Customer Reviews

Murder in Harlem [VHS]

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Oscar Micheaux, the pioneer Black filmmaker, made a few excellent films that survive today from the silent era about the African-American predicament (Within Our Gates, Body and Soul, etc.). However, his surviving sound films are usually quite dismal, due to poor budgests, scripts, and action. This 1935 entry is quite good. It tells of the framing of an innocent Black man in the rape/murder of a White woman. Alec Lovejoy steals the film as the ignorant buffoon who assists the gulty man in a frame-up. The scene where the leading lady gets Lovejoy to drunkenly confess is a hoot. Some of Lovejoy's "Uncle Tom" antics may offend "Politically correct" viewers, but since he's the bad guy, it actually fits well in the story. See it and enjoy, but be warned that the sound is not that great.

This movie may not had Hollywood quality, nor the sound or picture. But its worth watching. If you want to see what Black Life was like, the music, the personality and style. Good speaking also in this movie, no Ebonics, no Uncle Tom talking. Its an enjoyable movie. The first time I watched it, I thought it was boring, except for Eunice Wilson song and dance, but the next time I watched it, I enjoyed it. Prety Dorothy Van Engle has the leading female role, she's a convincing actress and worth a watch. Not one of Oscar Micheaux best, but worth a look.

If you have trouble getting to sleep at night, don't take an over the counter sleep drug, nor take any prescriptions from your doctor; just pop this video in your vcr or dvd and get ready to fall asleep. I was watching it and the next thing I knew, I woke up to a blue screen. I had slept so long, that the video had stopped and rewound back to the beginning of the movie.(Boring!)