Classic films with black face
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- DirectorFrank TuttleStarsJack BennyGeorge BurnsGracie AllenExpecting to put on a musical show, singing and dancing college students are brought to a struggling hotel to be guinea pigs in an ancient Greek-themed eugenics experiment.
- DirectorMark SandrichRobert AllenStarsBing CrosbyFred AstaireMarjorie ReynoldsAt an inn which is open only on holidays, a crooner and a hoofer vie for the affections of a beautiful up-and-coming performer.
- DirectorGeorge StevensStarsFred AstaireGinger RogersVictor MooreRoguish gambler/dancer "Lucky" Garnett is challenged by his fiance's father to come up with $25,000 to prove he's worthy of her hand. But after he falls in love with a dance instructor, Lucky'll do anything to keep from earning the bucks.
- DirectorAlan CroslandStarsAl JolsonMay McAvoyWarner OlandThe son of a Jewish Cantor must defy the traditions of his religious father in order to pursue his dream of becoming a jazz singer.
- DirectorD.W. GriffithStarsLillian GishMae MarshHenry B. WalthallThe Stoneman family finds its friendship with the Camerons affected by the Civil War, both fighting in opposite armies. The development of the war in their lives plays through to Lincoln's assassination and the birth of the Ku Klux Klan.
- DirectorEdwin L. MarinStarsAllan JonesJudy GarlandFanny BriceJudy Bellaire (Judy Garland) is the center of trouble at her exclusive, very conservative private school. She is expelled when she starts singing in a jazzy style in her music class. Mayhem ensues as she returns home to her actress mother, playwright father and dysfunctional Russian maid (Fanny Brice) and tries out as a blackface singer in a musical.
- DirectorBusby BerkeleyStarsMickey RooneyJudy GarlandFay BainterJudy Garland and Mickey Rooney star in a musical directed by Busby Berkeley as two talented teenagers dreaming of success as Babes on Broadway.
- DirectorSam WoodStarsGroucho MarxChico MarxHarpo MarxA veterinarian posing as a doctor teams with a singer and his friends as they struggle to save an upstate New York sanitarium with the help of a misfit racehorse.
- DirectorEdward LudwigStarsVirginia WeidlerRay McDonaldLeo GorceyShow promoter Cartwright has stolen the songs that Frank wrote while he was in the big house. The boys go to Cartwright to get Frank credit for his work, and Cartwright has them arrested for extortion, of which they are innocent. Luckily, they are in the same paddy wagon as Pete and when his gang springs Pete, the boys are sprung. The only way that they can prove now that the songs are Frank's is to put on a show before Cartwright show 'Melody for You' opens. The boys and Patsy find a theater, paint the scenery and put all the kids in the neighborhood to work on the show. Pete Detroit makes sure that Cartwright's show does not open on the same night and that his cabs bring in an audience.
- DirectorFrank R. StrayerStarsJoe E. BrownMarguerite ChapmanWilliam WrightAfter the military turns him down, a man proves himself a hero by cracking a Nazi spy ring.
- DirectorA. Edward SutherlandStarsBing CrosbyDorothy LamourBilly De WolfeA young songwriter leaves his Kentucky home to try to make it in New Orleans. Eventually he winds up in New York, where he sells his songs to a music publisher, but refuses to sell his most treasured composition: "Dixie." The film is based on the life of Daniel Decatur Emmett, who wrote the classic song "Dixie."
- DirectorLew LandersStarsLupe VelezMichael DuaneTim RyanLupe Vélez plays a dual role, twin sisters Rita and Elaine. After escaping a torpedoed ship, Rita shows up in Manhattan where she takes the place of her Broadway star twin sister Elaine, who's having problems with her marriage and needs to make a getaway. Neither Elaine's husband nor Rita's saxophone-player boyfriend are aware of the switch.
- DirectorCharles LamontStarsDonald O'ConnorPeggy RyanJack OakieThe Merry Monahans are a vaudeville family act bouncing from circuit to circuit reconnecting with past friends and loves, creating new friends and romances, and dealing with personal vices.
