''Midnight Ramble'' is a 1994 documentary about the early history of Black American movies from the period between 1910 and 1950. Known as "
race movies", these films, traditionally independent of Hollywood, were made primarily by, for and about the black community. This documentary is a tribute to a film genre that lasted for more than 40 years, produced over 500 movies, and created a foundation for contemporary films from directors such as
Spike Lee
Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. He made his directorial debut ...
and
Tyler Perry
Tyler Perry (born Emmitt Perry Jr., September 13, 1969) is an American actor, comedian, filmmaker, and playwright. He is the creator and performer of the Madea character, a tough elderly woman. Perry's films vary in style from orthodox filmma ...
.
James Avery
James La Rue Avery (November 27, 1945 – December 31, 2013) was an American actor. He was best known for his roles as Philip Banks in ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'', Shredder in ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'', Judge Michael Conover on '' L ...
narrates this exploration of the early black film industry. There is a mistaken assumption that "race films" began largely in reaction to
D. W. Griffith's 1915 ''
The Birth of a Nation
''The Birth of a Nation'', originally called ''The Clansman'', is a 1915 American silent epic drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Lillian Gish. The screenplay is adapted from Thomas Dixon Jr.'s 1905 novel and play ''The Clan ...
''. Nothing could be further from the truth. Race movies actually began around 1910 in Chicago in response to the Black Community longing to see themselves reflected on the silver screen via this new medium of film. Wanting to see themselves through their own eyes, on their own terms thus counteracting the Hollywood stereotypes within the American media. The film focuses especially on the work of
Oscar Micheaux
Oscar Devereaux Micheaux (; January 2, 1884 – March 25, 1951) was an author, film director and independent producer of more than 44 films. Although the short-lived Lincoln Motion Picture Company was the first movie company owned and controlled ...
, considered the "Dean of Black American film", a controversial filmmaker who wrote, produced, and directed over 40 features, and tackled difficult social issues in Black America. It includes clips from films by a number of
African-American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...
directors of the period, which is very helpful since many of these films are difficult to find or unavailable. There are two versions of the title of the documentary, both referring to the same work. Initially released in 1994 as, ''Midnight Ramble: Oscar Micheaux & the Story of Race Movies'' It was re-released as ''Midnight Ramble: The Story of the Black Film Industry'' by
PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
in 1995 The 1995 version also eliminates the David McCullugh introduction.
Synopsis
The documentary begins with an explanation of the social context for American blacks at the turn of the 20th century. It then looks at milestones in the development of race films. This includes a look at early silent films, most notably the work of
William Foster (''The Pullman Porter'', 1910).
Homesteader, and writer, Oscar Micheaux, the grandson of slaves, shifted his attention to film, releasing his first film, ''The Homesteader'', in 1918, followed in 1920 by ''Within Our Gates'' (considered the answer film to Griffith's ''The Birth of A Nation'') and ''
The Symbol of the Unconquered
''The Symbol of the Unconquered'' (also known as ''The Wilderness Trail'') is a 1920 silent "race film" drama produced, written and directed by Oscar Micheaux. It is Micheaux's fourth feature-length film and along with ''Within Our Gates'' is amo ...
'' in 1921. With the transition to sound, Micheaux continued to make race films, some of which were controversial even within the Black community.
While the advent of sound decreased the number of race films being made, due to the rise in costs, notable films continued to be released. This included a series of three singing-cowboy movies starring Herb Jeffries as "The Bronze Buckaroo."
Cast list
*
James Avery
James La Rue Avery (November 27, 1945 – December 31, 2013) was an American actor. He was best known for his roles as Philip Banks in ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'', Shredder in ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'', Judge Michael Conover on '' L ...
: Narrator
*
Toni Cade Bambara
Toni Cade Bambara, born Miltona Mirkin Cade (March 25, 1939 – December 9, 1995), was an African-American author, documentary film-maker, social activist and college professor.
Biography
Early life and education
Miltona Mirkin Cade was bor ...
: Commentator (author)
*
Elton Fax: Commentator (illustrator)
*
Carlton Moss: Commentator (filmmaker)
*Dorothy Delfs: Commentator
*Shingzie Howard: Commentator (actress)
*
Herb Jeffries
Herb Jeffries (born Umberto Alexander Valentino; September 24, 1913 – May 25, 2014) was an American actor of film and television and popular music and jazz singer-songwriter, known for his baritone voice.
He starred in several low-budget "ra ...
: Commentator (actor)
*Robert Hall: Commentator (historian)
*Pearl Bowser: Commentator (archivist)
*Frances E. Williams: Commentator (actress)
*Olive Delfs: Commentator
*St. Claire Bourne Sr.: Commentator (journalist)
*
Edna Mae Harris
Edna Mae Harris (September 29, 1914 – September 15, 1997), sometimes credited as Edna May Harris was an American actress and singer. Harris was one of the first African–American film actress of the late 1930s and early 1940s, appearing i ...
: Commentator (actress)
Influence
''Midnight Ramble'' was chosen as the lead-off for a 1998 Turner Classic Movie Channel series, ''A Separate Cinema'', in which 29 race films were shown, including Micheaux's 1920 ''Within Our Gates'' and ''The Symbol of the Unconquered'' (1921). In selecting the films to be shown, producers called upon the expertise of its staff, film historians, professors at
Yale
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...
and
Duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...
universities, and film archivist Pearl Bowser, who also co-directed ''Midnight Ramble''.
[Haynes, Monica. June 30, 1998]
"Looking back at black films"
Post-Gazette.com Magazine/''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette''. Retrieved August 14, 2007.
Footnotes
References
*''Midnight Ramble''. 2009. Synergy Archive Series/Synergy Entertainment. DVD.
*''Midnight Ramble: The Story of the Black Film Industry.'' 1995. American Experience/PBS. VHS (ASIN 6303408508).
*''Midnight Ramble: The Story of the Black Film Industry''. October 1994. American Experience/PBS. Broadcast.
*Janet K. Cutler. ''Struggles for Representation: African American Struggles for Representation: Documentary Film and Video'', Indiana University Press (2004) - .
External links
*
''Midnight Ramble (1994)''at
WorldCat
WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the O ...
''Variety'' 1994 review of ''Midnight Ramble''archived copyavailable)
(archived copy from 2017)
blackfolksmakemovies.com (archived copy from 2014)
{{American Experience
1994 films
American Experience
Documentary films about African Americans
Documentary films about Hollywood, Los Angeles
Race films
1990s English-language films