Bessie Smith had a hit on the song in 1925 and Handy himself asked Bessie Smith to appear in the movie. Handy co-authored the film and was the musical director. The film was a dramatization of the song, a woman left alone by her roving man. It features a band that included James P. Johnson on piano, Thomas Morris and Joe Smith on cornet, Bernard Addison on guitar and banjo, as well as the Hall Johnson Choir with some thrilling harmonies at the end.
The film has an all African-American cast. Bessie Smith co-stars with Jimmy Mordecai as the boyfriend and Isabel Washington as the other woman.[1]
It was filmed in June 1929 in Astoria, Queens.[1] The film is about 16 minutes long. In 2006, this version was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[2][3]
The film was rumored for a long time to have been banned as demeaning and to have become lost.[1] Neither rumor was true, but when a print was found in Mexico in the mid-1940s, the event was treated as a significant development, even though copies had, in fact, been available elsewhere.[1] "In 1950, a group of white liberals petitioned the NAACP to buy and destroy the print found in Mexico, which they believed to be the only copy extant."[1]
Bessie Smith's St. Louis Blues (1929 film) at the Red Hot Jazz Archive
St. Louis Blues essay by Daniel Eagan in America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry, A&C Black, 2010 ISBN0826429777, pages 161-162 [2]
November 16, 2023
louis, blues, 1929, film, louis, blues, 1929, american, reel, short, film, starring, bessie, smith, early, sound, film, features, smith, african, american, speakeasy, prohibition, singing, handy, standard, louis, blues, directed, dudley, murphy, only, known, f. St Louis Blues is a 1929 American two reel short film starring Bessie Smith The early sound film features Smith in an African American speakeasy of the prohibition era singing the W C Handy standard St Louis Blues Directed by Dudley Murphy it is the only known film of Bessie Smith and the soundtrack is her only recording not controlled by Columbia Records St Louis BluesFilm posterDirected byDudley MurphyWritten byDudley MurphyProduced byW C HandyStarringBessie SmithCinematographyWalter StrengeEdited byRussell G ShieldsDistributed byRKO PicturesRelease dateNovember 5 1929 1929 11 05 Running time16 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglish source source source source source source source St Louis BluesBessie Smith had a hit on the song in 1925 and Handy himself asked Bessie Smith to appear in the movie Handy co authored the film and was the musical director The film was a dramatization of the song a woman left alone by her roving man It features a band that included James P Johnson on piano Thomas Morris and Joe Smith on cornet Bernard Addison on guitar and banjo as well as the Hall Johnson Choir with some thrilling harmonies at the end The film has an all African American cast Bessie Smith co stars with Jimmy Mordecai as the boyfriend and Isabel Washington as the other woman 1 It was filmed in June 1929 in Astoria Queens 1 The film is about 16 minutes long In 2006 this version was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being culturally historically or aesthetically significant 2 3 The film was rumored for a long time to have been banned as demeaning and to have become lost 1 Neither rumor was true but when a print was found in Mexico in the mid 1940s the event was treated as a significant development even though copies had in fact been available elsewhere 1 In 1950 a group of white liberals petitioned the NAACP to buy and destroy the print found in Mexico which they believed to be the only copy extant 1 Cast editBessie Smith as herself Hall Johnson Choir as Themselves James P Johnson as Pianist uncredited Alec Lovejoy as Bit Role uncredited Jimmy Mordecai as Jimmy the Pimp uncredited Thomas Morris as Cornetist uncredited Isabel Washington uncredited Bernard Addison as Plectrist uncredited References edit a b c d e Albertson Chris 2003 Bessie Revised ed Yale University Press pp 193 196 ISBN 978 0 300 10756 2 Complete National Film Registry Listing Library of Congress Retrieved May 11 2020 Librarian of Congress Adds Home Movie Silent Films and Hollywood Classics to Film Preservation List Library of Congress Retrieved May 11 2020 External links editSt Louis Blues essay 1 by Mark Cantor at National Film Registry St Louis Blues at IMDb Bessie Smith s St Louis Blues 1929 film at the Red Hot Jazz Archive St Louis Blues essay by Daniel Eagan in America s Film Legacy The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry A amp C Black 2010 ISBN 0826429777 pages 161 162 2 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title St Louis Blues 1929 film amp oldid 1145709425, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
