At the head: The Library of Congress and Smithsonian Video present... Rare silent films with new piano scores. Videocassette release of: the 1st work: 1926 silent motion picture ; the 2d work: 1923 motion picture. 1st work: Harry Henderson, Lucia Lynn Moses, Norman John Stone, Ann Kennedy, William E. Pettus ; 2d work: Eubie Blake, Noble Sissle.
Summary:
1st work: In no film was the racial theme more apparent than in this story about an ill-matched marriage between a black concert pianist and a poor, lower class young black woman. Secretly ashamed of her, the young man keeps his wife hidden from his socially-prominent middle-class mother. Despite the melodrama, it is a strong statement on the issues of class and the color caste system which existed within the African-American community, as well as probing questions of ambition and authority. 2d work: The short was shot in Lee De Forest's New York studio with his sound-on-film process in 1923, four years before Hollywood began to experiment with sound. Pianist Eubie Blake joined by his partner Noble Sissle performed their 1918 composition "Affectionate Dan" and a jazzed-up spiritual.
Series:
African American cinema ; 2 Library of Congress video collection ; 5
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.