Mantan Moreland
Biography: Although his brand of humor has been reviled for decades, Negro character actor Mantan Moreland parlayed his cocky but jittery character into a recognizable presence in the late 1930s and early 1940s, appearing in a long string of comedy thrillers . . . and was considered quite funny at the time! Born just after the turn of the century in Louisiana, Mantan began running away from home at age 12 to join circuses and medicine shows, only to be brought back time and again. During these times he sharpened his comic skills and developed routines and acts that eventually became popular on the vaudeville stage, or what was then called the "chitlin' circuit." A solo performer by nature, he often teamed up with other famous comics (such as Ben Carter) to keep working, and became a deft performer of "indefinite talk" routines, where two quicksilver comics continually topped each other in mid-sentence, as if reading each other's mind (i.e., "Say, did you see...?" "Saw him just yesterday...didn't look so good"). Mantan's focus gradually shifted his trade toward film, where he initially appeared in servile bits (shoeshine men, porters, waiters). However, his talent for making people laugh couldn't be overlooked and he soon earned featured status in Harlem-styled western parodies and grade "A" comedy films playing the superstitious, ever-terrified manservant running from any kind of impending doom. Moreland's peak in movies came with his recurring role as Birmingham, the skittish chauffeur, in the "Charlie Chan" series, where he was forever forewarning his boss to stay away from an obviously dangerous case or situation. Though haunted mansions were an ideal place for setting off his stereotyped character, Mantan would be haunted in a different way by this Hollywood success in years to follow. By the 1950s, racial attitudes began to change and, with the rise of the civil rights movement, what was once considered hilarious was now interpreted as demeaning and offensive to both blacks and whites. Mantan and others, such as Stepin Fetchit, were ostracized and ridiculed by Hollywood for their past negative portrayals. It took decades for audiences to forgive and newer generations to forget the Depression-era comedy of Mantan Moreland in order for the actor to come back. In the late 1960s he managed a modest resurgence on TV and in commercials and occasional films, allowing him to work again with such comic heavyweights as Bill Cosby, Godfrey Cambridge and director Carl Reiner. It was all too brief, however, for Mantan, long suffering from ill health, died of a cerebral hemorrhage in 1973, just as he was settling in to his renewed popularity. Today, audiences tend to be kinder and more understanding of Moreland, remembering him as a highly talented comic who, in the only way he knew, broke major barriers and opened the doors for others black actors to follow.
Place of Birth: Not available
Birthday: September 03, 1902
Deathday: September 28, 1973
Popularity:
Known For
King of the Zombies
1941-05-14
King of the Zombies
Overview: During World War II, a small plane somewhere over the Caribbean runs low on fuel and is blown off course by a storm. Guided by a faint radio signal, they crash-land on an island. The passenger, his manservant and the pilot take refuge in a mansion owned by a doctor. The quick-witted yet easily-frightened manservant soon becomes convinced the mansion is haunted by zombies and ghosts.
Genres: Horror Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1941-05-14
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It Started with Eve
1941-09-26
It Started with Eve
Overview: A young man asks a hat check girl to pose as his fiancée in order to make his dying father's last moments happy. However, the old man's health takes a turn for the better and now his son doesn't know how to break the news that he's engaged to someone else, especially since his father is so taken with the impostor.
Genres: Comedy Romance Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1941-09-26
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Spider Baby
1967-12-24
Spider Baby
Overview: In a dilapidated rural mansion, the last generation of the degenerate, inbred Merrye family lives with the inherited curse of a disease that causes them to mentally regress from the age of 10 or so on as they physically develop. The family chauffeur looks out for them and covers up their indiscretions. Trouble comes when greedy distant relatives and their lawyer arrive to dispossess the family of its home.
Genres: Comedy Horror
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1967-12-24
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Watermelon Man
1970-05-27
Watermelon Man
Overview: A racist insurance agent lives in a typical suburban neighborhood. But his bigoted world of taunting and harassing black people on and off the job is turned upside down when his skin inexplicably turns dark overnight.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1970-05-27
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Footlight Serenade
1942-08-01
Footlight Serenade
Overview: Conceited World Champion boxer Tommy Lundy decides to test his popularity in a Broadway show. Tommy always has an eye for the ladies and he starts paying attention to beautiful chorus girl Pat Lambert. Pat's boyfriend Bill Smith isn't impressed with Tommy even though Tommy gets him a boxing part in the show. When Tommy finds out that Pat and Bill were secretly together the night before the show opens, he angrily plans to turn the boxing scene with Bill into a real bout.
Genres: Comedy Music Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1942-08-01
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The Spider
1945-12-01
The Spider
Overview: An ex-cop is suspected of murder after he is found with a dead woman. The private detective is on the run -- attempting to prove his innocence.
