<I>Hallelujah</I>
date: label: Date
content: 1929
name: label: Directed by
content: King Vidor, American, 1894 - 1982
label: Subject of
content: Daniel Louis Haynes, American, 1889 - 1954
label: Subject of
content: Nina Mae McKinney, American, 1912 - 1967
label: Subject of
content: William Fountaine, American, 1897 - 1945
label: Subject of
content: Fanny Belle DeKnight, American, 1869 - 1950
label: Subject of
content: Victoria Spivey, American, 1906 - 1976
label: Subject of
content: Harry Gray
label: Subject of
content: Milton Dickerson
label: Subject of
content: Robert Couch, American, 1920 - 1977
label: Subject of
content: Dixie Jubilee Singers, American, ca.1920s - 1930s
label: Composed by
content: Irving Berlin, American, 1888 - 1989
label: Owned by
content: D.C. Public Library, American, founded 1896
notes: label: Caption
content: Hallelujah was the first sound film starring an all-Black cast. Centering the classic good versus evil narrative, Hallelujah tells the story of a black tenant farmer struggling to take care of his family whilst fighting the temptation of the streets--i.e. violence, gambling, and wayward women. Directed by King Vidor in 1929, Vidor received an Academy Award nomination at the first Academy Award ceremony in 1929.
label: Caption
content: This film was a part of the Washington D.C. Public Library's circulating 16mm film collection housed at the Martin Luther King Jr. Central Library. The collection is particularly noted for the wide variety of African American and African diaspora content.
label: Description
content: A musical film with the title Hallelujah. It consists of three (3) reels of black-and-white 16mm polyester film with variable-area optical sound.
label: Description
content: The film, which has an all-black cast, follows a sharecropper named Zeke (Daniel Hayes) who, plagued with financial struggles and competing vices, flees his community and becomes a Baptist preacher following a physical altercation which results in his younger brother Spunk's (Everett McGarrity) accidental death. After reinventing himself as a preacher, Zeke begins a romantic relationship with Missy Rose (Victoria Spivey) but is ultimately seduced by Chick (Nina Mae McKinney), who was indirectly involved in his brother's death. Hot Shot (William Fountaine), Chick's longtime lover who had previously cheated Zeke out of a small fortune, runs off with Chick and both meet untimely deaths.
place: label: Place used
content: Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America
label: Place filmed
content: Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, North and Central America
label: Place filmed
content: Arkansas, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Actors
label: Topic
content: Dance
label: Topic
content: Film
label: Topic
content: Music
label: Topic
content: Musical films
label: Topic
content: Popular music
label: Topic
content: Singers (Musicians)
label: Topic
content: Stereotypes
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Collection title
content: DC Public Library Film Collection
label: Classification
content: Time-based Media - Moving Images
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Transferred from the DC Public Library
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2017.55.52.1abc
objectType: label: Type
content: sound films
label: Type
content: black-and-white films (visual works)
label: Type
content: feature films
label: Type
content: 16mm (photographic film size)
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Restrictions likely apply
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: polyester film
label: Dimensions
content: Duration (Reel 1): 30 Minutes
label: Dimensions
content: Length (Film): 1100 Feet
label: Dimensions
content: Duration (Reel 2): 37 Minutes
label: Dimensions
content: Length (Film): 1300 Feet
label: Dimensions
content: Duration (Reel 3): 31 Minutes
label: Dimensions
content: Length (Film): 1150 Feet