The “all Black cast” films of the 30s and 40s provide a lot of entertainment value, as well as a window into African-American culture of the day, performers who are often undocumented or at least underdocumented elsewhere on film, and usually excellent music.
Many of the feature films—-the ones directed by Spencer Williams, the ones directed by Oscar Micheaux, and the ones starring Louis Jordan—-were widely available in the early days of VHS and were aired on BET as filler in the early days of cable. I notice that many of those (no doubt due to their public domain status) are available today on some of the lower-grade free streaming services available via Roku. I hope that people are enjoying them there. When I first moved to San Antonio in 1991, I actually scoped out some of the locations used in Spencer Williams films, which could still be found at that time.
However, more obscure are the short subjects, and this gem from director Bud Pollard is a fine example of that. Thanks to SMU’s Jones Film and Video Archive for finding and restoring IT HAPPENED IN HARLEM, made at the studios of All American Films (the Black newsreel company) in Fort Lee, New Jersey, a city with a lot of film history. Strangely enough, the IMDB still lists this short as being lost, though SMU posted it on You Tube in 2021! Well, YOU don’t have to worry, as the YT link is below.
This film packs a lot into 23 minutes, with a showbiz plot, great Black vaudeville acts who might otherwise not be documented on film, jazz references (the legendary Smalls Paradise club) that will excite fans of the music of that era, and the music of Chris Columbus and His Swing Gang, who were popular in the clubs but not really documented on record much (Sidney Bechet recorded with them in 1938-39, for a film soundtrack). Drummer Columbus was also known as Chris Columbo and was at one time the oldest working musician in Atlantic City. He worked with Fletcher Henderson as early as 1921, and led the Club Harlem Orchestra for 34 years. His son, Sonny Payne, was also a jazz drummer and will be known to many readers.
Bud Pollard, of course, is well-known to fans of obscure exploitation films, and he also was a pioneer in patchwork films. I have a piece elsewhere on this blog about his patchwork film on Bing Crosby THE ROAD TO HOLLYWOOD (look for it in the search box here), and I have a half-finished piece in my draft box on Pollard’s final feature, LOVE ISLAND, starring the young Eva Gabor, which I hope to finish one of these days.
Most people have 23 minutes to waste, and I can’t imagine you’d regret spending it with the classic African-American short IT HAPPENED IN HARLEM.
The print and transfer are very good, so feel free to watch this on your television, not just on your computer….
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and….Be sure to pick up a copy of my newest poetry book…
STATIC STRUT by Bill Shute
KSE #421, 125 pages, 6″ x 9″ perfect bound, softcover, $6.95 cover price
published 2 January 2024
available for immediate order in the USA from https://amzn.to/48GeYC5
Kendra Steiner Editions (Bill Shute) 
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