Murder in Harlem

Murder in Harlem
Murder in Harlem
Directed by	Oscar Micheaux; Clarence Williams (cabaret sequence)[citation needed] (uncredited)
Written by	Oscar Micheaux (novel The Story of Dorothy Stanfield); Oscar Micheaux (screenplay); Clarence Williams (cabaret sequence)[citation needed] (uncredited)
Produced by	Alice B. Russell (producer); Oscar Micheaux (producer)[citation needed] (uncredited)
Starring	See below
Cinematography	Charles Levine
Release date	1935;
Running time	102 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Murder in Harlem (also released as Lem Hawkins Confession and Brand of Cain) is a 1935 American race film written, produced and directed by Oscar Micheaux, who also appears in the film. It is a remake of his 1921 silent film The Gunsaulus Mystery.

Basing the works on the 1913 trial of Leo Frank for the murder of Mary Phagan,^[1] Micheaux used the detective genre to introduce different voices and conflicting accounts by his characters. In July 2021, the film was shown in the Cannes Classics section at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival.^[2]

Plot

An African-American man is framed for the murder of a white woman, but a white man is responsible. Author-turned-attorney Henry Glory is hired by the accused man's sister to defend him. Glory pieces the crime together, and the white killer is revealed. The film is loosely based on the real life case of Leo Frank. However, it changes the details of the real case, which was highly prejudicial against Frank due to his being a Jewish man in Georgia. Unlike in the film, Frank's guilt is often viewed with great skepticism due to his never receiving a fair trial.^[3]^[4]

Cast

Clarence Brooks as Henry Glory
Dorothy Van Engle as Claudia Vance
Andrew S. Bishop as Anthony Brisbane
Alec Lovejoy as Lem Hawkins
Laura Bowman as Mrs. Epps
Bee Freeman as The Catbird
Alice B. Russell as Mrs. Vance
Eunice Wilson as Singer
Lorenzo McClane as Arthur Vance
David Hanna as Undetermined Role
"Slick" Chester as Detective

Soundtrack

"Harlem Rhythm Dance" (Music and lyrics by Clarence Williams)
"Ants in My Pants" (Music and lyrics by Clarence Williams)

References

^ "Oscar Micheaux and Leo Frank: Cinematic Justice Across the Color Line", Film Quarterly, Summer 2004. Archived April 13, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
^ "2021 Cannes Classics Lineup Includes Orson Welles, Powell and Pressburger, Tilda Swinton & More". The Film Stage. 23 June 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
^ "Overview: Lem Hawkins’ Confession", Turner Classic Movies.
^ J. Ronald Green, Straight Lick: The Cinema of Oscar Micheaux, Indiana University Press, 2000, p. 174.

External links

Murder in Harlem at IMDb
Murder in Harlem is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive

This 1930s drama film-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[1] "Oscar Micheaux and Leo Frank: Cinematic Justice Across the Color Line", Film Quarterly, Summer 2004. Archived April 13, 2010, at the Wayback Machine

[2] "2021 Cannes Classics Lineup Includes Orson Welles, Powell and Pressburger, Tilda Swinton & More". The Film Stage. 23 June 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2021.

[3] "Overview: Lem Hawkins’ Confession", Turner Classic Movies.

[4] J. Ronald Green, Straight Lick: The Cinema of Oscar Micheaux, Indiana University Press, 2000, p. 174.

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