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Straight To Heaven
''Straight to Heaven'' is an American film released in 1939. It was produced by Million Dollar Productions. It was advertised as having an all colored cast. Arthur A. Leonard directed. Sack Amusement Enterprises was the distributor. The story features a cabaret singer, her singer son, and the criminal underworld. The film starred Nina Mae McKinney in her last major film role and Jackie Ward, a 12 year old performer from Harlem. Ward performs three songs in the film and McKinney one. Cast *Nina Mae McKinney as Cabaret Singer Ida Williams * Jack Carter *Jackie Ward *Lionel Monagas *James Baskett James Franklin Baskett (February 16, 1904 – July 9, 1948) was an American actor who portrayed Uncle Remus, singing the song "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" in the 1946 Disney feature film '' Song of the South''. In recognition of his portrayal of Remus, h ... References {{Reflist American black-and-white films 1939 films ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Million Dollar Productions
Million Dollar Productions was a movie studio in the United States active from 1937 until 1940. It was established to produce films with African American casts. It was a partnership between Harry M. Popkin, Leo C. Popkin and Ralph Cooper. History Ralph Cooper was an experienced black actor nicknamed "Dark Gable" who was also a singer, dancer, comedian and emcee at the Apollo Theatre Amateur Night in Harlem. While contracted to 20th Century Fox, Cooper learned film making skills. Together with George Randol, he formed Cooper-Randol Productions to produce ''Dark Manhattan'' (1937). Using the experience he went into partnership with the Popkin brothers, Harry and Leo to form Million Dollar Productions. Harry Popkin owned and managed a chain of Circle Theatres in Los Angeles. One of these was the Million Dollar Theatre that catered to a black clientele. The production company made several fast moving genre pictures with budgets, despite its name, of approximately $8,000 to $10,000 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arthur A
Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more widely believed, is that the name is derived from the Roman clan '' Artorius'' who lived in Roman Britain for centuries. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Italian it is Arturo. Etymology The earliest datable attestation of the name Arthur is in the early 9th century Welsh-Latin text ''Historia Brittonum'', where it refers to a circa 5th to 6th-century Briton general who fought against the invading Saxons, and who later gave rise to the famous King Arthur of medieval legend and literature. A possible earlier mention of the same man is to be found in the epic Welsh poem ''Y Gododdin'' by Aneirin, which some scholars assign to the late 6th century, though this is still a ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sack Amusement Enterprises
Alfred N. Sack (1898 –1969) was an American businessperson, newspaper publisher and the proprietor of film distribution, production, and the theater-owning business Sack Amusements. Biography Sack was born in Greenville, Mississippi. He worked as a newspaper publisher in the 1920s between stints in the film industry."Alfred N. Sack, 69, Is Dead; Texas Film Executive." ''Boxoffice''. Vol. 94, Iss. 21. Mar 10, 1969. p. 11. Via Proquest. His business, Sack Amusements, included many films starring African American casts, so-called race films. He worked with his brother Lester. They were Jewish. They partnered with Spencer Williams on several films. Sack distributed several Oscar Micheaux films. Sack secured a deal with RKO to distribute four 2-reel films of "Negro spirituals". The brothers re-released some films. The brothers purchased the Lucas Theatre in Dallas, Texas. He opened the Coronet Theatre in Dallas in 1948. It opened as an art house theatre but by the time he sold it i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nina Mae McKinney
Nina Mae McKinney (June 12, 1912 – May 3, 1967) was an American actress who worked internationally during the 1930s and in the postwar period in theatre, film and television, after beginning her career on Broadway and in Hollywood. Dubbed "The Black Garbo" in Europe because of her striking beauty,Bourne, Stephen. ''Nina Mae McKinney: the Black Garbo''. BearManor Media, 2011. McKinney was both one of the first African-American film stars in the United States and one of the first African-Americans to appear on British television. Biography Early life McKinney was born June 12, 1912, in Lancaster, South Carolina, to Georgia Crawford and Hal Napoleon McKinney. Shortly after McKinney's birth, her mother often hid from her abusive husband in the house of Colonel Leroy Springs (of Springs Industries), for whom she worked as a domestic. By 1920, Crawford relocated to Savannah, Georgia, to work as a cook for Cynthia Withers, her daughter Irene, and other white lodgers. McKinney s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New York Age
