''Reet, Petite, and Gone'' is a 1947 American musical race film produced and released by

Astor Pictures Astor Pictures was a motion picture distribution company in the United States from 1930 to 1963. It was founded by Robert M. Savini (29 August 1886 – 29 April 1956). Astor specialized in film re-releases. It later released independently ma ...

. It was the first feature film directed by short-subject director

William Forest Crouch William Forest Crouch (January 16, 1904 – March, 1968) was an American director and writer of film, mostly Short film, shorts. His work includes ''Reet, Petite, and Gone'' (1947) made with an all-African-American cast. He was active during the 1 ...

and stars Louis Jordan and

June Richmond June Richmond (July 9, 1915 in Chicago, Illinois – August 14, 1962 in Gothenburg, Sweden) was an American jazz singer and actor. June Richmond is considered the first African-American jazz singer who sang regularly in a white band when sh ...

Plot

Louis Jarvis Jr. is summoned from his band's radio show to visit his terminally ill father before his father dies. Honey Carter, the daughter of the only woman whom Jarvis Sr. had ever loved, also visits. Jarvis Sr.'s dying wish is that his son marries Honey. He before meeting his son and Honey. Jarvis Sr.'s shady lawyer Henry Talbot sees a chance to secure a portion of the Jarvis estate for himself by rewriting the will to read that Jarvis Jr. must marry a woman like Talbot's secretary Rusty. Talbot wants to conspire with Rusty to marry and then divorce Jarvis Jr. so that she and Henry will split the estate. Jarvis Jr. is fooled by Talbot's ruse and believes that he must marry soon to avoid the distribution of the estate to charity. Jarvis Jr. urgently needs the estate money to produce his new stage musical. He does not wish to marry Rusty, but his friend suggests that they cast the show with a lead actress who resembles Rusty. However, Talbot attempts to stop the show by scaring Junior's investors.

Cast

* Louis Jordan as Schyler Jarvis / Louis Jarvis *

as June * Milton Woods as Sam Adams * Bea Griffith as Honey Carter / Lovey Linn * David Bethea as Dolph the butler *

Lorenzo Tucker Lorenzo Tucker (June 27, 1907 – August 19, 1986), known as the "Black Valentino," was an American stage and screen actor who played the romantic lead in the early black films of Oscar Micheaux. Acting career Born in Philadelphia, Tucker s ...

as Henry Talbot * Vanita Smythe as Rusty * Mabel Lee as Mabel *

Dots Johnson Hylan Johnson (February 3, 1913 – August 22, 1986), professionally known as Dots Johnson, .'s Johnson, and Dotts Johnson, was an American stage and film actor. He was best known for his roles as the American MP in Roberto Rossellini's 1946 film ...

as Michaels * Pat Rainey as Pat Rains *

Rudy Toombs Rudolph Toombs (1914 – November 28, 1962) was an American performer and songwriter. He wrote " Teardrops from My Eyes", Ruth Brown's first number one R&B song, and other hit songs for her, including "5-10-15 Hours". He also wrote " One Min ...

as Hal * J. Louis Johnson as Schyler Jarvis Sr. * Joe Lillard as Lt. Jerome

Soundtrack

* Louis Jordan with His Tympany Five — "Texas and Pacific" (by

Jack Wolf Fine Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...

) * Louis Jordan with His Tympany Five — "All for the Love of Lil" * Bea Griffith and Louis Jordan — "Tonight, Be Tender to Me" * Pat Rainey, Mabel Lee with Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five — "The Blues Ain't Nothin'" (written by

Ida Cox Ida Cox (born Ida M. Prather, February 26, 1888 or 1896 – November 10, 1967) was an American singer and vaudeville performer, best known for her blues performances and recordings. She was billed as "The Uncrowned Queen of the Blues".Harriso ...

) * Louis Jordan with His Tympany Five — "The Green Grass Grew all Around" (by

William Jerome William Jerome Flannery, September 30, 1865 – June 25, 1932) was an American songwriter, born in Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York of Irish immigrant parents, Mary Donnellan and Patrick Flannery. He collaborated with numerous well-known composers a ...

, arrangement by Louis Jordan) * June Richmond — "I've Changed Completely" * Louis Jordan with His Tympany Five — "Wham, Sam! (Dig Them Gams)" (written by Louis Jordan) * Louis Jordan with His Tympany Five — "I Know What You're Puttin' Down" (written by Louis Jordan) * Louis Jordan with His Tympany Five — " Let the Good Times Roll" (written by Spo-De-Odee and

Fleecie Moore Louis Thomas Jordan (July 8, 1908 – February 4, 1975) was an American saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and bandleader who was popular from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as " the King of the Jukebox", he earned his high ...

) * Louis Jordan with His Tympany Five — "Reet, Petite, and Gone" (written by Louis Jordan) * June Richmond and Louis Jordan with His Tympany Five — "You Got Me Where You Want Me" (writer unknown) * Jordan with chorus girls — "That Chick's Too Young to Fry" (written by

Tommy Edwards Thomas Jefferson Edwards (October 15, 1922 – October 23, 1969) was an American singer and songwriter. His most successful gramophone record, record was the multi-million-selling song "It's All in the Game (song), It's All in the Game", becomin ...

and Jimmy Hilliard) * Louis Jordan — "Ain't That Just Like a Woman?" (written by Fleecie Moore and Claude Demetri) * Louis Jordan with Bea Griffith — "If It's Love You Want, Baby, That's Me" (written by Sid Robin)

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Reet, Petite, And Gone 1947 films 1947 musical films American black-and-white films Race films American musical drama films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films

Plot

Cast

Soundtrack

See also

References

External links