That's Old News! (#7)

I hope you find these newspaper finds interesting and informative!

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"Betti Mays Rose From Orphanage Ward to Become the Toast of Band Circles"

PHOTO

In May of 1947, The Afro American published a mini-biography of singer, dancer, actress, and bandleader, Betti Mays in their paper. I had no idea that Ms. Mays (who was also married to Ralph Cooper) was a bandleader! Click here to read the story of this multi-talented legend.

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"Talented Ruby Dee Plays the Wife of a Neurosurgeon in 'Peyton Place'"

The late, great Ruby Dee appeared in 20 episodes of Peyton Place. Along with mention of her 1968 debut on the show, the Schenectady Gazette also gives a brief biography and mentions her "recently" completed role in Uptight!. Click here to read the article.


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"Sheila Guyse Explodes Myth"

From the The New York Times

Journalist Walter Winchell was known as the entertainment industry's most feared journalists. He was known for exposing embarrassing or scandalous information about certain celebrities and government officials. Even the late singer and actress, Sheila Guyse was a target of Mr. Winchell at one point. Click here to read about a (dispelled) rumor published by Winchell and two other journalists--David Quark and Earl Wilson.


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"Cab Calloway Tilt with Booking Agent Was Surprise to Broadway"

From Wikimedia Commons

Apparently, things got a little heated backstage at a Broadway show in August of 1940! Click here to read the Afro American article.


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"Casting Begins for All-Sepia Mystery Film"

From Wikipedia

Casting for the 1940 film, Four Shall Die was announced just underneath the Cab Calloway article above. Click here and scroll down to read about the casting news. 


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"Mantan Moreland says he's ready for serious roles now"

Mantan Moreland is probably best remembered for his role as "Birmingham Brown" in the Charlie Chan films. In the late 1950s, Mr. Moreland revealed that he wanted to "keep up with the times" and the industry's "growth"--and wanted to play more dramatic roles. Read more in The Afro American here.


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Movie of the Week: King of Zombies (Review)

King of the Zombies (1941)

During World War II, a small plane off the south coast of America is low on fuel and blown off course by a storm. Guided by a faint radio signal, they crash-land on an island. The passenger (John Archer), his manservant (Mantan Moreland), and the pilot (Dick Purcell) take refuge in a mansion owned by a doctor (Henry Victor). The easily-spooked manservant soon becomes convinced the mansion is haunted by zombies and ghosts. Exploring, the 3 find a voodoo ritual in the cellar, where the doctor is trying to acquire war intelligence by transferring personalities into his zombies. But the interruption causes the zombies to turn on their creator. [IMDb]

First off, this movie actually was somewhat entertaining (despite what you'll read from here on). As stated by a lot of people in comments and reviews, Mantan Moreland (as Jefferson "Jeff" Jackson) definitely overshadows his co-stars, but "surprisingly" his character is driven by racial stereotypes. 

Throuhgout the movie, he's understandably nervous about his surroundings, but of course, his nervousness is at a level so extreme that it makes him almost childlike (see: inferior). 

Mantan Moreland & his trademark expression (Screenshot from movie)

Early into the movie, I found myself turned off by the way in which Jeff was being treated. First off, his boss--"Mr. Bill" (John Archer)--leads him and the pilot ("Mac"--played by Dick Purcell) to a mansion that Jeff doesn't want to go anywhere near. When they get to the door, Mr. Bill tells Jeff to "Ring the doorbell."

 However, Jeff quickly says something along the lines of: "I'm not ringin' it, you the one who wants to go in there, you ring it!"

Then, once in the mansion, its owner, Dr. Sangre (played by Henry Victor) automatically assumes that Jeff is Bill and Mac's servant (of course) and sends him to the servants' quarters (the kitchen) to sleep--and another "of course", there is no objection to this. But hey, this really isn't anything to be shocked about.

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As stated before, this movie was ridden with racial stereotypes and misconceptions about certain aspects of Black culture, but I still found it somewhat entertaining (mostly thanks to Mantan Moreland) and not completely unbearable. I enjoyed seeing actress Marguerite Whitten on the screen for the first time and of course, seeing the unsung legend, Madame Sul-Te-Wan was a treat as well. Madame played a voodoo priestess in this movie--a role that wasn't new to her, but as she always, she played it very well. 

Madame Sul-Te-Wan

(Photo Source)

Also, this was one of the very few roles she was actually credited for.

I'm usually able to watch stereotyped-filled movies through many lenses (particularly a (future) filmmaker's lens) without feeling bogged down, but this time, I could barely do it. Maybe I've had my "fill" of it (in both Film and society) and simply couldn't put myself into the necessary mind frame. Either way, I wouldn't dissuade anyone from watching this movie, especially if you're interested in seeing the talents of some unsung black performers--Mantan Moreland, Marguerite Whitten, Madame Sul-Te-Wan, etc.

Click the link below to check it out!

LINK

(This link will take you to The King of Zombies on Youtube)

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ALSO...

Click here to check out a post from February that includes a brief summary of Madame Sul-Te-Wan's career and achievements!


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All of the images in this post are for informational purposes only. If the rightful owner of any of these images wishes to have them remove, please contact me, and I will do so immediately.

Great Teams!

We all the know of Classic Hollywood's dynamic duos (and some trios): Laurel and Hardy, Abbott and Costello, The Three Stooges.

Here are some other great teams that I'd like for you all to check out:

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Above are two clips of Mantan Moreland and Ben Carter bringing their hilarious vaudeville act to the screen in Charlie Chan films.

Mantan Moreland was one of the most popular comedians of the 1930's and 1940's. He is probably best remembered as Birmingham Brown, the chauffeur in the Charlie Chan series.

Ben Carter was also a comedic actor as well as Black Hollywood's premier agents. He cast the black performers in A Day at the Races and those (except for Hattie McDaniel, Butterfly McQueen, and Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson) in Gone with the Wind.

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Here is "Buck and Bubbles" (Ford L. "Buck" Washington and John William Sublett) in Varsity Show (1937).

The music-and-comedy team worked in about 14 films together, appeared in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1931, and were the first black artists to perform at Radio City Music Hall.

Unfortunately, the duo came to an end when "Buck" Washington passed away in 1955.

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I'm a HUGE fan of The Nicholas Brothers and a big fan of their "Jumpin' Jive" routine from Stormy Weather, but check out how great these brothers were even as kids. This number is titled "Lucky Number" from a musical short titled "The Black Network". 

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Check out this amazing trio--The Miller Brothers and Lois. This is the only footage I've ever seen of this group (from the 1947 Cab Calloway film Hi-De-Ho). They're right up there with The Nicholas Brothers with me.