Directed by Richard E. Norman • 1926 • United States
Starring Laurence Criner, Kathryn Boyd, Steve Reynolds
Unlike his 1923 film REGENERATION, Richard Norman’s THE FLYING ACE exists in its entirety, and the image quality is stunning. A rural crime drama revolving around a pair of rival aviators, THE FLYING ACE illuminates the fact that many films made for African American audiences were less concerned with race than with making popular entertainment in the traditional Hollywood style. Filmed in the Arlington area of Jacksonville, Florida, THE FLYING ACE is a unique aviation melodrama in that no airplanes actually leave the ground (the spectacular flight scenes being performed on terra firma, in front of neutral backdrops). Norman divided the film into four chapters, so that exhibitors could show the film as a feature or as a four-episode serial. The film is buoyed by the presence of Norman Studios regular Steve “Peg” Reynolds as the hero’s one-legged sidekick, who in one memorable scene rides a bicycle while firing a rifle built into the shaft of his crutch.
Directed by Roy Calnek • 1926 • United States
Starring Charles S. Gilpin, Lawrence Chenault, Harry Henderson
Based on the hugely popular 1854 temperance novel by Timothy Shay Arthur (and William W. Pratt’s 1858 stage adaptation), Roy Calnek’s TEN NIGHTS IN A BAR ROOM boasts a masterful performan...
Directed by Frank Perugini • 1929 • United States
Starring Harry Henderson, Lucia Lynn Moses, Lawrence Chenault
When a young woman (Lucia Moses) escapes from her abusive father (William E. Pettus), she is rescued by an aspiring composer (Harry Henderson), but encounters opposition from his class...
Directed by Richard Maurice • 1928 • United States
Starring Richard Maurice, Sammie Fields, Wanda Maurice
Produced in Detroit, Michigan by little-known African American filmmaker Richard Maurice, ELEVEN P.M. is a surreal melodrama in which a poor violinist named Sundaisy (Maurice) tries to prote...
