- Directed by
- Vidor, King, American, 1894 - 1982
- Subject of
- Haynes, Daniel Louis, American, 1889 - 1954
- McKinney, Nina Mae, American, 1912 - 1967
- Fountaine, William, American, 1897 - 1945
- DeKnight, Fanny Belle, American, 1869 - 1950
- Spivey, Victoria, American, 1906 - 1976
- Gray, Harry
- Dickerson, Milton
- Couch, Robert, American, 1920 - 1977
- Dixie Jubilee Singers, American, ca.1920s - 1930s
- Composed by
- Berlin, Irving, American, 1888 - 1989
- Owned by
- D.C. Public Library, American, founded 1896
- Date
- 1929
- Medium
- polyester film
- Dimensions
- Duration (Reel 1): 30 Minutes
- Length (Film): 1100 Feet
- Duration (Reel 2): 37 Minutes
- Length (Film): 1300 Feet
- Duration (Reel 3): 31 Minutes
- Length (Film): 1150 Feet
- Caption
- Hallelujah was the first sound film starring an all-Black cast. Centering the classic good versus evil narrative, Hallelujah tells the story of a black tenant farmer struggling to take care of his family whilst fighting the temptation of the streets--i.e. violence, gambling, and wayward women. Directed by King Vidor in 1929, Vidor received an Academy Award nomination at the first Academy Award ceremony in 1929.
- This film was a part of the Washington D.C. Public Library's circulating 16mm film collection housed at the Martin Luther King Jr. Central Library. The collection is particularly noted for the wide variety of African American and African diaspora content.
- Description
- A musical film with the title Hallelujah. It consists of three (3) reels of black-and-white 16mm polyester film with variable-area optical sound.
- The film, which has an all-black cast, follows a sharecropper named Zeke (Daniel Hayes) who, plagued with financial struggles and competing vices, flees his community and becomes a Baptist preacher following a physical altercation which results in his younger brother Spunk's (Everett McGarrity) accidental death. After reinventing himself as a preacher, Zeke begins a romantic relationship with Missy Rose (Victoria Spivey) but is ultimately seduced by Chick (Nina Mae McKinney), who was indirectly involved in his brother's death. Hot Shot (William Fountaine), Chick's longtime lover who had previously cheated Zeke out of a small fortune, runs off with Chick and both meet untimely deaths.
- Place used
- Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America
- Place filmed
- Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, North and Central America
- Arkansas, United States, North and Central America
- Collection title
- DC Public Library Film Collection
- Classification
- Time-based Media - Moving Images
- Type
- sound films
- black-and-white films (visual works)
- feature films
- 16mm (photographic film size)
- Topic
- Actors
- Dance
- Film
- Music
- Musical films
- Popular music
- Singers (Musicians)
- Stereotypes
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Object number
- 2017.55.52.1abc
- Restrictions & Rights
- Restrictions likely apply
- Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.