- DirectorJoseph H. LewisEdgar G. UlmerStarsBenny FieldsGladys GeorgeAlan DinehartThe story of a singer in a minstrel show, from his career highs to the tragedies in his personal life.
- DirectorGordon DouglasStarsWally BrownAlan CarneyBela LugosiTwo bumbling press agents must search for a zombie to fulfill a commitment to their ex-gangster boss's new nightclub or face the consequences.
- DirectorAlfred E. GreenStarsLarry ParksEvelyn KeyesWilliam DemarestThis movie shows the idealized career of the singer Al Jolson, a little Jewish boy who goes against the will of his father in order to be in showbiz. He becomes a star, falls in love with a non-Jewish dancer, and marries her. In the end he chooses success on the stage.
- DirectorGordon DouglasStarsEddie CantorJoan DavisAllyn JoslynIn the small town of Brookford, everybody can trace their ancestors back to the Revolutionary War, except Sam and Susie Parker. One day, however, they find a letter written by George Washington that mentions the bravery of a Revolutionary War hero named Parker.
- DirectorRon OrmondStarsKathleen FreemanCotton WattsChes DavisA young boy finds himself in a home for retired minstrel acts. He's anxious to find out as much as he can about them, and flashbacks show what it was like back in the days of the minstrel shows.
- DirectorWilliam BeaudineStarsLeo GorceyHuntz HallTed de CorsiaThe boys get mixed up with a race horse and crooked gamblers.
- DirectorAllan DwanStarsRay MiddletonBill ShirleyMuriel LawrenceThe life and career of famed American composer Stephen Foster.
- DirectorAlfred E. GreenStarsKeefe BrasselleMarilyn ErskineAline MacMahonEddie Cantor and his wife Ida arrive at Warner Bros. studios in Burbank, California, for a private screening of The Eddie Cantor Story. Just before the film rolls, Cantor whispers, "Ida, I've never been so nervous in all my life." The story begins on New York's East Side in 1904. Thirteen-year-old Eddie, eager to be accepted by neighborhood hoodlum Rocky Kramer, entertains a crowd at a political rally by singing, unaware that Rocky and his gang are using the opportunity to pick the listeners' pockets. After a kind Irish cop escorts Eddie home to his Grandma Esther, Eddie sets off to deliver Sabbath candles to the home of merchant David Tobias, whose daughter Ida invites Eddie to stay for dinner. Soon after, Mr. Burke from the Educational Alliance persuades Grandma Esther to send Eddie to the Surprise Lake Camp for Boys. Eddie's vocal performances make him an instant hit with the campers and on the way home, he wins a contest at Miners' Bowery Theatre. In the audience is Mr. Lesser, a producer who arranges for Eddie to join the Gus Edwards Kid Kabaret. For the next several years, Eddie travels with the show, sending Grandma Esther souvenir spoons from each city he visits. When Eddie becomes too old for the Kid Kabaret, he returns home. Rocky Kramer, now a crooked politician with Tammany Hall, offers Eddie a job at his Coney Island nightclub. Although he's only a singing waiter, Eddie, who is still fond of childhood sweetheart Ida, boasts that he is the star of the show to impress her father. One evening, Ida, her family, and Harry Harris--another of her admirers--visit the club. Horrified, Eddie sets down his tray and provides his audience with an unscheduled solo performance, but Ida's family nevertheless discovers the truth. Ida is angry at Eddie for lying, but when he tells her that a famous producer wants him to perform in London, and that he wants Ida to accompany him as his wife, she happily elopes with him. Upon discovering that the producer is broke, however, the newlyweds return home. Eddie remains unemployed until Jimmy Durante, the piano player at Kramer's club, gets him a spot in a Los Angeles show entitled Canary Cottage . The show is a success, but its star, Cleo Abbott, is jealous of Eddie's popularity. To get rid of the scene-stealer, Abbott pretends that famous theatrical producer Florenz Ziegfeld wants Eddie to perform in his new Follies. The ambitious Eddie joyfully returns to New York, only to discover that Ziegfeld has never heard of him, but Eddie, who now has not only Ida but a new baby daughter to support, persuades Ziegfeld to try him out that evening. His performance of "How Ya' Gonna' Keep 'Em Down on the Farm After They've Seen Paris" is such a hit that Ziegfeld signs him to a traveling