
Opera House. That’s how
they broke the all-time at
tendance record at the
Apollo — by selling twice
as many tickets as there
were seats. Despite the
fact that the contract called
for the Apollo only and it
was a flat buy not a per
centage, what nobody knew
'was that Schiffman had
only one print of the film.
So as one reel ended at the
Apollo, it was rewound by
Doll Thomas, the projec
tionist, and rushed down
to the Harlem Opera
House, where it was
played; and as soon as the
second reel was screened
at the Opera House, it had
to be rewound again and
rushed back to the Apollo
in time for the second
screening there.
Here we see the kind of ex
citement certain race movies
engendered within the black
audience. Dark Manhattan
alsodrew some attention from
the mainstream press, which
generally did not review race
films. The reviewer for Vari
ety wrote:
Later Cooper joined Million
Dollar Pictures with the white
backers Harry and Leo
1 885, Tabernacle
Baptist Church founded
1885 - Tabernacle Bap
tist Church founded by the
great Rev. Dr. C.T. Walker.
. 1886, Haines vlnsfitute
founded
18886 - Haines Normal and
Industrial Institute founded
by Miss Lucy Craft Laney. It
was Augusta’s premiere edu
ton triatibatioh.
All colored-cast meller
framed around the Harlem
numbers racket operation
will get by in Negro houses
chiefly because of the nov
elty it embodies for such
audiences in that no white
person is lensed in the foot
age. Followingits premiere
in Harlem, it has already
been booked into pretty
good colored theatres in 16
key towns around the coun
try.
Produced in Hollywood,
film is best technically ever
made with complete col
ored cast. Unfortunately,
scripting and acting don’t
part the mechanical manu
facture, and among the
players there are few that
really mean meat on amar
quee. Ralph Cooper, its
star, is the stand-out.
1889, first black bank in state
- CLS T
1889- The Georgia Workingman'’s Loan
and Building Association is founded in Au
gusta. It was the first black-owned and
managed bank in Georgia. It only survived
a few years.
1890, first
kindergarten
1880 - The first
kindergarten class
in Augusta is held
at Haines Insti
tute.
Popkin. He was also the man
behind the screen debut of a
very pretty but plump inge
nue named Lena Horne, who,
before working Hollywood,
appeared in the 1938 race
movie, The Duke is Tops. In
her autobiography, Lena,
Hornespoke ofher experiences
on the film, which capture
some of the frantic energy and
problems inherent in race
movie productions:
I received a call from
Harold Gumm, whowasan
agent in New York [she
wrote]. He had remem
bered me from my days at
the Cotton Club and now
he was rounding up talent
for a little quickie Negro
musical that was about to
be shot in Hollywood. It
was called The Duke is
Tops, starring Ralph Coo
per, who had been an em
cee at the Apollo Theatre.
It was being produced by
some shoestring indepen
dents, the Popkin Broth
ers, and they wanted me
for a part. The shooting
schedule was only 10 days.
Horne also remembered
money problems. “The pro
ducers apparently had not
completed their financing be
fore starting up and they were
paying off in promises of what
we would make later, when
the picture went into release.”
Regardless, according to
Ralph Cooler, “The cast, the
shoot, and the finished prod
uct were all great. I was cer
tain it would appeal to a broad
11892, first nurs
ing students
1892 - Ten girls
from Haines be
come thecity’s first
nursing students.