Product Details

• Actors: Lena Horne, Joe Louis, A.B. DeComathiere, Ralph Cooper, Edna Mae Harris
• Directors: Bud Pollard
• Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, Dolby, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: Echo Bridge Home Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: January 1, 2004
• Run Time: 301 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00062IYY6
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #24,828 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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  Movies & TV > African American Cinema > Drama

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Four classic urban films: The Duke is Tops, The Black King, Spirit of Youth, and The Glove.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Three Good Black Films in One DVD!, March 9, 2008

By	MeMyselfandI (MI) - See all my reviews

I love race films. Race films gives me a chance to discover unknown black acting talents who may have been overlooked. Race films are the only films that blacks were able to play people from all walks of life and be versatile and not be stereotypes.

You get four movies for the price of one really. All the films are about an hour long. Their all worth while watching, the quality is pretty good compared to whats out there.

The Duke Is Tops - Lena Horne's debut movie. I liked the entertainment in this film. It was truly great black entertainment. The acting didn't do much for me.

Spirit of Youth - This film is very enjoyable, its worth an hour to watch. Its basically about a seductress, a vamp played excellently by Mae Turner who is trying to ruin Joe Louis boxing career. Everyone in this movie gives effective performances, Mae Turner stood out the most to me. She was an excellent black actress, who was a pro at playing cold, evil women you love to hate (move out the way Bette Davis). She never had a career in Hollywood movies but in race films she was a familar face, only in race films was where she able to display her art. The entertainment in the film is tops. If you don't like the acting in race films, then you'll love the entertainment, black entertainment was know as being the best of all entertainment back then.

The Black King - A preacher and activist who is both crooked and inspiring convinces his people to leave America and go back home to Africa where they can be powerful and free. He becomes a leader of his people but at the same times takes advantage of their trust. Vivian Baber is a wonderful, becoming, graceful actress, she reminds me of Bette Davis in her early years. A.B. Comathiere gives a humourous, colorful performance as he always does.

I didn't watch the other film on the collection. Why was a 70's movie added, why not add another race film? I think anyone who buys this collection will enjoy it.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars 1930's Black cinema offers role models, August 17, 2007

By	Annie Van Auken (Planet Earth) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

"Race movies," a genre unique to the United States between 1915 and 1947, were quite popular with black Southern audiences and in Northern industrial cities that had large African American communities. After the successful legal desegregation of the film industry in 1948, this type of movie vanished, literally. Today, only a fifth of the original 500 race films still exist.

SYNOPSES:

"The Black King" - A Baptist minister starts a "Back to Africa" movement, but is accused of swindling money from his followers. This movie, made by a white-owned company, was billed as a satire on the life of Marcus Garvey, an early black separatist. (After a fraud conviction, Garvey was deported to Jamaica in 1925-- he is now recognized as a hero of that island nation.)

"The Duke is Tops" - In order to further her career, Duke Davis convinces his girlfriend Ethel to leave his management, become a "single" and employ a talent scout. Ethel flops in her new show and so does Duke's latest production, now that Ethel is gone. Duke finds renewed success with a colorful travelling medicine show, then creates a venue for Ethel that's based on the medicine show concept.

"The Glove" - Cult film from the late 1970s. A down-on-his-luck former baseball player turned bounty hunter pursues a violent giant who beats his chosen victims with a formidable and frightening police riot glove. (This movie is an anomaly in this series.)

"Spirit Of Youth" - Biography of a fictional boxer that parallels in part the life of its star, Joe Louis. After he has a run-in with the gambling element, friends help heavyweight fighter Joe Thomas get his career back on track.

A similar 4-movie set is the SPENCER WILLIAMS COLLECTION.

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Parenthetical numbers preceding titles are 1 to 10 viewer poll ratings found at a film resource website.

(3.7) The Black King (1932) - A.B. DeComathiere/Vivianne Baber/Knolly Mitchell

(5.1) The Duke is Tops (1938) - Ralph Cooper/Lena Horne/Laurence Criner/Rubberneck Holmes/Basin Street Boys/Cats and the Fiddle

(4.9) The Glove (1979) - John Saxon/Roosevelt Grier/Joanna Cassidy/Joan Blondell/Jack Carter/Aldo Ray/Keenan Wynn

(6.0) Spirit Of Youth (1938) - Joe Louis/Edna Mae Harris/Clarence Muse/Mae Turner

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars BEFORE BLAXTATION, April 11, 2009

By	Lawrence J. David "LARRY DAVID" (CLEVLAND OH) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

WOW WE WERE EASILY AMUSED.FOR HISTORY SAKE OF THE STRUGGLE FOR BLACK MOVIES, IT HAS EVOLVED A LONG WAY,