Sybil Lewis Movies
- 1948
Its many production flaws aside, Miracle in Harlem is a pretty good example of the "all-black" films prevalent in the segregated 1940s. The story concerns a Harlem candy store that is taken over by a gang of crooks. Julie Weston (Sheila Guyse), stepdaughter of the store's elderly owner (Hilda Ofley), resists not only the takeover, but the amorous advances of the head crook's delinquent son (Lawrence Criner). When the ringleader Kenneth Freeman turns up dead, Julie finds herself the main suspect, but a series of unbelievable plot contrivances come to her rescue. Miracle in Harlem is worth seeing for the presence in the cast of Jack Carter, who 10 years earlier had starred in Orson Welles' all-black MacBeth, and Stepin Fetchit, who, after being banned from mainstream Hollywood productions for his stereotypical performances, goes through his time-tested "lazy" routines once more. Musical highlights include a number by the Juanita Hall Choir, led by the woman who'd later gain Broadway fame as Bloody Mary in South Pacific. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sheila Guyse, Stepin Fetchit, (more)
Fans of TV's Amos 'N' Andy series ought to get a big kick out of the black-oriented musical Boy! What a Girl. The "girl" in question, a winsome lass named Bumpsie, is played by none other than Tim "Kingfish" Moore! The story concerns two fly-by-night Harlem producers (Elwood Smith, Duke Williams) who hope to produce a hit Broadway play. Our heroes manage to line up a potential backer, who agrees to bankroll the show only if another backer puts up half the money. The producers engage the services of a female impersonator (Tim Moore) to pose as the second backer-and as a result, they end up with the homeliest "leading lady" in show-biz history. The rest of the film is a vaudeville-style parade of such black specialty acts as the Sid Catlett Orchestra, the Slam Stewart Trio and Deek Watson's Brown Dots. Highlights include a startlingly suggestive dance routine by the International Jitterbugs and a drum solo by Gene Krupa, the only white member of the cast. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim Moore, Elwood Smith, (more)
- 1944
It took some doing to persuade the staunchly Catholic Bing Crosby to play a happy-go-lucky priest in Going My Way; luckily he acquiesced, winning an Academy Award in the process. Crosby is cast as Father Chuck O'Malley, newly arrived at rundown, heavily in debt St. Dominic's Church. Father Fitzgibbon (Barry Fitzgerald), the cranky, set-in-his-ways curate of St. Dominic's, is none too pleased with O'Malley's breezy, "modernistic" methods. Fitzgibbon is content to adhere to the policies he has followed for nearly 45 years. Without overtly challenging Fitzgibbon's authority (he likes the old buzzard, and the feeling is mutual), O'Malley sets about to win the confidence of the local street toughs, organizing the boys into an angelic church choir. He also forestalls the plans of St. Dominic's mortgage holder Ted Haines (Gene Lockhart) to evict Fitzgibbons by arranging a fundraising choir tour, to be headlined by O'Malley's childhood friend, opera star Genevieve Linden (Rise Stevens). When he's not coming to the rescue of St. Dominic's, O'Malley is smoothing the path of romance for Haines' son (James Brown) and orphaned Carol James (Jean Heather), and arranging for a reunion between Fitzgibbons and his nonagenarian Irish mother. There is sentiment by the bucketful in Going My Way, but director Leo McCarey sagaciously tempers the treacle with moments of genuine hilarity and several delightful (and seemingly spontaneous) musical interludes. In addition to Crosby, Oscars went to Barry Fitzgerald, Leo McCarey, screenwriters Frank Butler and Frank Cavett, and Burke and Van Heusen's song hit "Swingin' On a Star." Bing Crosby repeated his father O'Malley characterization in McCarey's 1945 sequel The Bells of St. Mary's. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bing Crosby, Rise Stevens, (more)
- 1943
The second of Monogram's "zombie" thrillers, Revenge of the Zombies is better than the first, if only because of its powerhouse cast. John Carradine does his usual as Von Alltermann, a mad scientist in the employ of the Nazis. Commissioned to create a race of "living dead" warriors for the Third Reich, Von Alltermann takes time out to attempt to revitalize his deceased wife Lila (Veda Ann Borg). Stumbling into the doc's laboratory is heroine Jen (Gale Storm), who is rescued in The Nick by undercover FBI agent Larry (Robert Lowery). As in King of the Zombies, Mantan Moreland provides his patented bug-eyed comedy relief; good taste aside, he's the best thing in the picture. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Carradine, Robert Lowery, (more)
- 1940
An all-black musical about a concert violinist who loses the use of his left hand after an auto accident. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1940
Idealistic black doctor James Dunbar (Ralph Cooper) wants to minister to his people in Harlem, and to this end sets up a free clinic. But a gang of racketeers threaten to shut Dr. Dunbar down unless he becomes an "underworld doctor", taking care of wounded crooks without notifying police. The doc resists at first, but finally succumbs because he needs the money to keep his clinic going. So here's the question: Is committing a crime OK if the result is for the greater good? The answer is quite surprising in this refreshingly non-formula film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ralph Cooper, Sybil Lewis, (more)
