Directed by

Kahn, Richard C., American, 1897 - 1960

Written by

Williams, Spencer, American, 1893-1969

Subject of

Williams, Spencer, American, 1893-1969

Produced by

Kahn, Richard C., American, 1897 - 1960

Medium

16mm Film (a): acetate film;

16mm Film (b): acetate film;

16mm Reel (c): metal;

16mm Reel (d): metal;

Film Shipping Container (e): cardboard

Dimensions

Duration: 70 Minutes

Length (Film Reel 1): 1000 Feet

Length (Film Reel 2): 900 Feet

Type

motion pictures (information artifacts)

Place filmed

United States, North and Central America

Place depicted

United States, North and Central America

Date

1940

Caption

In this science-fiction horror film, a mad doctor, Dr. Helen Jackson, keeps her montrous creature locked in the basement of his laboratory. After experimenting with a strange potion, she transforms the creature into an uncontrolled killer.

Description

2015.167.18.1ab: 16mm black and white films.

2015.167.18.1cd: Original metal, 16mm film reels.

2015.167.18.1e: Original cardboard film shipping box. A label on the side of the film shippping box reads ["SON OF INGAGI"/ +/ "LYING LIPS"/ (SAFETY)].

In "Son of Ingagi", Dr. Helen Jackson, a scientist who dabbles in black magic and mysticism, hides a creature in the laboratory of a sinister old house. Jackson experiments with a strange potion that transforms the beast-man into a maniacal, uncontrolled killer. Two newlyweds, who are guests in the doctor's home, are soon trapped by the hideous creature. With the help of the local police, they must find a way to excape from the chamber of horrors before they become victims of the monster's murderous claws.

Sources:

AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Accessed on August 11, 2016 (http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=2262)

WorldCat. Accessed on August 11, 2016 (https://www.worldcat.org/title/son-of-ingagi/oclc/60337887&referer=brief_results)

Topic

African American

Domestic life

Race films

Violence

Credit Line

Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Randall and Sam Nieman

Object number

2015.167.18.1a-e

Restrictions & Rights

No known copyright restrictions

See more items in

National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection

Collection title

Nieman Film Collection

Classification

Media Arts-Film and Video

Data Source

National Museum of African American History and Culture

Directed by

Kahn, Richard C., American, 1897 - 1960

Written by

Kahn, Richard C., American, 1897 - 1960

Subject of

Jeffries, Herb, American, 1913 - 2014

Brooks, Clarence, American, 1896 - 1969

Moreland, Mantan, American, 1902 - 1973

Williams, Spencer, American, 1893-1969

Medium

16mm Film (a): acetate film;

16mm Film (b): acetate film

Dimensions

Duration: 66 Minutes

Length (Film Reel 1): 600 Feet

Length (Film Reel 2): 1600 Feet

Type

motion pictures (information artifacts)

Place depicted

Wyoming, United States, North and Central America

Place filmed

Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, United States, North and Central America

Place depicted

Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America

Date

1938

Caption

When a cowboy is wrongfully accused of murder, he assumes the identity of a Harlem gangster; to whom he bears a striking resemblance.

Description

2015.167.21.1ab: 16mm black and white films.

Framed for his boss' murder by the victim's unfaithful wife, Bob Blake (A.K.A. 'The Singing Cowboy') escapes to New York. In Harlem he meets his look-alike, a gangster named Deacon. When Deacon is killed by a rival gang, Bob, disguised as the dead gangster, returns to his home town to clear his name.

Source:

WorldCat. Accessed on August 12, 2016 (https://www.worldcat.org/title/two-gun-man-from-harlem/oclc/32249820&referer=brief_results)

Topic

African American

American West

Race films

Urban life

Violence

Credit Line

Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Randall and Sam Nieman

Object number

2015.167.21.1ab

Restrictions & Rights

Unknown - Restrictions Possible

See more items in

National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection

Collection title

Nieman Film Collection

Classification

Media Arts-Film and Video

Data Source

National Museum of African American History and Culture

Directed by

Williams, Spencer, American, 1893-1969

Subject of

Everett, Francine, American, 1915 - 1999

Medium

16mm Film (a): acetate film;

16mm Film (b): acetate film

Dimensions

Duration: 60 Minutes

Length (Film Reel 1): 1150 Feet

Length (Film Reel 2): 1100 Feet

Type

motion pictures (information artifacts)

Place depicted

Harlem, New York City, New York County, New York, United States, North and Central America

Place purchased

Bahamas, Caribbean, North and Central America

Place filmed

United States, North and Central America

Date

1946

Caption

Gertie, a Harlem nightclub dancer, leaves her boyfriend for a fresh start on the island of Trinidad. Comfortabkle in her own skin, she enjoys using her sex appeal to dazzle and flirt with the local men. A preachy local, Mr. Christian, meddles by making it a point to convert her into the type of woman he believes she should be.

Description

2015.167.6.1ab: 16mm black and white films.

In "Dirty Gertie from Harlem U.S.A.", a two-timing showgirl, on the run, that takes work at an island hotel, winning the heart of the hotel owner, until a vengeful ex-boyfriend catches up with her. Moral dilemmas in the tradition of Rain, with the director in the role of a lady fortune-teller.