''The New York Age'' was a weekly newspaper established in 1887. It was widely considered one of the most prominent African-American newspapers of its time.''Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance'', Volume 2 pp. 901-02 (2004). History Origins ''The New York Age'' newspaper was founded as the weekly ''New York Globe'' (not to be confused with New York's Saturday family weekly, ''The Globe'', founded 1892 by James M. Place or the daily '''' founded ...[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jack Carter (actor)
Jack Carter (c. 1902 – November 9, 1967) was an American actor. He is known for creating the role of Crown in the original Broadway production of '' Porgy'' (1927), and for starring in Orson Welles's stage productions including ''Macbeth'' (1936) and '' Doctor Faustus'' (1937). He appeared in a few motion pictures in the 1930s and 1940s. Career Jack Carter created the role of Crown in the original stage production of '' Porgy''. , From 1928 to 1929 Carter portrayed Crown in a national tour production of ''Porgy''. The tour included nine weeks in Chicago, six weeks in London, and performances in Boston, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Washington, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Detroit, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and cities in the northwestern United States and Canada From September 16 to October 24 in 1931 Carter portrayed the role of Dave Crocker in ''Singin' the Blues'' at the Liberty Theatre in New York. During 1934 Carter performance in a New York production of ''Stevedore'' as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lionel Monagas
Lionel John Monagas (June 26, 1889 – September 3, 1945) was an American actor originally from Caracas, Venezuela. A member of the original Lafayette Players company of Harlem, he appeared in theatrical and film productions. Theatre credits Monagas' stage credits are listed at the Internet Broadway Database. * ''Confidence'' (1920) * ''The Heartbreaker'' (1920) * ''An African Prince'' (1920) * '' Salome'' (1923) * ''The Comedy of Errors'' (1923) * ''Runnin' Wild'' (1924) * ''Appearances'' (1925) * ''My Magnolia'' (1926) * ''Miss Calico'' (1926) * ''Slim Slivers'' (1927) * ''Ol' Man Satan'' (1932) * ''Louisiana'' (1933) * ''Hummin' Sam'' (1933) * '' Blackbirds of 1933'' (1933) * ''Roll, Sweet Chariot'' (1934) * ''The Man from Baltimore'' (1920) * ''Walk Together Chillun'' (1936) * '' Conjur' Man Dies'' (1936) * ''The Show-Off'' (1937) * ''One-Act Plays of the Sea'' (1937) * ''Big White Fog'' (1940) * ''The Eternal Magdalene'' (1943) * ''Peepshow'' (1944) * '' Anna Lucasta'' (19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Baskett
James Franklin Baskett (February 16, 1904 – July 9, 1948) was an American actor who portrayed Uncle Remus, singing the song "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" in the 1946 Disney feature film '' Song of the South''. In recognition of his portrayal of Remus, he was given an Honorary Academy Award in 1948, making him the first black male performer to receive an Oscar. Career Baskett studied pharmacology as a young man but gave it up to pursue an acting career. He first moved to New York City, New York, where he joined up with Bill 'Mr. Bojangles' Robinson. Using the name Jimmie Baskette, he appeared with Louis Armstrong on Broadway in the 1929 black musical revue ''Hot Chocolates'' and in several all-black New York films, including ''Harlem is Heaven'' (1932). He later moved to Los Angeles, California, and had a supporting role in the film ''Straight to Heaven'' (1939), starring Nina Mae McKinney. In 1941 he voiced Fats Crow in the animated Disney film ''Dumbo'', and he also had bit parts in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American Black-and-white Films
American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, people who self-identify their ancestry as "American" ** American English, the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States ** Native Americans in the United States, indigenous peoples of the United States * American, something of, from, or related to the Americas, also known as "America" ** Indigenous peoples of the Americas * American (word), for analysis and history of the meanings in various contexts Organizations * American Airlines, U.S.-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas * American Athletic Conference, an American college athletic conference * American Recordings (record label), a record label previously known as Def American * American University, in Washington, D.C. Sports teams Soccer * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