Genres: Crime Mystery
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1945-12-01
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Charlie Chan in the Secret Service
1944-02-14
Charlie Chan in the Secret Service
Overview: Charlie Chan is an agent of the US government working in Washington DC and he is assigned to investigate the murder of the inventor of a highly advanced torpedo. Aiding Chan is his overeager but dull-witted son Tommy and his daughter Iris.
Genres: Comedy Crime Mystery
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1944-02-14
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Charlie Chan in The Chinese Cat
1944-05-20
Charlie Chan in The Chinese Cat
Overview: To solve the murder of a man shot in a locked room, Chan must wade through a Fun House, the writings of an unscrupulous author, and chess pieces.
Genres: Mystery Comedy Crime Thriller
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1944-05-20
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Black Magic
1944-08-19
Black Magic
Overview: Chinese detective Charlie Chan solves a murder linked to the occult.
Genres: Mystery Comedy Horror
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1944-08-19
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The Shanghai Cobra
1945-09-29
The Shanghai Cobra
Overview: Someone is attempting to steal radium stored in a bank. Death by cobra venom connects a number of murders. Charlie Chan investigates.
Genres: Mystery Thriller
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1945-09-29
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The Scarlet Clue
1945-05-11
The Scarlet Clue
Overview: Chinese sleuth Charlie Chan discovers a scheme for the theft of government radar plans while investigating several murders.
Genres: Mystery Thriller
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1945-05-11
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The Jade Mask
1945-01-26
The Jade Mask
Overview: The latest assignment for respected detective Charlie Chan has come directly from the government and involves the disappearance of a scientist named Harper, who was working on an extremely important serum. When the scientist is killed, Chan must sort through all very likely suspects, including the man's sister and his butler.
Genres: Crime Horror Mystery Science Fiction
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1945-01-26
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Shadows Over Chinatown
1946-06-27
Shadows Over Chinatown
Overview: In San Francisco's Chinatown, Charlie helps two different people search for their missing relatives and uncovers a murder for insurance scheme.
Genres: Mystery Comedy Crime Thriller
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1946-06-27
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Dark Alibi
1946-05-25
Dark Alibi
Overview: After three men are convicted of bank robberies, Charlie becomes suspicious. After some investigation Charlie finds the men are innocent and that the fingerprint evidence used to convict them had been forged. Charlie then proceeds to find the true bank robbers.
Genres: Mystery Crime Thriller
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1946-05-25
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The Trap
1946-11-30
The Trap
Overview: When a troupe of showgirls with their impresario and press agent vacation at a Malibu Beach resort, two of them are garroted. Charlie takes on the case assisted by Number Two Son Jimmy and faithful chauffeur Birmingham Brown.
Genres: Crime Mystery Thriller
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1946-11-30
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Sleepers West
1941-03-14
Sleepers West
Overview: Private eye Mike Shayne encounters a large amount of trouble while attempting to guard a murder witness.
Genres: Crime Mystery
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1941-03-14
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Docks of New Orleans
1948-03-21
Docks of New Orleans
Overview: Detective Charlie Chan springs into action when top officials of a New Orleans chemical company begin dropping like flies.
Genres: Thriller Comedy Crime Mystery
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1948-03-21
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The Chinese Ring
1947-12-06
The Chinese Ring
Overview: Soon after a Chinese princess comes to the US to buy planes for her people, she is murdered by a poison dart fired by an air rifle.
Genres: Thriller Crime Mystery
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1947-12-06
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The Shanghai Chest
1948-07-11
The Shanghai Chest
Overview: Charlie attempts to solve a triple murder in which a dead man's finger prints show up at all three murder sites, and all three victims were connected with the conviction and execution of an evidently innocent man.
Genres: Crime Mystery
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1948-07-11
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The Feathered Serpent
1948-12-19
The Feathered Serpent
Overview: In order to learn the location of a fabled Aztec treasure, a professor kidnaps his colleague, the only man able to read the ancient Aztec script that is supposed to reveal the location of the treasure. Charlie Chan and his #1 and #2 sons journey to the jungles of Mexico to find the victim and bring the kidnapper and his gang to justice.
Genres: Comedy Crime Mystery
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1948-12-19
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Eyes in the Night
1942-10-16
Eyes in the Night
Overview: Blind detective Duncan Maclain gets mixed up with enemy agents and murder when he tries to help an old friend with a rebellious stepdaughter.
Genres: Thriller Mystery Crime
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1942-10-16
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The Golden Eye
1948-08-29
The Golden Eye
Overview: A gold mine in Arizona, that was formerly losing a lot of money, suddenly turns into a veritable money-making machine. However, the owner, instead of being happy about his now profitable business, insists to Charlie that something is fishy and that someone is out to murder him. Charlie and his "crew" travel to the mine, pretending to be tourists staying at a nearby dude ranch so as not to arouse suspicion, and discover that the owner may well be right--it looks like the mine is being used as a cover for criminal activities, and that someone is indeed out to murder him.
