Harlem Is Heaven (1932)

Wissenswertes

Harlem Is Heaven is a 1932 American pre-Code crime drama musical film directed by Irwin Franklyn and featuring a virtually all African-American cast. Bill "Bojangles" Robinson stars in his first leading role on screen, along with Putney Dandridge, John Mason, and some of the top entertainers of the period from Harlem's famous Cotton Club, including James Baskett, Anise Boyer, Henri Wessell, and Alma Smith. Eubie Blake and his orchestra perform most of the background music and instrumentals during the film's onstage song and dance numbers.

Production notes

Before its release in 1932, the film was issued a tentative review certification number—02816—by the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America "pending the production company's adherence to the Hays Office's demands regarding specific changes in the script."

The title card in the film's opening credits notes a 1932 copyright for the production; however, both the American Film Institute (AFI) and Turner Classic Movies (TCM) state that "no indication of the film's registration for copyright has been found."

In the film's opening credits, "'The Cotton Club', Harlem" is also acknowledged for permitting "By Special Arrangement" the participation of "Jimmy Baskette", Anise Boyer, Henri Wessell, Alma Smith, and Bob Sawyer in the production.

With a budget reportedly under $50,000, Harlem Is Heaven was filmed in just one week at the Ideal Studios in Hudson Heights, New Jersey, and on location at the stages of several theaters, including the Ideal Theater in Philadelphia and the R.K.O. Kenmore Theater in Brooklyn.

African-American actors, dancers, musicians, and supporting players comprise nearly the film's entire cast, although there is an uncredited white actor with a speaking part, who portrays a district attorney. There are also white extras portraying peripheral characters, including an assistant to the district attorney and an attending officer at a police station.

Auf Wikipedia weiterlesen · Text aus Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Daten aus Wikidata.