Oscar Micheaux Double Feature: The Girl from Chicago and Underworld

The Girl From Chicago (1932) is an early sound film by the legendary African American writer, director, and producer Oscar Micheaux. The film explores Micheaux’s career-long interest in the cultural divide between urban and rural life, contrasting criminal activity in Harlem, New York, and Batesburg, Mississippi. It also features Micheaux’s lively, trademark musical numbers, including a memorable scene set in a nightclub called the Radium Club.

Micheaux’s 1937 crime drama, Underworld, delves into similar themes. It tells the story of Sol Johnson, a young college graduate who moves from the South to Chicago, where he becomes emotionally entangled with a married singer (Bee Freeman) and a cunning gangster (Alfred "Slick" Chester).Total running time: 145 minutes.