''Rufus Jones for President'' is a 1933 American

Pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the Cinema of the United States, American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorshi ...

satirical musical-comedy, clocking in at 21 minutes. The film was directed by

Roy Mack Roy Francis McGillicuddy (August 27, 1888 – February 11, 1960), known as Roy Mack, was an American baseball team executive owner who co-owned the Philadelphia Athletics of the American League with his brother Earle Mack from through . Mack w ...

, and starred

Ethel Waters Ethel Waters (October 31, 1896 – September 1, 1977) was an American singer and actress. Waters frequently performed jazz, swing, and pop music on the Broadway stage and in concerts. She began her career in the 1920s singing blues. Her not ...

and

Sammy Davis Jr. Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, dancer, actor, comedian, film producer and television director. At age three, Davis began his career in vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the ...

, in his first onscreen appearance, as the title character. The film's tone may appear racist to today's audiences. The film is considered an important musical short. This film is available on YouTube.

Synopsis

Rufus Jones, an

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 ens ...

child, is elected president of the United States in this short musical comedy, which features song and dance numbers by seven-year-old Sammy Davis Jr.

Home media

''Rufus Jones for President'' was released on the six-disc ''Big Band, Jazz & Swing'' set of short subjects by

Warner Archive Collection The Warner Archive Collection is a home video division for releasing classic and cult films from Warner Bros.' library. It started as a manufactured-on-demand (MOD) DVD series by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on March 23, 2009, with the inte ...

References

External links

* 1933 films 1933 musical comedy films African-American films American musical comedy films American black-and-white films Vitaphone short films Warner Bros. short films Films about fictional presidents of the United States Films directed by Roy Mack 1930s English-language films 1930s American films {{musical-comedy-film-stub