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Vernon McCalla
Vernon McCalla (1905-1968) was a Jamaican American actor and activist who worked in Hollywood in the 1930s and 1940s. He appeared in many of the films made by Million Dollar Productions. Biography Vernon was born in Kingston, Jamaica, to James McCalla and Florence Mossman. The family relocated to Oakland, California, when Vernon was young, and eventually he made his way to Hollywood where he began appearing on-screen. McCalla served as a representative for Black Hollywood professionals looking for more opportunities in filmmaking in the late 1930s and headed up the city's Young Voters' Club. Around that time, be began acting in a number of films made by Million Dollar Productions, a Los Angeles–based company owned and operated by Black filmmakers. He later returned to Oakland, where he became a businessman and was active in local politics. Selected filmography * '' Lady Luck'' (1942) * ''Mr. Washington Goes to Town'' (1941) * ''Four Shall Die'' (1940) * ''Am I Guilty?'' (19 ... [...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] |
Lady Luck (1942 Film)
''Lucky Ghost'' is a 1942 American film directed by William Beaudine. The film is a sequel to the 1941 film ''Mr. Washington Goes to Town''. The film is also known as ''Lady Luck'' (new American title). Plot Washington Delaware Jones has never done much good for his town, and ultimately he is ordered by a judge to leave for good. In following the judge's order he brings his friend and collaborator Jefferson, and the two men go on a search for a new place to live. Both lack professional experience and start thinking about what kind of jobs they might get. Since they both agree on liking food, they decide on becoming food tasters. When they come to the first destination on the road, they pretend to be food inspectors and start stealing chickens from a farm, but the farmer shoots at them. They meet a man of some wealth named Brown, whose car has stopped alongside the road, and his friend Dawson. While Brown's chauffeur runs along to find gas, the four remaining men start throwing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Four Shall Die
''Four Shall Die'' is a 1940 American supernatural crime film directed by William Beaudine. It features Dorothy Dandridge in her first credited film role. Cast * Niel Webster as Pierre Touissant * Mantan Moreland as Beefus, Touissant's Chauffeur * Laurence Criner as Roger Fielding * Dorothy Dandridge as Helen Fielding * Vernon McCalla as Doctor Webb * Monte Hawley as Dr. Hugh Leonard (as Monty Hawley) * Reginald Fenderson as Hickson (as Reggie Fenderson) * Jack Carr as Lew Covey * Jess Lee Brooks Jess Lee Brooks (June 10, 1894 – December 13, 1944), also known as Jesse Brooks, was an American actor. He is perhaps most famous for playing the African-American church preacher in the critically acclaimed motion picture ''Sullivan's Travels'', ... as Bill Summers * Edward Thompson as Sgt. Adams References External links * 1940 films 1940s crime films American crime films American black-and-white films Films directed by William Beaudine American supernatural films ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Am I Guilty?
''Am I Guilty?'' Is an American film released in 1940 directed by Samuel Neufeld for the Supreme Pictures Corporation. A. W. Hackel was the film's producer.; his Supreme Pictures, which had produced dozens of Western films, planned a series of films featuring African American casts but this was the only one to make it to release. Toddy Pictures re-released the film as Racket Doctor in 1945. A Toddy Pictures poster for the film was appraised on an episode of the PBS show ''Antiques Roadshow''. ''The Pittsburgh Courier'' described a gala opening at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. In the film's storyline, extraordinary measures are resorted to in order to help the poor as a young doctor sets up a free clinic in Harlem. Advertisements for the film, including a lobby card, remain in existence. Cast *Ralph Cooper as Dr. James Dunbar * Sybil Lewis as Joan Freeman * Sam McDaniel as John D. Jones *Lawrence Criner as "Trigger" Bennett * Marcella Moreland as Marcella *Monte Hawley *Pigme ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
One Dark Night (1939 Film)
''One Dark Night'' is an American film released in 1939. Also known as ''Night Club Girl''. It was directed by Leo C. Popkin. It was produced by Harry M. Popkin. The film features an African American cast including Mantan Moreland in a dramatic role. Cast *Mantan Moreland * Josephine Pearson * Betty Treadville * Jessie Coles Grayson Production and release Hattie McDaniel reportedly turned down the role played by Bette Treadville. The film was made by Million Dollar Productions and distributed by Sack Amusement Enterprises. It was produced by Clifford Sanforth. The film drew various black celebrities to a showing. Josephine Edwards performs two songs in the lost film. The film was re-released as ''Night Club Girl'' in 1944. It is categorized as a race film, and is now lost. The Yale University Library has a lobby card A film poster is a poster used to promote and advertise a film primarily to persuade paying customers into a theater to see it. Studios often print several ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reform School (1939 Film)
