St. Louis Blues (1929 film)
Encyclopedia
St. Louis Blues is a 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
.
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, 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 the dancer and actor Jimmy Mordecai as the boyfriend and Isabel Washington Powell as the other woman.
It was filmed in June 1929 in Astoria, Queens
. 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".
Bessie Smith
Bessie Smith was an American blues singer.Sometimes referred to as The Empress of the Blues, Smith was the most popular female blues singer of the 1920s and 1930s...
. The early sound film
Sound film
A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades would pass before sound motion pictures were made commercially...
features Smith in an African-American speakeasy
Speakeasy
A speakeasy, also called a blind pig or blind tiger, is an establishment that illegally sells alcoholic beverages. Such establishments came into prominence in the United States during the period known as Prohibition...
of the prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
era singing the W. C. Handy
W. C. Handy
William Christopher Handy was a blues composer and musician. He was widely known as the "Father of the Blues"....
standard, "St. Louis Blues". Directed by Dudley Murphy
Dudley Murphy
Dudley Murphy was an American film director. Murphy was born on July 10, 1897 in Winchester, Massachusetts...
, it is the only known film of Bessie Smith, and the soundtrack is her only recording not controlled by Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
.
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
James P. Johnson
James P. Johnson was an American pianist and composer...
on piano, Thomas Morris
Thomas Morris (musician)
Thomas Morris was an American jazz cornetist. Born in New York in 1898, jazz critic Scott Yanow noted that Morris's primitive style was "an excellent example of how New York brass players sounded before the rise of Louis Armstrong." Morris' many recordings include dates with Clarence Williams,...
and Joe Smith on cornet, 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 the dancer and actor Jimmy Mordecai as the boyfriend and Isabel Washington Powell as the other woman.
It was filmed in June 1929 in Astoria, Queens
Astoria, Queens
Astoria is a neighborhood in the northwestern corner of the borough of Queens in New York City. Located in Community Board 1, Astoria is bounded by the East River and is adjacent to three other Queens neighborhoods: Long Island City, Sunnyside , and Woodside...
. The film is about 16 minutes long.
In 2006, this version was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry
National Film Registry
The National Film Registry is the United States National Film Preservation Board's selection of films for preservation in the Library of Congress. The Board, established by the National Film Preservation Act of 1988, was reauthorized by acts of Congress in 1992, 1996, 2005, and again in October 2008...
by the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Cast
- Bessie SmithBessie SmithBessie Smith was an American blues singer.Sometimes referred to as The Empress of the Blues, Smith was the most popular female blues singer of the 1920s and 1930s...
- Herself - Hall Johnson Choir - Themselves
- James P. JohnsonJames P. JohnsonJames P. Johnson was an American pianist and composer...
- Pianist (uncredited) - Alec Lovejoy - Bit Role (uncredited)
- Jimmy Mordecai - Jimmy the Pimp (uncredited)
- Thomas MorrisThomas Morris (musician)Thomas Morris was an American jazz cornetist. Born in New York in 1898, jazz critic Scott Yanow noted that Morris's primitive style was "an excellent example of how New York brass players sounded before the rise of Louis Armstrong." Morris' many recordings include dates with Clarence Williams,...
- Cornetist (uncredited) - Isabel Washington - (uncredited)