show that includes Will Rogers in its cast. As time passes, Ida has a second daughter while Eddie is on the road, but Eddie later returns to Broadway to star in Ziegfeld's new Follies. On opening night, Grandma Esther, bursting with pride and all dressed up for the show, dies peacefully in a chair. Overwhelmed with grief, Eddie is able to perform a rousing version of "If You Knew Susie Like I Know Susie" only by imagining that Grandma Esther is his only audience. During the next several years, Eddie's popularity grows as he becomes identified with hit songs such as "Bye, Bye Blackbird," "Pretty Baby," and "Yes, Sir, That's My Baby." On the night that Ida gives birth to their third baby girl, Eddie performs for the Prince of Wales and visits the hospital in black-face. Ida later begs her husband to take a vacation with the family, but Eddie, explaining that he must work hard to stay on top, suggests that they build a house on Long Island instead. Eddie's successful new show makes his schedule even more hectic. In 1929, while recovering in the hospital from the birth of yet another daughter, Ida learns from the newspaper that "Cantor Says Vacation Is Out." Weeping, Ida declares that because she and the children are not an important part of Eddie's life, their marriage is over. Eddie is crushed and offers to take Ida and his five daughters to London, but as they are planning the trip, the stock market crashes and he loses everything. With Ida's approval, Eddie returns to work in a new show entitled Whoopee and later performs in his own weekly radio show, ending each program with the tune, "(I'd Love to Spend) One Hour with You." Harry, now the family's doctor, advises Eddie to relax and spend time with family, and when Eddie stubbornly refuses, they argue. Harry declares that Eddie has always needed applause to replace the love he never received from a mother and father, while Eddie accuses his old friend of still loving Ida. Not long after, Eddie learns that Rocky has been indicted for murder, and soon after, while working late on a show, suffers a heart attack. Eddie recovers, but becomes morose and quits working. Ziegfeld thinks that Eddie is scared, and Ida wires Harry for help. When Eddie is invited to speak at the boys' camp he attended as a youth, he tells the boys that his experience at camp prevented him from joining up with Rocky, who by this time has been sentenced to death. The boys plead for a song, whereupon Eddie, reluctantly at first, sings a few of his famous tunes. Declaring that he has at last grown up, Eddie launches a string of performances for charity shows. In the projection room, the lights come up and as Eddie and Ida prepare to leave, Eddie exclaims "I never looked better in my life!"
- DirectorLloyd BaconStarsAl JolsonKay FrancisDolores Del RíoHarry and Inez are a dance team at the Wonder Bar. Inez loves Harry, but he is in love with Liane, the wife of a wealthy business man. Al Wonder and the conductor/singer Tommy are in love with Inez. When Inez finds out, that Harry wants to leave Paris and is going to the USA with Liane she kills him.
- DirectorCharles WaltersStarsJoan CrawfordMichael WildingGig YoungA tough but unhappy Broadway star re-evaluates her life when she crosses paths with a blind pianist.
- DirectorBusby BerkeleyStarsMickey RooneyJudy GarlandCharles WinningerA group of vaudevillians struggling to compete with talkies hits the road hoping for a comeback. Frustrated to be left behind, all of their kids put on a show themselves to raise money for the families and to prove they've got talent, too.
- DirectorDavid ButlerStarsShirley TempleJohn BolesJack HoltShirley Temple's father, a rebel officer, sneaks back to his rundown plantation to see his family and is arrested. A Yankee takes pity and sets up an escape. Everyone is captured and the officers are to be executed. Shirley and "Bojangles" Robinson beg President Lincoln to intercede.
- DirectorRaoul WalshStarsMarion DaviesBing CrosbyFifi D'OrsayA love-struck teacher pursues a radio singer to Hollywood.
- DirectorEdwin L. MarinStarsChester MorrisSally EilersScotty Beckett"Mitch" Mitchell is an aviator who has been hired to take a child in a guardianship suit out of California into Mexico. He is accompanied by Maxine Bush, the secretary of the head of a private-detective agency who has been hired to care for the kid until the suit is over.