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TYLER, TEXAS - An almost for-'
gotten collection of movies produced
and directed by Blac ,many featuring
'j Blac ctors, is being described. as a
'In [or find" by fllm historian .
Eighty
film , inclu-
ding 20
m de for
Blac udi-
ences dur­
ing the
1930 and
1940 ,
were found
---------- recently in
ler arehouse, The reel have been
donated to the Film-Video Archives at
"Th y t nd to be
Black interpretations
.' of BI, ck culture, "
r th 'r than white
, .,.interpr tatio�s of
BI ck culture."
Southern ethodist University.
I
" ,
o
C
fil
FEBRUARY 15-21. 11M
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a •
r fi
d'
c
1940s by Spencer Williams who later
became Andy of televi 'on's "Amos
'n' Andy."
" iracle in Harlem" at 1948 roman­
tic drama starring Black actor Stepin
Fetchit i con idered a landmar in
th history of ghetto cinema. Although
he played "ridiculous, ereotypical"
roles in white film F etchit played ser­
ious dramatic roles in Black film, Jones
id, �
-
In "Miracle in Harlem," Fetchit played
a demented criminal named "Swifty",
The film were intended for Bla
audience and w re u ual y screened at
gregated matinees said Jones, a film
profe or at SMU for 18 year . They are
crude by modern standards, but rich in
cultural detail, he noted.
, one of the film were made in
TH CITIZEN ItAG
N
'If, indeed, the are Some of the
la remaining print they will be literally
priceles ," Dr. G. illiam Jone ,founder
of the Archives, told the Dal s Times
Herald.
"It's a fanta tic, major find," said
Iver n White, member of the UCLA
FUm Archive in Los Angele, "The
history is scarce n Black films in
that era."
The film , some of which were made
in Dallas with local ctors, include ro­
mance , mysteri, melodram s and reli-
giou topic. '
One film, "Jivin' in Bebop," was
m de in Harlem's Cotton Club in 1948
and one of the few movies featuring
Black trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie.
Another film, "Dirty Girty from
Harlem USA' was directed in the early
"
Hollywood," Jone 'd. "They are ig­
nificant becau they are non- dio,
independent films, They tend to be
Black interpretations of Blac culture,
I
rather than �hite interpre tion of
BI c culture."
Dalla w a center for BI c indepen-
dent film m r in the late 1930
and early 19405 beau it h d an active
Black th ater group, said J 0 • Bl ck
who produced nd directed their 0 n
film often roamed the country finding
theater owner who ould b ck their pro­
ductions, he said.
The canister of film were discovered
in August in a con ruction arehou
owned by Roo h and Genecov a Tyler
real estate fum. The company wanted
to get rid of them, said the fum' rental
manager, Roy Lar n.
I
-rh y ere taking up
quite a bit of space," Lar-
n said. "They were ju
a bunch of can with odd
and ends in it. 0 one
around here even had pro-
jector to 0 them,
there was no idea hat
wa on them. From the
title , some of them 100 ed
pornographic. "
Lar n offered them to
SMU.
The films originally be­
longed to a Dalla film di -
tributor who died iIi the
1960 without paying his
storage ' bill said Lar n.
They gathered dust for
years in a Dalla ult
until 1970, when they
moved to Tyler b u
Dallas ware hou w b ing
demolished.
early half of the moyie I '
are on highly flarnmabl
nitrate-ba d film, Jones
said. Some are bro en.xiis-
integrating and in need of
r pair.
, I t will take cleaning and
fixing of sprocket holes.
and bad splice before we
can even take a look t it '
Jones said: "If we find we
have the last remaining
print, we will raise money
to duplicate it."
B IEF
o busine high hool
uivalency (G.E.D.) i a good a
traditional diplom when it comes to
hiring nd promotion, ccording to
urvey by the American ouncil on Edu ..
udy by the College Board
mount of financial aid avail-
T 0
photos included in a calendar titled • B HoUywood: Yesterday'
and marketed by the B owned and operated L.A . ..I).C. Connec-
tion, P.O. Box 38815 Lo An , CA 90038.
ble for college tudents has dropped by
about 52 billion in the p t two years,
primarily because of' fed ral cutbacks.
. ,
A new tudy by the Univer ity of , ,
California re archer reveals there is no
significant difference in the achievement
of tudents t private and' public chools.
SELO
G
AT LA
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616/926 7143:,
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505 E: Empire Street
Benton Harbor, � I 49022 I