That's OLD News! (#15) - Theresa Harris & Co-Stars

This month's installment of "That's OLD News!" contains historic news articles on our Star of the Month, Theresa Harris and fellow performers of color who appeared in some of the same films as she.

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"81 Year-Old Gets Film Role"
St. Petersburg Times - Jul 7, 1954

That 81-year old was Nellie Conley, aka Madame Sul-Te-Wan--and the film the short article speaks of may have been Carmen Jones (1954). Madame Sul-Te-Wan made her screen debut in 1915 (at the age of 42). Over the span of about four decades, she appeared in over fifty movies--including the pre-code crime drama, Thunderbolt (1929) with Theresa Harris. This article above provides some additional must-read trivia about Madame Sul-Te-Wan!

*I believe that Madame Sul-Te-Wan might be the bellhop (or hat check girl?) in the beginning of the clip above.

"Blue Blowers on the Air"

The Afro American - April 9, 1927

Curtis Mosby and his popular jazz and blues band, the Blue Blowers accompanied singer/actors in numerous films through the late 1920s and early 1930s. They accompanied Theresa Harris as she sang "Daddy, Won't You Please Come Home" in Thunderbolt. As indicated in the article above, Curtis Mosby and his Blue Blowers "went on the air" in 1927--when the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) began broadcasting in new cities on the West Coast, the band was selected as their musical headliner.

"Flying - Rochester Learns to Pilot Plane"

The Afro American - Jul 6, 1940

In July of 1940, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson flew into New York from Detroit for an opening at a Paramount Theater. He also performed "My, My" at the opening, the song he sang with Theresa Harris in Buck Benny Rides Again (1940). 

*GIF set from Buck Benny Rides Again*

"New Million Dollar Film to Premiere"

The Afro American - Oct 29, 1938

Gang Smashers (starring Nina Mae McKinney) was written and produced by the legendary Ralph Cooper, and also distributed by the film company he'd co-founded, Million Dollar Productions. The year before, Ralph Cooper appeared in Gangsters on the Loose with Theresa Harris. He also wrote and produced the film.

"Universal Signs Carolyn Snowden"

The Afro American - Aug 14, 1926

Carolynne Snowden (posted by The Loudest Voice - Tumblr)

Unsung stage and screen performer, Carolynne Snowden (sometimes referred to as Carolyn or Caroline) signed a contract with Universal Pictures in 1926 (for The Marriage Clause). She appeared in movies for many of the other Hollywood studios, including The Green Pastures (1936), a film that, like Snowden, Theresa Harris played an Angel in.

Sharing some research!

Last night, I got lost in record-searching (through familysearch.org). I was desperately searching for more information on singer/actress, Ida James and along the way, started looking for records on other classic entertainers and even some of my family members.

I will be sharing some interesting finds on POC in Classic Film's Twitter & Facebook accounts throughout the week!

So far, I've shared a record showing that Ralph Cooper (the MC and originator of the Apollo Theater's Amateur Night) and his wife, Lillian, may have lived in a boardinghouse with Eddie "Rochester" Anderson and his wife, Mamie, at one point (Link). I say "may", because I'm not 100% certain if the Ralph Cooper in that record is the Ralph Cooper I think it is (but it's very, very likely). 

"Like" the Facebook page and follow on Twitter to stay updated! I will be using the hashtag #AigeFinds

That's Old News! (#4)

As you may or may not know, Google has been working on revamping the Google News Archive for a few months, and for awhile, I assumed that there was no way to access the archive. I soon discovered that there actually was a way to continue accessing vintage articles, but I just couldn't find it. Well, I finally found it--and I found it right on time! Last day of the month! Unfortunately, I won't be able to specifically search for articles from the month of March (the archive search doesn't really give you the option of being date specific), but that is A-OK. I've found some great stuff to share.

That's Old News is back! :)

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In July of 1930, nearly a year after the release of the landmark 1929 film, Hallelujah! a writer for The (Baltimore) Afro-American (also a cast member in the movie) wrote a series of articles including behind-the-scenes information on "the making of Hallelujah!". Click here to read the must-read second installment of the series titled "The Truth About Hallelujah" (Warning: use of the N-word).

