''The Framing of the Shrew'' is a 1929 American comedy film. It features an African American cast. It was produced by
Al Christie and the story was by
Octavus Roy Cohen
Octavus Roy Cohen (1891–1959) was an early 20th century American writer specializing in ethnic comedies. His dialect comedy stories about African Americans gained popularity after being published in the ''Saturday Evening Post'' and were ada ...
. It was directed by
Arvid E. Gillstrom. The plot depicts a husband who gets the upper hand on his wife using various tactics.
''Framing of the Shrew'' was one in a series of films made from Cohen's stories featuring the same characters portrayed by established African American actors and vaudeville performers.
Synopsis
Privacy Robson decides that he must be free of his wife, Clarry, as she has been pushing for him to find a job. His friend Florian Slappey advises him to go on a hunger strike to get even with her. Privacy takes this advice, however he is unable to resist sneaking some of his wife's cooking even after declining to eat supper. In the end Privacy wins out and is able to continue his daily routine.
Cast
*
Evelyn Preer
Evelyn Preer (née Jarvis; July 26, 1896 – November 17, 1932), was a pioneering American stage and screen actress and jazz and blues singer of the 1910s through the early 1930s. Preer was known within the black community as "The First Lady of ...
as Clarry Robson
*
Edward Thompson as Privacy Robson
*
Charles Olden
Charles Smith Olden (February 19, 1799April 7, 1876) was an American merchant, banker, and politician who served as the 19th governor of New Jersey from 1860 to 1863 during the first part of the American Civil War. As Governor, Olden supported P ...
as Florian Slappey
*
Spencer Williams
Spencer Williams (October 14, 1889 – July 14, 1965) was an American jazz and popular music composer, pianist, and singer. He is best known for his hit songs " Basin Street Blues", "I Ain't Got Nobody", " Royal Garden Blues", " I've Found a New ...
as Lawyer Evans Chew
*
Roberta Hyson
Roberta Hyson (née Roberta Mae Dudley; 1905–1989) was an American 20th-century actress, dancer, and singer. She appeared in several all African American-cast early talking films by Christie Film Company, and had a leading role in '' The Melanch ...
as Mallissie Cheese
Reception
In his book ''The First Hollywood Sound Shorts, 1926-1931'', Edwin M. Bradley noted that the film "plays more overtly to the white vision of the shiftless black male".
Further reading
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Framing of the Shrew, The
1929 films
American comedy films
African-American comedy films
1920s American films