Directed by
Dreifuss, Arthur, German American, 1908 - 1993
Written by
Hoerl, Arthur, American, 1891 - 1968
Produced by
Dreifuss, Arthur, German American, 1908 - 1993
Subject of
Hawley, Monte, American, 1901 - 1950
Whitten, Marguerite, American, 1913 - 1990
Moore, Tommie, American, 1917 - 2004
Thompson, Edward, American, 1898 - 1960
Woods, Buck, American, 1905 - 1974
Brooks, Jess Lee, American, 1894 - 1944
Edwards, Josephine, American, born 1910
Lewis, Sybil, American, 1919 - 1988
Webb, Robert
Grant, Alfred, American, 1912 - 1984
Southern, Tom, American, 1906 - 1980
Harding, Halley, American, 1904 - 1967
Christmas, Leonard, American, 1897 - 1982
Morris, Earle, American, born 1897
Johnson, John Lester, American, 1893 - 1968
Miller, Flournoy, American, 1885 - 1971
The Four Toppers, American
Recorded by
Cee Pee Johnson And His Orchestra, American
Date
1940
Medium
acetate film
Dimensions
Duration: 75 Minutes
Length (Film Reel 1): 900 Feet
Length (Film Reel 2): 1000 Feet
Description
A 16mm release print of the feature film Mystery in Swing. It consists of two reels of positive 16mm acetate film (a) and (b), is in black-and-white and contains sound. The film opens with newspapers printing. The next scene opens in a media house where a man sitting hands another man a piece of paper and tells him to go over to the Penguin Club and interview Prince Ellis (Robert Webb). The recipient of the paper asks if he must go through with the assignment. His boss responds with “You get a story out of Prince Ellis and make it good before I fire you again.” The man exists the room and has a conversation with a woman about interviewing Prince Ellis. The rest of the film follows a local detective who investigates the murder of Ellis, a Harlem-based trumpeter. During his investigation, he develops an extensive list of suspects as he learns of Ellis' unpopularity.
Place depicted
Harlem, New York City, New York County, New York, United States, North and Central America
Place filmed
United States, North and Central America
Classification
Media Arts-Film and Video
Type
sound films
black-and-white films (visual works)
release prints (motion pictures)
feature films
16mm (photographic film size)
Topic
Actors
Film
Musicians
Race films
Credit Line
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Randall and Sam Nieman
Object number
2015.167.16.1ab
Restrictions & Rights
Unknown - Restrictions Possible
Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd531f705c7-b77c-472f-b7d5-e3a792a39c12

Cataloging is an ongoing process and we may update this record as we conduct additional research and review. If you have more information about this object, please contact us at NMAAHCDigiTeam@si.edu

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