Harlem on the Prairie
(USA/1937—directed by Sam Newfield)
In this long-unavailable film, singer Herb Jeffries makes his cinematic debut as a strapping young cowpoke who comes to the rescue of a traveling medicine show battling outlaws for buried treasure.
Filmed at a Black-owned ranch in California’s Apple Valley, the film also includes Spencer Williams (director of The Blood of Jesus) and doo-wop quartet the Four Tones.
Newly restored, Harlem on the Prairie is packed with priceless music, thrills, romance, and the comedy of renowned actors Mantan Moreland and Flournoy E. Miller. (57 min.)
This program is part of a companion series of film and music events presented in celebration of Regeneration: Black Cinema, 1898–1971, on view at the Detroit Institute of Arts Feb. 4–June 23, 2024. Regeneration is organized by the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.
(USA/1937—directed by Sam Newfield)
In this long-unavailable film, singer Herb Jeffries makes his cinematic debut as a strapping young cowpoke who comes to the rescue of a traveling medicine show battling outlaws for buried treasure.
Filmed at a Black-owned ranch in California’s Apple Valley, the film also includes Spencer Williams (director of The Blood of Jesus) and doo-wop quartet the Four Tones.
Newly restored, Harlem on the Prairie is packed with priceless music, thrills, romance, and the comedy of renowned actors Mantan Moreland and Flournoy E. Miller. (57 min.)
This program is part of a companion series of film and music events presented in celebration of Regeneration: Black Cinema, 1898–1971, on view at the Detroit Institute of Arts Feb. 4–June 23, 2024. Regeneration is organized by the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.