Movie poster from Wikipedia

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From NNDB

Ralph Cooper, star of the previously reviewed film, The Duke is Tops "started the original Harlem Amateur Hour in April 1933 at the Lafayette Theater.  In 1934, he began the Wednesday Amateur Night at Sidney Cohen and Morris Sussman’s 125th Street Apollo Theatre. Cooper’s Amateur Night in Harlem radio shows were broadcast live from the Apollo over WMCA and carried on a national network of 21 stations. When Amateur Night at the Apollo debuted in 1934, it quickly became the leading showcase for many young, talented, new performers such as a 15-year-old Ella Fitzgerald, who went on to become one of the first Amateur Night winners. [apollotheater.org]

Click here to read an article (also from The Baltimore Afro-American) that promoted an "upcoming" Apollo stage show, hosted by Mr. Ralph Cooper (also the star of the previously reviewed film, The Duke is Tops).

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From Listal

Legendary movie columnist, Louella Parsons reported on some of the latest moves in Hollywood in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. In a 1931 column, she dubbed Toshia Mori as the next (or, in her words, "another") Anna May Wong. Read the short section here. 

(second section, scroll down just a bit)

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Bessie Smith's St. Louis Blues co-star, Jimmy Mordecai (spelled "Jimmie" in this article) introduced a dance duo to patrons of the Theatrical Grill in New York. However, that's not all that went down during an exciting week in New York. Read Harold Lockley's article titled "Thru Gotham and 'Round Harlem". 

Harlem flappers (From westga.edu)

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From Wikipedia

If a jazz-loving Floridan was given the opportunity to travel back in time, I'd recommend that they choose to travel back to a Thursday night at St. Petersburg's Coliseum in March of 1956. On February 28, 1956, St. Petersburg Times (now Tampa Bay Times) informed their readers of an upcoming tribute to the legendary Duke Ellington. Read more about the event here.

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From Jazz Street Vancouver

"Jeni Legon, Colored Star, Gets Chance in Movies"--that's the great, big title of a column written by Louella Parsons for The Milwaukee Sentinel in December of 1934. Read about Jeni's "new" role and other exciting things in store for Hollywood in 1935.


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I hope you all find these articles and columns to be important, informative, and perhaps entertaining. I'm excited to be continuing this segment! :)

Movie of the Week: "The Duke is Tops" (Review)

The Duke is Tops was the featured movie for the week of January 6-13. 

"A theatrical producer (Duke Davis--played by Ralph Cooper) puts aside his own success to boost the career of a talented singer (Ethel Andrews--played by Lena Horne)."--[IMDb]

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The Duke is Tops is sort of an A Star is Born-esque movie, but with a twist--we see the story from the man's point of view. In fact, it's actually a very sweet movie that (unlike A Star is Born), ends on a happy note. However, I really did struggle watching this movie...

A couple of years ago, I borrowed a "Harlem Double Feature" DVD from my school's library. The DVD had Hi-De-Ho (starring Cab Calloway) and The Duke is Tops. My roommate and I invested deep interest in Hi-De-Ho and found it to be quite entertaining and when it was over, we popped The Duke is Tops in. Next thing I knew, we were having a conversation about God knows what and suddenly realized that a movie was playing. Well, this sort of thing happened again as I watched it by myself...


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Story/Script

As I stated before, it was very hard for me to watch this movie. The pace was slow and the performances (both musical and acting) were pretty bland. Things didn't start picking up until about...I'll say late in the second act (about forty-fifty minutes into the movie) and by that time, it was too late--I was already anxious for the movie to end. As I stated before, it's an A Star is Born kind of plot--entertainment man's career is failing, his significant other's is blossoming, he makes way for her, but unlike Star and movies like it, we watch the story unfold from the man's point of view, and again, the two characters actually live happily ever after.


Direction/Cinematography

Like everything else, the look of this movie was simple. No camera tricks, which I didn't expect, anyway; neither set nor costume design was particularly extravagant, but I didn't look at this as a bad thing--in fact, I thought it made the movie more realistic. However, just a little splash throughout (we don't get any splashiness until the last ten-fifteen minutes) probably would have kept me from feeling like I was watching paint dry. 


