Monday, May 24, 2021

The Black Network (1936)



A recent discovery, The Black Network (1936), is a fascinating cinematic curio, a short film set in a Harlem radio studio and its environs during the Depression. The film's headliners were Nina Mae McKinney (the Dusky Little Diamond Lil of Lancaster, South Carolina) and youthful Nicholas Brothers, in what may have been their first screen appearance as characters and not just specialty dancers. The story is slight and silly and some of the mugging and line delivery is cringe-inducing but I think the 20-minute picture, link below, is a valuable historical and cultural artifact. It was directed by the prolific creator of light film fare Roy Mack.

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