Hallelujah (1929)

Cast
Zeke - Daniel L. Haynes
Chick - Nina Mae McKinney
Hot Shot - William Fountaine
Parson - Harry Gray
Mammy - Fanny Belle DeKnight
Spunk - Everett McGarrity
Missy Rose - Victoria Spivey

Synopsis
This is a story about Zeke who seduced by a dancer named Chick. She ends up scamming out of the $100 he made from selling his family's cotton crop. We then see the series of events that happen to him after this event. I would categorize this film as a musical.

From what happens on screen to what I read about what happened behind the scenes, there are so many things that make this film important. So let's begin. This film's cast is made up of an all Black cast. That is something that rarely happened during that time. It was 1929, a time where it was hard for African Americans to get extra roles and when blackface was acceptable. But the director, King Vidor, of this movie didn't want that. He fought to make this cast all Black. Another thing he fought for was to get a real picture of what it was like to be Black in the south. He went as far as getting help from Black people behind the scenes when he didn't know what to do. This is also huge because the only way we were being depicted in the movies was in a stereotypical way. Here is a film that went above and beyond to make sure that didn't happen and it was said that among all the films of that time, this one did a much better job of representation.

I just find it crazy how the problems that this movie faced, with getting made and even getting distributed to theaters are the same problems African Americans are facing now in Hollywood. We still are being depicted as stereotypes and it's still hard to get roles. I think we need more people like King Vidor who are willing to put in the hard work a determination to make changes in the industry. Then, maybe, 80 years from now we won't be looking back and saying we're still facing these issues.

Sources: 25 Important Movies on Race, King Vidor's Hallelujah
Pic credit