Characters/Acting

From NNDB, Ralph Cooper

I'd heard the name of Ralph Cooper before and prior to watching The Duke is Tops for review purposes, I'd known him as "the man who played in The Duke is Tops". No, no, no, Adrienne:

Ralph Cooper, an actor and producer, started the original Harlem Amateur Hour in April 1933 at Frank Schiffman’s Lafayette Theater. In 1934, Cooper began the Wednesday Amateur Night at Sidney Cohen and Morris Sussman’s 125th Street Apollo Theatre. Cooper’s Amateur Night in Harlem radio shows were broadcast live from the Apollo over WMCA and carried on a national network of 21 stations. When Amateur Night at the Apollo debuted in 1934, it quickly became the leading showcase for many young, talented, new performers such as a 15-year-old Ella Fitzgerald, who went on to become one of the first Amateur Night winners. [Apollo Theater]

Also, according to Wikipedia (which cites Donald Bogle's Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies, and Bucks: An Interpretive History of Blacks in American Films), Mr. Cooper founded Million Dollar Productions (which produced The Duke is Tops, of course) with actor George Randol and producers Harry and Leo Popkin. Mr. Cooper was more than just a legendary (and unsung) entertainer, he was a PIONEER; and ironically, he was born on this day in 1908. I bow to Mr. Cooper's greatness.


Ralph Cooper played the lead role of Duke Davis (he was also the co-writer and uncredited co-director of the flm). As the movie went on, it became clear to me that Mr. Cooper was more of a stage performer than a screen actor. Like most of the other actors, he recited his lines sort of cautiously--a bit dry. However, he began to pick things up in the middle of the movie: in scenes where he stood before various crowds as a seller of Doc Dorando's "universal elixir" (the old "all-healing bottle of medicine" salesman we've seen a hundred times before). Once he was off of that platform selling that elixir, it was back to lifeless script-reading. The liveliness returns near the end as his character leads a grand nightclub revue. 

I can't say that cameras made Mr. Cooper nervous (because I really don't know if they did), but I can say that his best moments in Duke were moments where he was standing on something and looking out at a crowd.


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Lena Horne in 1941 (by Carl Van Vechten)

Ms. Lena Horne came a long way from her screen debut. As the promising songstress, Ethel Andrews, she too was reciting lines as though she wanted to put us all to sleep, but without a doubt, that unmistakable voice of hers made up for the acting performance.

In case you were wondering why the movie poster above says The Bronze Venus and not "The Duke is Tops", after the success of Cabin in the Sky and Stormy Weather, this movie was re-released as The Bronze Venus with Lena Horne's named above the title. It was not only a great way to keep the Lena Horne buzz a-buzzin', but I assume that it also may have brought some good to Million Dollar Productions.

Other Performances

Laurence Criner (born John Lawrence, sometimes credited as "Lawrence" Criner) gave the best acting performance as Doc Dorando--a has-been vaudeville producer, now salesman of the "miracle medicine". Mr. Criner was actually one of the more experienced screen actors in the film, so I wasn't too surprised by his performance. He also starred in Miracle in Harlem and King of the Zombies--two films I've reviewed before.

Screenshot of Laurence Criner (left) with Ralph Cooper

Neva Peoples (as Ethel's friend, Ella) also gave a good acting performance. She was in about three or four scenes and to be honest, I found her to be the most memorable character. The movie definitely could have used a little bit more Neva/Ella. 

Neva Peoples (left) with Lena Horne

The musical/dance performances were just 'okay'. The best ones came from Rubberneck Holmes--an entertainer who certainly lived up to his name--and the Cats and the Fiddle--a group who never disappoints. Again, everybody else was okay. No standout acts in my opinion.

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I wouldn't dissuade anyone from watching this movie. As I always say when it comes to race movies, it's good to watch for historical purposes. Today (and probably since it's 1940s re-release), it is mainly referred to as "Lena Horne's screen debut" and that distinction alone is probably what draws most of its viewers. However, as much as I love Lena Horne (and race movies), unless you paid me, I wouldn't watch this movie again.

See it for yourself!

Click here to watch The Duke is Tops on The Riverbends Channel on Youtube!

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Unless noted otherwise, the images used in this post were obtained from Wikipedia. They are being used for informational purposes only. If the rightful owner(s) of any of these photos wishes to have them removed, please contact me, and I will do so immediately. 

--Adrienne

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Also, this is the last (planned) type review for People of Color in Classic Film! 

My video review for Buck Benny Rides Again (1940) will be coming soon!!!