Film clip of Bessie Smith singing in St. Louis Blues
date: label: Date
content: 1929
name: label: Directed by
content: Dudley Murphy, American, 1897 - 1968
label: Produced by
content: W. C. Handy, American, 1873 - 1958
label: Subject of
content: Bessie Smith, American, 1894 - 1937
label: Subject of
content: Hall Johnson Choir, American, founded 1925
label: Subject of
content: Johnny Lee Jr., American, 1898 - 1965
label: Distributed by
content: Sack Amusement Enterprises, American, 1920 - 1979
label: Owned by
content: Ernie Smith, American, ca. 1925 - 2004
notes: label: Description
content: A film clip with Bessie Smith singing in St. Louis Blues. It consists of a single reel of positive, black-and-white, 16mm acetate film with variable-area optical sound. The clip opens with Bessie Smith sitting on the floor with a bottle of alcohol beside her. She then begins to sing "My man's got a heart like a rock cast in the sea…" The footage then cuts to Smith singing the same song in a bar, as she stands by the counter. She is joined in chorus by other patrons in the bar while a band place a tune. At the end of that performance, the band plays another tune with a faster tempo.
place: label: Place filmed
content: Astoria, New York City, Queens County, New York, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Film
label: Topic
content: Jazz (Music)
label: Topic
content: Race films
label: Topic
content: Singers (Musicians)
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture 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, Anonymous Gift in memory of Ernest (Ernie) R. Smith, Jazz Historian
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2015.275.34.1a
objectType: label: Type
content: sound films
label: Type
content: black-and-white films (visual works)
label: Type
content: 16mm (photographic film size)
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Unknown - Restrictions Possible
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: acetate film
label: Dimensions
content: Duration (digital file): 00:04:48
label: Dimensions
content: Physical extent (film): 220 ft