silverdaisy Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 Would like tcm to show films of the thirties, forties and fifties featuring black actors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misswonderly3 Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 Great idea. And not only actors, there were some very interesting African-American directors I'd like to know more about. I'd love for them to feature the work of Oscar Micheaux, for instance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sepiatone Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 TCM HAS done that before. I recall some years back during "Black History Month" they dedicated a couple of nights to films from those eras starring and directed by black artists. Many of them were simply great. Don't know why they didn't keep it up. Sepiatone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calamity Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 I'd like to see more dramas as well as musicals featuring mostly or completely black casts. I did notice Cabin in the Sky is airing at the end of the month ("again", someone is probably thinking! but I love it and was at work last time it was on). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredCDobbs Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 TCM used to show Hallelujah! (1929), The Emperor Jones, Sanders of the River, Song of Freedom, Big Fella, King Solomon's Mines (1937), Tales of Manhattan (1942), Jericho (1937), Princesse Tam Tam (1935), Zouzou (1934), and The Green Pastures (1936). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lzcutter Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 > Don't know why they didn't keep it up. It's because of the Oscars. The Oscars used to be given out in March and TCM celebrated *31 Days of Oscar* in March to coincide with the Academy. That left February available to celebrate Black History Month. About ten years ago, the Academy moved the Oscar ceremony up to February and TCM had to move their *31 Days of Oscar* celebration as well. (That's why the *31 Days* celebration goes into March because there aren't 31 days in February). Because of that, TCM had to discontinue celebrating Black History Month. The first *Race in Hollywood* festival in 2005 focused on *African-American Images on Film*. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misswonderly3 Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 But a festival once in a while isn't the same as the ongoing airing of African -American films, kind of like, feast or famine. Granted, there simply aren't nearly as many classic movies made by, about, and for African-Americans as there are movies made by, about, and for white people. So there's less to work with. But I do think acknowledging Black History Month is just as worthy a theme as Oscar month. I know the arguement: "After all, TCM is all about movies, so it just makes sense to feature the most famous recognition of quality in film making there is." Ok, fair enough. Personally, I don't put much credence in the Academy Awards, I mostly just pay attention to them for the gowns and the entertaining awkward moments. But anyway, I think it wouldn't be a bad idea to maybe focus on just one aspect of the Oscars every February ( ie, one year, best director, the next year, best actor/actresses, and so forth). That way there'd be more room in the month for other things, such as a celebration of filmmaking in the black community for Black History Month. ...I remember this issue came up around this time last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lzcutter Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 > But a festival once in a while isn't the same as the ongoing airing of African -American films, kind of like, feast or famine. Ms W, And I didn't mean to imply that it was. I was just relating a bit of TCM history. It would be great if TCM could find a way to incorporate both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misswonderly3 Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 I wish I'd caught that special you referred to. I wasn't really watching TCM much at that time. Oscar Micheaux ! I remember a segment of Moguls and Movie Stars mentioned him, and ever since Ive been wanting to find out ( and see) more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunny75 Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 Since they hand out the Oscars at the end of February, why not start the 31 days of Oscar on the day the Oscars are broadcast? All of February up until then could celebrate Black History. The month-long Oscar celebration could begin late in February and run through late March. If the programmers wanted to celebrate Oscar until the end of March, I wouldn't complain about 33-, 35- or 37 days of Oscar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredCDobbs Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 >Would like tcm to show films of the thirties, forties and fifties featuring black actors. Me too. TCM has things set up to promote the Academy Awards all month long in Feb, leading up to the big ABC TV show of the Awards. This year TCM aired some black-oriented films around Jan. 15, MLK's birthday. I would like to see some of these old classics spread out all during the year, at least one in prime time once a month: The Green Pastures (1936), Cabin in the Sky, Stormy Weather (1943), The Bronze Buckaroo (1939), Harlem Rides the Range (1939), Hallelujah! (1929), The Emperor Jones (1933), King Solomon's Mines (1937), also the British Paul Robeson films: Sanders of the River, Song of Freedom (1936), Big Fella, Jericho (1937), and the Josephine Baker French films: Princess Tam Tam (1935), Zouzou (1934). Plus there were lots of all-black musical shorts. I used to see some of those in theaters when I was a kid. Plus there were some soundie shorts made for the soundie projectors in bars and cafes, and also some segments of other major films, such as Tales of Manhattan (1942). I'd love to see this Dorthy Dandridge film clip on TCM: Also some others from the 1950s, such as The Harlem Globetrotters (1951), Bright Road (1953), Carmen Jones (1954), Island in the Sun (1957), The Decks Ran Red (1958). And how about some Jazz babes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calamity Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 Well, I just noticed that Cabin in the Sky is scheduled to start at 4:15pm tomorrow so once again I won't be home when it's on. And I see that Leonard Maltin's review describes it as "somewhat racist". I know there's stereotypes in it but I didn't know it was considered racist and now I feel bad for having mentioned it in this thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesJazGuitar Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 In the 31 Days of Oscar treads my advise was that TCM set aside two weeks for Oscar and two weeks for films related to black history month. But like any of TCM promos relate to racial or cultural content a black history month type of event would generate some controversy. Most of the movies made by the major studios that feature black actors feature them in stereotyped roles. Would the black community welcome that? If TCM limited the movies to those with positive black characters (e.g. no Hattie as a maid), would there be enough high quality material to show and would the general TCM audience welcome this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hlywdkjk Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 *"I would like to see some of these old classics spread out all during the year, at least one in prime time once a month - "* - FCD Fred. Many of the films on your list are being shown in the upcoming weeks. *Hallelujah!* is scheduled for March 31. In Prime Time! And May has an evening of Dorothy Dandridge films lined-up, including nearly all the films you listed *The Harlem Globetrotters* *Bright Road* *The Decks Ran Red* *Carmen Jones* TCM did include two Herb Jeffries ("The Bronze Buckaroo") films in the "Singing Cowboys" line-up last summer. Sorry you missed them. We'll just have to wait a bit longer for Paul Robeson and a Josephine Baker to return to TCM. Denmark Kyle In Hollywood Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownGoesFrazier Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 ...and to fill in the history of black film, why not some early '70s blaxploitation films such as SHAFT and SUPERFLY? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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