''Souls of Sin'' is a 1949 American

race film The race film or race movie was a genre of film produced in the United States between about 1915 and the early 1950s, consisting of films produced for black audiences, and featuring black casts. Approximately five hundred race films were produce ...

written and directed by

Powell Lindsay Powell Lindsay (19051987) was an actor, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on stage and film as well as a director and writer of theatrical productions in the United States. He's been described as the "muse of black social realism on film." He wa ...

, and produced by

William D. Alexander William D. Alexander (1916 – November 19 1991) was an American filmmaker. He made U.S. government sponsored newsreels for African American audiences. He later established his own production company, Alexander Productions, in New York City and b ...

. One of the last of its kind, ''Souls of Sin'' has been described as a landmark film of the genre. Generally regarded as the last all-black film with a black producer, it was producer Alexander's final feature before his move to London, where he began making documentaries (he produced one further film with ''

The Klansman ''The Klansman'' (also known as ''Burning Cross'') is a 1974 American drama film based on the 1967 book of the same name by William Bradford Huie. It was directed by Terence Young and starred Lee Marvin, Richard Burton, O. J. Simpson (in his f ...

'' in the 1970s).

Plot

Cast

Savannah Churchill Savannah Churchill (born Savannah Valentine Roberts, August 21, 1920 – April 19, 1974) was an American rhythm and blues singer in the 1940s and 1950s. She is best known for her number-one R&B single "I Want To Be Loved (But Only By You)." Life ...

as Regina *

as Bad Boy George *

William Greaves William Greaves (October 8, 1926 – August 25, 2014) was an American documentary filmmaker and a pioneer of film-making. He produced more than two hundred documentary films, and wrote and directed more than half of these. Greaves garnered many ...

as Isaiah "Alabama" Lee * Jimmy Wright as Dollar Bill * Emery Richardson as Roberts *

Billie Allen Billie Allen (January 13, 1925 – December 29, 2015) was an American actress, theater director, dancer and entertainer. Allen was one of the first black actors and performers to appear on television and stage in the United States, at a time when ...

as Etta * Louise Jackson as Mrs. Sands * Charley Macrae as Mac

Music

Songs featured in the film include: * "The Things You Do to Me" – Savannah Churchill and Henry Glover * "Disappointment Blues” – William Greaves * “Lonesome Blues” – William Greaves

Release

''Souls of Sin'' screened at the 1989 Galveston Film Festival.

References

External links

''Souls of Sin'' (1949)

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

* * * 1949 films American black-and-white films 1949 drama films American drama films American crime films 1940s crime films Race films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films {{1940s-drama-film-stub