When famous Harlem stripper Gertie LaRue arrives on the island of Rinidad, she is given celebrity treatment and taken to the Paradise Hotel, where she and her assistant, Stella Van Johnson, are placed in the posh bridal suite. The hotel's proprietor, Diamond Joe, is smitten with Gertie, but Gertie ignores Stella's suggestion that she take an interest in him. Meanwhile, in their private dormitory room, members of Gertie's troupe discuss Gertie's past relationship with a generous Harlem man named Al, whom Gertie treated poorly and deserted. Also staying at the hotel is the pious Mr. Jonathan Christian and his assistant Ezra Crumm, two missionaries who have come to the island to teach about sin. Having witnessed Gertie's flirtatious behavior on the boat, Mr. Christian tells Ezra that she is a "painted trollop." Gertie remains true to her reputation as a gregarious flirt when she joins a sailor named Tight Pants and a soldier named Big Boy for a drink at the Diamond Palace lounge. There, Larry, the bar's piano player, recognizes Gertie and plays a tune intended to stir memories of her troubled past in Harlem and her relationship with his friend Al. When Gertie returns to the hotel drunk and in the company of the two military men, Mr. Christian watches in horror as she kisses both of them. He also sees Gertie throw a liquor bottle at a hallucination of Al that has suddenly haunted her. Gertie faints when Mr. Christian emerges from the shadows, and when she regains consciousness, she misinterprets his actions and accuses him of trying to take advantage of her. Later that day, Gertie, having been spooked by bad omens since her arrival on the island, goes to a fortune teller, an old woman named Old Hager, who looks into her crystal ball and sees Gertie's misdeeds and has a vision of a man coming after her. However, neither the medium's portents nor Mr. Christian's best efforts to have the Diamond Palace shut down prevent Gertie from taking the stage and performing her striptease. During her act, Mr. Christian, who has been watching the show with interest, takes to the stage and orders an end to the show. A brawl ensues when he grabs Gertie, but Diamond Joe whisks her out of the club and takes her back to the hotel. Alone in her room, Gertie is unhappy with the image she has caught of herself in the mirror, and while she is thinking, Al bursts into the room from the balcony and shoots her. When Stella and the police rush into the room, Al tells them that he killed her because he loved her.

Sources:

AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Accessed April 4, 2016 (http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=27623)

WorldCat. Accessed April 4, 2016 (https://www.worldcat.org/title/dirty-gertie-from-harlem-usa/oclc/422866093&referer=brief_results)

Topic

African American

Dance

Nightlife

Race films

Violence

Credit Line

Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Randall and Sam Nieman

Object number

2015.167.6.1ab

Restrictions & Rights

Unknown - Restrictions Possible

See more items in

National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection

Collection title

Nieman Film Collection

Classification

Media Arts-Film and Video

Data Source

National Museum of African American History and Culture

Directed by

Kahn, Richard C., American, 1897 - 1960

Written by

Williams, Spencer, American, 1893-1969

Subject of

Jeffries, Herb, American, 1913 - 2014

Medium

16mm Film (a): acetate film;

16mm Film (b): acetate film

Dimensions

Duration: 58 Minutes

Length (Film Reel 1): 1100 Feet

Length (Film Reel 2): 1100 Feet

Type

motion pictures (information artifacts)

Place depicted

Arizona, United States, North and Central America

Place filmed

Sindewinder Valley, Apple Valley, San Bernadino County, California, United States, North and Central America

Date

1939

Caption

In this American black cowboy film, a cowboy and his sidekick try to help his girlfriend's father from being cheated out of his property.

Description

2015.167.9.1ab: 16mm black and white films.

A cowboy and his sidekick that try to help a homesteader from being cheated out of his property.

Bradley and his henchman, Jim Connors, visit rancher Dennison to remind him that his mortgage is due and announces that they will either take a fifty-percent share of his mine or foreclose on him. When Bradley and Connors inform Dennison that they have stolen his radium samples, a struggle ensues and Dennison is apparently killed by Connors. Connors and Bradley quickly hide the body and flee. Later, two riders from Amarillo, Texas, Bob Blake and his lazy partner Dusty, enter the Dennison ranch hoping to find employment or dinner and discover blood on a table. After discouraging Dusty from stealing a tin of food, Bob sights a picture of a lovely girl and takes it. During target practice on the nearby Watson ranch, Mr. Watson agrees to hire Bob and Dusty for thirty dollars a month plus food. At Watson's ranch, Dusty recognizes Connors' horse as the one he saw fleeing the Dennison ranch and learns that Connors is the ranch foreman. Meanwhile, Cactus, a ranch hand, tells Watson that his buddy Tex has disappeared and leaves to look for him. Noticing Connors leaving late at night, Bob follows him into a trap, but bests him in a fistfight. The next morning, Watson fires Connors and makes Bob the new foreman. After Watson and Bob encounter Cactus burying Tex, they fetch the sheriff to pay a visit to the Dennison ranch. There they find a can of spilled tomato juice and believe that Bob and Dusty mistook for it blood. When Connors demands one hundred dollars from Bradley to keep quiet, Bradley kills him and throws suspicion on Bob. The sheriff arrests Bob, and Dusty insists on accompanying him to jail. When the sheriff tells Bradley that Watson has received a letter from Dennison's daughter Margaret saying that she will be arriving with $6,000 to pay off her father's debts, Bradley decides that she too must be killed. After escaping through the use of a rope trick, Bob sets out to rescue Margaret. Meanwhile, Cactus finds the sheriff locked up and shows him a letter that explains Bradley's duplicity. Bob and Margaret ride from the deserted train station to make their stand against Bradley's men. During the subsequent gun battle, Bob runs out of ammunition, but the sheriff, Watson and others ride up in time to capture Bradley and his men. Cactus then shoots Bradley to avenge Tex. Returning to the ranch, Bob and Dusty find that Dennison has recovered and has been hiding in his mine, and that it was he who spilled the tomato juice on the table. When Bob tries to return Margaret's photograph, she shows her affection for him by giving it back to him.

