<I>Mystery in Swing</I>
date: label: Date
content: 1940
name: label: Directed by
content: Arthur Dreifuss, German American, 1908 - 1993
label: Written by
content: Arthur Hoerl, American, 1891 - 1968
label: Produced by
content: Arthur Dreifuss, German American, 1908 - 1993
label: Subject of
content: Monte Hawley, American, 1901 - 1950
label: Subject of
content: Marguerite Whitten, American, 1913 - 1990
label: Subject of
content: Tommie Moore, American, 1917 - 2004
label: Subject of
content: Edward Thompson, American, 1898 - 1960
label: Subject of
content: Buck Woods, American, 1905 - 1974
label: Subject of
content: Jess Lee Brooks, American, 1894 - 1944
label: Subject of
content: Josephine Edwards, American, born 1910
label: Subject of
content: Sybil Lewis, American, 1919 - 1988
label: Subject of
content: Robert Webb
label: Subject of
content: Alfred Grant, American, 1912 - 1984
label: Subject of
content: Tom Southern, American, 1906 - 1980
label: Subject of
content: Halley Harding, American, 1904 - 1967
label: Subject of
content: Leonard Christmas, American, 1897 - 1982
label: Subject of
content: Earle Morris, American, born 1897
label: Subject of
content: John Lester Johnson, American, 1893 - 1968
label: Subject of
content: Flournoy Miller, American, 1885 - 1971
label: Subject of
content: The Four Toppers, American
label: Recorded by
content: Cee Pee Johnson And His Orchestra, American
notes: label: Description
content: A 16mm release print of the feature film Mystery in Swing. It consists of two reels of positive 16mm acetate film (a) and (b), is in black-and-white and contains sound. The film opens with newspapers printing. The next scene opens in a media house where a man sitting hands another man a piece of paper and tells him to go over to the Penguin Club and interview Prince Ellis (Robert Webb). The recipient of the paper asks if he must go through with the assignment. His boss responds with “You get a story out of Prince Ellis and make it good before I fire you again.” The man exists the room and has a conversation with a woman about interviewing Prince Ellis. The rest of the film follows a local detective who investigates the murder of Ellis, a Harlem-based trumpeter. During his investigation, he develops an extensive list of suspects as he learns of Ellis' unpopularity.
place: label: Place depicted
content: Harlem, New York City, New York County, New York, United States, North and Central America
label: Place filmed
content: United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Actors
label: Topic
content: Film
label: Topic
content: Musicians
label: Topic
content: Race films
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, Gift of Randall and Sam Nieman
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2015.167.16.1ab
objectType: label: Type
content: sound films
label: Type
content: black-and-white films (visual works)
label: Type
content: release prints (motion pictures)
label: Type
content: feature films
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: 75 Minutes
label: Dimensions
content: Length (Film Reel 1): 900 Feet
label: Dimensions
content: Length (Film Reel 2): 1000 Feet