Lucybespro It is a performances centric movie

Stellead Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

AshUnow This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Marva It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

MartinHafer Do NOT assume from my score of 1 that this is a terrible movie. What I saw of it wasn't too bad for a Black-produced film of the 1930s. The problem, however, is that it was released by Alpha Video--possibly the worst producers of DVDs you can find!! Like so many of their other releases, this film is a horrible print and desperately needs to be restored--and Alpha, as usual, has done NOTHING to clean up the print and piece it back together properly. It was really frustrating when again and again, scenes would "chop"--with chunks missing and the scene abruptly changing. I know the original film couldn't have looked like that!! And yet, this happens throughout the film and makes viewing and enjoying it next to impossible. I sure hope that some other video company releases the film after some restoration work--it was interesting and I really wanted to finish it, but couldn't because the print was THAT bad.By the way, HARLEM RIDES THE RANGE is also on the same DVD. While its print is very fuzzy, it is watchable and doesn't have chunks missing like in MURDER IN HARLEM. It's one of five Black Westerns starring Herb Jeffries in an attempt to create an African-American version of Gene Autry for Black-owned theaters. It's not an especially good film, but very important historically and worth a peek.Also, some time back MURDER IN HARLEM was on DVD from Westlake Entertainment and I assume their copy must be better. Sadly, Westlake is no longer selling the DVD according to Amazon.

dbborroughs Black night watchman finds the body of a dead white woman on the job and is accused of the crime.Good but unremarkable crime drama set interestingly in a world thats both black and white. Many of the so called race films have casts that are entirely black, here there is a mix, which is rather unique. The problem with the film is that although it was made in 1935 it moves and behaves like a film five or six years earlier. Its slow and creaky nature reminds me of a film like Sinister Hands or The Shadow Laughs.Its a good little story but there is a good chance you'll get bored with it and start speeding through it (I did)

msladysoul An interesting movie. You may have to watch it a few times to really understand and seem interesting, it took quite a few times because at first it seemed boring but since I'm understand Micheaux and his actors and actresses...I get it.The movie is about a black night watchman who's accused of killing a white girl which he didn't do but the watchman and his boss(who done it) try to put it on another watchman which is Claudia's brother played by Dorothy Van Engle and she along with Henry Glory try to bring her brother justice. Dorothy provides Henry with the determination and will to clear her brother and in love all the time, Henry and Claudia profess their love.Dorothy Van Engle light shines throughout all this movie. She's the most appealing and most beautiful of Black Cinema and movie history period. Dorothy could of rivaled the leading white ladies of Hollywood if Hollywood wasn't so afraid for Dorothy fit the beauty standards and acting talents of Hollywood. Dorothy Van Engle was the first black woman on screen to be glamorous and elegant not Lena Horne, a coincidence is Lena and Dorothy were friends as children. If I was to compare, Dorothy Van Engle, I would say is the Black Dolores del Rio or vice versa. Dorothy has the sweetness of Ruby Keeler, the glamour and impeccable dressing of a Kay Francis(Van Engle made her own clothes for the movies she was in) and appeal, charm, and naturalness of a Myrna Loy. Dorothy Van Engle was the first positive black woman on the screen. Intelligent, smart, ambitious, sure, spoke proper English but wasn't snooty and still possessed the Black heritage. Dorothy's body language, gestures, attitudes were right on time. You forgot her color and look at her talent, the same you would a white actors and actress. The best parts are the nightclub scenes where Van Engle really is exuberant and sensational Eunice Wilson who is always a treat to see sing and dance and in her few scenes, she was called, the best of the female dancers in the 1930's. She also was in a few black cinema movies, especially in the first movie made in color by blacks. Clarence Brooks plays his role fine. All this wasn't seen in Hollywood or even today with Blacks. So audiences were very appreciative of Black Cinema and its actors and actresses for providing them with role models. These types of films gave Blacks chances to play substantial roles and sparked an interest in wanna be actors and actresses in Black Cinema instead of begging Hollywood for a chance they never would get. Most didn't make a lot in Black Cinema but became movie stars with the Black Press giving them publicity, but the best parts were they could be dignified, respectful, classy, beauty, able to tell a story and challenge the stereotypes in a movie which would use their talents favorably.

Single-Black-Male This film was the inspiration for Micheaux to write 'The Story of Dorothy Stanfield' eleven years later. The story is actually about her husband, Nathan Stanfield, who is living in hard times as a black medical doctor. It touches some very sensitive issues.