Source: AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Accessed on August 10, 2016 (http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=2234)

Topic

African American

American West

Business

Race films

Violence

Credit Line

Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Randall and Sam Nieman

Object number

2015.167.9.1ab

Restrictions & Rights

Unknown - Restrictions Possible

See more items in

National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection

Collection title

Nieman Film Collection

Classification

Media Arts-Film and Video

Data Source

National Museum of African American History and Culture

Directed by

Williams, Spencer, American, 1893-1969

Subject of

Orr, Robert, American

Medium

16mm Film (a): acetate film;

16mm Film (b): acetate film

Dimensions

Duration: 68 Minutes

Length (Film Reel 1): 1175 Feet

Length (Film Reel 2): 1175 Feet

Type

motion pictures (information artifacts)

Place filmed

Dallas, Texas, United States, North and Central America

Date

1947

Caption

Two con men arrive in Texas and pass themselves off as beauty pageant coaches in exchange for free room and board.

Description

2015.167.10.1ab: 16mm black and white films.

Bad News Johnson and July Jones, also known as Whitney Vanderbilt and Cornbread Green, when they go to Dallas where they acquire lodgings with Mama Lou and her family. The plot revolves around Mama Lou's efforts to keep her family intact.

Having fled Memphis, Tennessee, to start a new life, smalltime fugitive Bad News Johnson and his slow-witted companion, July Jones, arrive in Dallas with no place to stay and only twenty-five cents to their name. Johnson explains to July that they are taking the advice of the great thinker Horace Greeley, who said, "Go west young man, and do your best; then come east and spend your grease." When Johnson realizes that July does not understand the quote, he tells July that he is so dumb that he probably thinks that "Veronica Lake is some kinda' summer resort." Using his charm and graciousness, mixed in with a touch of pure deception, Johnson procures a room for himself and July at the home of the Holiday family. Mrs. Louella "Mama Lou" Holiday is at first reluctant take in two strangers as boarders, but when Johnson, who has introduced himself as Mr. Whitney Vanderbilt, impresses her as a great "thespian," she, in the hope that he will tutor her daughter Honey Dew in poise, decides to give them a room. Johnson and July, who is now known as Mr. Green, gladly accept the offer. Meanwhile, Mama Lou's lazy husband, Papa Sam, who was sent by his wife on an errand to the market, is instead at Johnny's Juke Joint playing poker with his pals. Papa Sam's daughter Florida, also at the juke joint, is being pursued by Johnny, the owner of the establishment, who wants to take her to Chicago. When Papa Sam returns home without the food he was sent to get, Mama Lou scolds him until Honey Dew breaks up the fight. Back at the juke joint, while Florida considers Johnny's offer, he calls his wife and tells her that he will be home late. After Johnson and July enjoy their first dinner at the Holidays, Johnson gives Honey Dew lessons on how to carry herself at the beauty contest she has entered, while Florida is told to do the dishes. Johnson's lessons are proven valuable when Honey Dew wins first prize in the contest. Backstage at the contest, Papa Sam's buddy, "High Life" Harris, suggests that Honey Dew be taken to the juke joint to celebrate her success, and Papa Sam agrees. When Mama Lou returns home to find that her husband and Florida, who was given the responsibility of preparing the house for a party, are missing, she marches over to Johnny's with an umbrella in hand and takes swings at Harris, Johnny and Florida. Mama Lou then discovers Papa Sam kissing a waitress outside the juke joint and pounces on him. At home, Mama Lou gives Florida one last beating to punish her for her actions as Johnson and July watch through a keyhole.

Sources:

AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Accessed on August 10, 2016 (http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=27660)

WorldCat. Accessed on August 10, 2016 (https://www.worldcat.org/title/juke-joint/oclc/16517545&referer=brief_results)

Topic

African American

American South

Comedy

Domestic life

Race films

Credit Line

Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Randall and Sam Nieman

Object number

2015.167.10.1ab

Restrictions & Rights

Unknown - Restrictions Possible

See more items in

National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection

Collection title

Nieman Film Collection

Classification

Media Arts-Film and Video

Data Source

National Museum of African American History and Culture