A reform school was a penal institution, generally for teenagers mainly operating between 1830 and 1900. In the United Kingdom and its colonies reformatories commonly called reform schools were set up from 1854 onwards for youngsters who were convicted of a crime as an alternative to an adult prison. In parallel, "Industrial schools" were set up for vagrants and children needing protection. Both were 'certified' by the government from 1857, and in 1932 the systems merged and both were 'approved' and became approved schools. Both in the United Kingdom and United States, they came out of social concerns about cities, poverty, immigration, and vagrancy following industrialization, as well as from a shift in society's attitude from retribution, punishing the miscreant to reforming. They were distinct from borstals (1902-1982 UK), which were enclosed juvenile prisons. History Social reformers in America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries almost invariably found fault wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Double Deal (1938 Film)
Double Deal may refer to: * Double Deal (1939 film), an American drama with an all-black cast * Double Deal (1950 film), an American crime drama film * Double Deal (1983 film), an Australian film {{dab ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gang Smashers
''Gang Smashers'', also released as ''Gun Moll'', is an American film released in 1938. It features an African American cast. Leo C. Popkin directed the Million Dollar Productions film from a screenplay by Ralph Cooper. The University of South Carolina libraries have an 8-page pressbook for the film. Nina Mae McKinney stars in the film a thriller about the Harlem underworld and racketeering. The opening of the film is a dedication to African American in law enforcement signed by Harry M. Popkin. Cast *Nina Mae McKinney *Laurence Criner *Monte Hawley *Mantan Moreland *Reginald Fenderson * Eddie Thompson *Neva Peoples Neva Mary Peoples was a singer and dancer who appeared in several films in the United States. She performed as a singer, dancer, and chorus girl. Peoples was from San Francisco. A 1936 news clipping refers to her as the "colored blues singer and da ..., performing a song References {{Reflist 1938 films 1930s English-language films Films directed by Leo C. Popki ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Duke Is Tops
''The Duke Is Tops'' is a 1938 American musical film released by Million Dollar Productions and directed by William Nolte. The film was later released in 1943 under the title ''The Bronze Venus''. It features top-billed Lena Horne in her film debut. The film was one of the low-budget musical film " race movies" made in the 1930s and 1940s for the African-American market. The casts and production teams of these films were almost all black, and the music reflected current tastes in jazz and rhythm and blues. The film was scripted, co-directed and featured Ralph Cooper who also acted as the film's production manager. Casting Ralph Cooper planned to star alongside Nina Mae McKinney as the female lead but her delayed return from her appearances in Australia led to the role to be recast. ''The Duke Is Tops'' features the film debut of singer Lena Horne, then aged 20, who had yet to develop the style she would use in her later films for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. She has a rare major acting ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jamaican Male Film Actors
Jamaican may refer to: * Something or someone of, from, or related to the country of Jamaica * Jamaicans, people from Jamaica * Jamaican English, a variety of English spoken in Jamaica * Jamaican Patois, an English-based creole language * Culture of Jamaica * Jamaican cuisine See also * *Demographics of Jamaica *List of Jamaicans *Languages of Jamaica This is a demography of the population of Jamaica including population density, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population. Population According to the total population w ... {{disambiguation Language and nationality disambiguation pages ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jamaican Emigrants To The United States
Jamaican may refer to: * Something or someone of, from, or related to the country of Jamaica * Jamaicans, people from Jamaica * Jamaican English, a variety of English spoken in Jamaica * Jamaican Patois, an English-based creole language * Culture of Jamaica * Jamaican cuisine See also * *Demographics of Jamaica *List of Jamaicans *Languages of Jamaica This is a demography of the population of Jamaica including population density, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population. Population According to the total population w ... {{disambiguation Language and nationality disambiguation pages ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1905 Births
Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music * 19 (band), a Japanese pop music duo Albums * ''19'' (Adele album), 2008 * ''19'', a 2003 album by Alsou * ''19'', a 2006 album by Evan Yo * ''19'', a 2018 album by MHD * ''19'', one half of the double album ''63/19'' by Kool A.D. * ''Number Nineteen'', a 1971 album by American jazz pianist Mal Waldron * ''XIX'' (EP), a 2019 EP by 1the9 Songs * "19" (song), a 1985 song by British musician Paul Hardcastle. * "Nineteen", a song by Bad4Good from the 1992 album '' Refugee'' * "Nineteen", a song by Karma to Burn from the 2001 album ''Almost Heathen''. * "Nineteen" (song), a 2007 song by American singer Billy Ray Cyrus. * "Nineteen", a song by Tegan and Sara from the 2007 album '' The Con''. * "XIX" (song), a 2014 song by Slipk ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
