(USA/1928—directed by Richard D. Maurice)  

Silent film director and railway labor organizer Richard D. Maurice was born in Cuba in 1893, migrated to the US in 1903, and settled in Detroit where he worked as a tailor. In July 1920 he founded the Maurice Film Company at 184 High Street, and produced two feature films released a decade apart. Eleven P.M., his surviving feature, is a surreal melodrama in which a poor violinist named Sundaisy (Maurice) tries to protect an orphan girl (Wanda Maurice) who is victimized by petty criminals.

Many Black filmmakers during the silent era adopted stylistic conventions of Victorian theater, but Maurice's innovative use of location filming, extreme camera angles, fantasy imagery, and kaleidoscopic special effects closely resemble avant-garde European films of the 1920s. Eleven P.M. will be presented with a live musical score, composed and performed by pianist Alvin Waddles. (58 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.

(France/1932—directed by Edmond T. Gréville) 

Known as the "Black Venus" during the zenith of her popularity in the 1920s and 30s, singer, dancer, and actor Josephine Baker was the first Black woman to become an international film star, and a legendary icon of beauty and rare courage. Baker achieved her success far from Hollywood; she moved to Paris and appeared in silent films there. After the introduction of sound, she starred in singing roles for French musicals including Zou-Zou (1934) and Princess Tam Tam.

In this film, Max (Albert Préjean) is a novelist who escapes his social-butterfly wife in Paris to vacation in Tunisia, where he becomes infatuated with a young shepherdess named Alwina (Baker). He decides to present her to French society as a Bedouin princess to elicit his wife’s jealousy. Princess Tam Tam was wildly popular throughout Europe but never granted an exhibition visa and went unseen by American audiences until it was rediscovered in 1989. (77 min.) Free with museum admission. 

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/1939—directed by Richard Kahn) 

Herb Jeffries (1913-2014) was a mixed-race American actor from Detroit who became popular appearing in all-Black musical westerns in the late 1930s. With his matinee-idol good looks and velvety baritone voice, he enjoyed a long career as a jazz recording artist and toured with the likes of Earl Hines and Duke Ellington.

The Bronze Buckaroo finds frontiersman Bob Blake (Jeffries) pitted against the usual Western stock characters —horse rustlers, claim jumpers, and other cowboys not treating his gal with enough respect — but what makes the film an unexpected joy is the pure grace and gentle humor Jeffries brings to his singing role. (58 min.) Free with museum admission. 

Come early at 7 p.m. and hear singer and multi-instrumentalist Dr. Dom Flemons perform a tribute to Jeffries as part of his appearance at Friday Night Live! 

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/1939—directed by Leo C. Popkin) 

Louise Beavers gives a commanding lead performance as the crusading Mother Barton in this race film long believed to be lost. Beavers plays a probation officer who comes to the defense of young inmate Freddie (Reginald Fenderson) and his pals (the Harlem Tuff Kids) who are subject to constant harassment at a corrupt reform school. The film’s director, Leo Popkin, is one of the three co-founders of the Million Dollar Productions company that produced and distributed films for Black audiences. Its other co-founders were Popkin’s brother Harry and writer-producer-actor Ralph Cooper, “The Dark Gable.”

This screening will be introduced by special guest Rhea Combs, Director of Curatorial Affairs, Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery and co-curator of Regeneration: Black Cinema, 1898–1971 at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. (68 min.) Free with museum admission. 

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.  
 

Use foam printing plates, water-based inks and a wooden stylus to create beautiful, one-of-a-kind hand-pulled prints on paper.

Free with admission; all supplies provided.
 

Many people doodle as a way of spontaneously expressing ideas. Grab some drawing materials and see what you come up with!

Free with admission. All supplies provided.

Create a pencil drawing to take home while taking a closer look at the collection. No experience is necessary. All supplies provided. For ages 6 and up (children ages 12 and younger should be accompanied by an adult). 

Create a pencil drawing to take home while taking a closer look at the collection. No experience is necessary. All supplies provided. For ages 6 and up (children ages 12 and younger should be accompanied by an adult).

Create a pencil drawing to take home while taking a closer look at the collection. No experience is necessary. All supplies provided. For ages 6 and up (children ages 12 and younger should be accompanied by an adult).

Create a pencil drawing to take home while taking a closer look at the collection. No experience is necessary. All supplies provided. For ages 6 and up (children ages 12 and younger should be accompanied by an adult).