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Post by mikef6 on Sept 9, 2020 0:43:52 GMT
Rex Ingram, SaharaCanada Lee, Lifeboat Also, Canada Lee in "Body and Soul" (1947).
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Post by bravomailer on Sept 9, 2020 0:53:24 GMT
Hattie McDaniel also appears in the homefront film Since You Went Away (1944).
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Post by BATouttaheck on Sept 9, 2020 0:53:59 GMT
Paul Robeson
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Post by mikef6 on Sept 9, 2020 0:59:12 GMT
Bill Walker who is a prominent character in the opening set-piece of “The Killers” (1946). This is the playing out of Hemingway’s short story of the same name. The title hit-men come into a diner in a small town and terrorize the customers because they are waiting for one particular person, Swede Anderson, to show up. Walker plays Sam, the cook, and is a cool head during the crisis. Walker always refused to use that faux-southern drawl that talented comedy actors like Mantan Moreland and Willie Best were forced to use. (Nothing to do with this thread but among the diner’s customers is the young actor Phil Brown who would grow up and old and eventually play Luke’s Uncle Owen in “Star Wars”).
Bill Walker’s main claim to fame is as the Rev. Sykes in “To Kill A Mockingbird” (1960, outside the time limit of this thread). Late in life Gregory Peck said, “Bill Walker won me the Oscar when he said ‘Stand up, children. Your father’s passing’.”
Well, I might as well go on with Willie Best and Mantan Moreland, both highly accomplished comedy actors who were often given high billing on their films and were paid generously as well. Their careers, however, are a mixed bag because later in the 20th century, both men (as well as Lincoln Perry aka Stepin Fetchit) became reviled and denounced for their characters who were always lazy, dim-witted, and easily frightened – damaging stereotypes.
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Post by BATouttaheck on Sept 9, 2020 1:01:34 GMT
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Post by bravomailer on Sept 9, 2020 1:06:54 GMT
Cabin In The Sky
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Post by BATouttaheck on Sept 9, 2020 1:08:28 GMT
Here's Bill Walker in that scene from The Killers
wonderful to know the link to Mockingbird. mikef6
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Post by bravomailer on Sept 9, 2020 1:13:09 GMT
Theresa Harris in Baby Face (1933)
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Post by mikef6 on Sept 9, 2020 1:20:05 GMT
Here's Bill Walker in that scene from The Killers
wonderful to know the link to Mockingbird. mikef6 And I do believe that is Phil (Uncle Owen) Brown on the other side of the counter. Thanks for finding the picture.
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Post by BATouttaheck on Sept 9, 2020 1:30:26 GMT
mikef6 That does indeed seem to be Uncle Owen playing Nick Adams Here's another (OT) pic
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Post by mikef6 on Sept 9, 2020 1:30:52 GMT
Shirley Temple’s dancer partner, Bill Robinson. Good one. Bojangles should have come up early in this thread.
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Post by moviemouth on Sept 9, 2020 6:06:21 GMT
Bill Walker who is a prominent character in the opening set-piece of “The Killers” (1946). This is the playing out of Hemingway’s short story of the same name. The title hit-men come into a diner in a small town and terrorize the customers because they are waiting for one particular person, Swede Anderson, to show up. Walker plays Sam, the cook, and is a cool head during the crisis. Walker always refused to use that faux-southern drawl that talented comedy actors like Mantan Moreland and Willie Best were forced to use. (Nothing to do with this thread but among the diner’s customers is the young actor Phil Brown who would grow up and old and eventually play Luke’s Uncle Owen in “Star Wars”). Bill Walker’s main claim to fame is as the Rev. Sykes in “To Kill A Mockingbird” (1960, outside the time limit of this thread). Late in life Gregory Peck said, “Bill Walker won me the Oscar when he said ‘Stand up, children. Your father’s passing’.” Well, I might as well go on with Willie Best and Mantan Moreland, both highly accomplished comedy actors who were often given high billing on their films and were paid generously as well. Their careers, however, are a mixed bag because later in the 20th century, both men (as well as Lincoln Perry aka Stepin Fetchit) became reviled and denounced for their characters who were always lazy, dim-witted, and easily frightened – damaging stereotypes. Without the context of the rest of his roles, that is sort of the character he plays in King of the Zombies (1941), but to me it feels he is the character with the most sense in the movie. He is also the main character and the black actors in the movie by far give the best performances. He is one of the few characters with an actual personality, charisma and his comic timing is great. Speaking of damaging stereotypes, isn't that what Kevin Hart often plays?
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Post by mikef6 on Sept 9, 2020 17:27:42 GMT
Bill Walker who is a prominent character in the opening set-piece of “The Killers” (1946). This is the playing out of Hemingway’s short story of the same name. The title hit-men come into a diner in a small town and terrorize the customers because they are waiting for one particular person, Swede Anderson, to show up. Walker plays Sam, the cook, and is a cool head during the crisis. Walker always refused to use that faux-southern drawl that talented comedy actors like Mantan Moreland and Willie Best were forced to use. (Nothing to do with this thread but among the diner’s customers is the young actor Phil Brown who would grow up and old and eventually play Luke’s Uncle Owen in “Star Wars”). Bill Walker’s main claim to fame is as the Rev. Sykes in “To Kill A Mockingbird” (1960, outside the time limit of this thread). Late in life Gregory Peck said, “Bill Walker won me the Oscar when he said ‘Stand up, children. Your father’s passing’.” Well, I might as well go on with Willie Best and Mantan Moreland, both highly accomplished comedy actors who were often given high billing on their films and were paid generously as well. Their careers, however, are a mixed bag because later in the 20th century, both men (as well as Lincoln Perry aka Stepin Fetchit) became reviled and denounced for their characters who were always lazy, dim-witted, and easily frightened – damaging stereotypes. Without the context of the rest of his roles, that is sort of the character he plays in King of the Zombies (1941), but to me it feels he is the character with the most sense in the movie. He is also the main character and the black actors in the movie by far give the best performances. He is one of the few characters with an actual personality, charisma and his comic timing is great. Speaking of damaging stereotypes, isn't that what Kevin Hart often plays? I don't think I have ever seen a movie with Kevin Hart but I have been to the movies where I have had to sit through a couple of trailers for his films. In the previews, anyway, he is featured doing a lot of high pitched squealing that really got on my nerves.
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angel
Sophomore
@angel
Posts: 275
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Post by angel on Sept 10, 2020 23:36:17 GMT
Robeson also starred in a terrific little film Borderline (1930) which dealt with interracial relationships in a non judgemental and matter of fact way which was pretty revolutionary for its time. It was a Swiss/Uk production and would have been impossible to make in Hollywood at that time.
There's also of course (the first) Imitation Of Life (1934) with Louise Beavers and Fredi Washington. Famously remade by Sirk in the 1950s (with, interestingly Fredi Washington's part being played by a white actress).
Moon Over Harlem (1939) by Edgar G. Ulmer also features an all black cast.
Then there's a whole host of so called Race Films (most of which have sadly been lost), which were black owned production companies featuring films with primarily black actors and catering to black audiences with Oscar Micheaux being one of the leading lights; a few of whose films have survived like Within Our Gates (1920) (made in response to Griffith's Birth of a Nation), Murder in Harlem (1935) and Swing! (1938).
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