Jack Owens Movies
This movie is a documentary showing the evolution of a musical style. Fortunately for the viewer, it is also an opportunity to see some of the practitioners of that style in much footage never before released. A must-see for devotees of the style, enlightening and entertaining for others. The effective use of interviews, physical tours of the birthplaces of the music and lengthy performances give the viewer quite an overview of this music and its practitioners. An illuminating look at the gutsy and raw Delta-inspired music. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- "Big" Jack Johnson, Roosevelt "Booba" Barnes, (more)
- 1990
The blues rose out of the collective misery of black Americans, who labored in the cottonfields and levee camps of the Deep South. After their backbreaking work in the Mississippi Delta region, they created plaintive songs accompanied by guitars or handmade musical instruments. This music chronicled the lives of low-paid workers, with strong connections to their African music origins. American Patchwork: The Land Where Blues Began visits a black church where the members lift their voices in praise in a demonstrative show of their strong faith. Performers include Napoleon Strickland, Lonnie Pitchford, and Jack Owens. ~ Alice Day, All Movie Guide
- 1943
After an absence of three years, Mae West returned to the screen in the musical comedy The Heat's On. La West is cast as Fay Lawrence, a famous Broadway actress who is loved intensely by her producer Tony Ferris (William Gaxton). Rival producer Forrest Stanton (Alan Dinehart) steals Fay away from Ferris by convincing her that she's been blacklisted from Broadway by blue-nosed moralist Hannah Bainbridge (Almira Sessions). Meanwhile, Hannah's puckish brother Hubert (Victor Moore) syphons money from his sister's "clean up show business" committee to produce a musical show for his actress niece Janey (Mary Roche). Somehow, all these characters converge for a spectacular closing production number spotlighting the formidable Fay. Part of the reason for the failure of The Heat's On is the fact that Mae West didn't write her own dialogue, as was usually her custom. The film performed so poorly that it would be 27 years before West would again appear on the Big Screen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mae West, Victor Moore, (more)