Genres: Crime Mystery Thriller
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1948-08-29
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The Strange Case of Doctor Rx
1942-03-27
The Strange Case of Doctor Rx
Overview: Private eye Jerry Church is hired by a criminal defense lawyer after five mobsters he has gotten acquitted are apparently strangled by a serial killer.
Genres: Horror Mystery
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1942-03-27
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Lucky Ghost
1942-02-10
Lucky Ghost
Overview: An all-black horror comedy starring Mantan Moreland and sometimes partner (and straight man) F.E. Miller, Lucky Ghost is amusing low-brow fare that exploits the more base, stereotypical elements of old-time black life (chicken thievin', gamblin', runnin' from ghosteses) for laughs -- sort of like the BET of its day. Mantan and Miller win a house-cum-casino in a craps game, only to discover that the deceased former owners aren't too pleased that their old home is being used for "jitterbugging, jiving, and hullaballooing". I hate hullaballooing. The ghosts decide to scare everyone off by opening doors and windows, pulling out chairs, even playing the drums.
Genres: Comedy Drama Horror
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1942-02-10
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Tarzan's New York Adventure
1942-05-01
Tarzan's New York Adventure
Overview: Circus owner Buck Rand kidnaps Boy to perform in his show. He forces a pilot to fly him, Boy and his animal trainer out of the jungle. Tarzan and Jane follow them to New York.
Genres: Action Adventure
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1942-05-01
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Up in the Air
1940-09-09
Up in the Air
Overview: A none-too-popular (nor good) radio singer, Rita Wilson is murdered while singing on the air in a radio studio. Radio page boy, Frankie Ryan, and his janitor pal, Jeff, solve the mystery for the none-too-sharp police.
Genres: Comedy Mystery Drama Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1940-09-09
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Cabin in the Sky
1943-03-24
Cabin in the Sky
Overview: When compulsive gambler Little Joe Jackson dies in a drunken fight, he awakens in purgatory, where he learns that he will be sent back to Earth for six months to prove that he deserves to be in heaven. He awakens, remembering nothing and struggles to do right by his devout wife, Petunia, while an angel known as the General and the devil's son, Lucifer Jr., fight for his soul.
Genres: Music Fantasy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1943-03-24
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Birth of the Blues
1941-11-07
Birth of the Blues
Overview: Jeff grows up near Basin Street in New Orleans, playing his clarinet with the dock workers. He puts together a band, the Basin Street Hot-Shots, which includes a cornet player, Memphis. They struggle to get their jazz music accepted by the cafe society of the city. Betty Lou joins their band as a singer and gets Louie to show her how to do scat singing. Memphis and Jeff both fall in love with Betty Lou.
Genres: Music Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1941-11-07
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She Wouldn't Say Yes
1945-11-29
She Wouldn't Say Yes
Overview: Susan Lane is a gifted psychiatrist, grounded in self-control. Before returning by train to her practice in Chicago, she spends time back East with war veterans, building their self-esteem, but frowning on the impulsive, as represented by a favorite comic strip called "The Nixie." She bumps into Michael Kent, an officer and the comic strip's author. He likes her instantly and she dislikes him. He's headed to the Pacific, sees her on the train, gets off in Chicago, and with her father's help, pursues her and hatches a plan to marry her. Meanwhile, she has her own plan to get rid of him with the help of a blond patient. Will the Nixie get into her psyche?
Genres: Comedy Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1945-11-29
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On the Spot
1940-06-11
On the Spot
Overview: Frankie Kelly is the soda jerk and embryo scientist in Midvales only drugstore. Two murders and an attempted killing suddenly swing Midvale into national prominence. Frankie and his pal, Jefferson, become involved when a wounded gangster starts to tell them where $300,000 in stolen loot is hidden, but he is murdered before he can give them all of the information. The search is on.
Genres: Mystery Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1940-06-11
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Frontier Scout
1938-09-16
Frontier Scout
Overview: Gen. Ulysses S. Grant has a job for Wild Bill Hickok (George Houston) and his sidekick (Al St. John).
Genres: Action Western
Original Language: nl
Release Date: 1938-09-16
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Phantom Killer
1942-10-02
Phantom Killer
Overview: Well-known philanthropist and deaf-mute John G. Harrison is identified leaving the scene of several murders but evades successful prosecution as there are hundreds of witnesses who have also seen him emceeing benefits at the exact same time as the murders.
Genres: Romance Mystery Crime Thriller
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1942-10-02
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Sign of the Wolf
1941-03-25
Sign of the Wolf
Overview: Two German shepherds and their mistress (Grace Bradley) crash-land in Canada by a fox breeder's (Michael Whalen) farm.
Genres: Drama Adventure Crime Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1941-03-25
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Cosmo Jones, Crime Smasher
1943-01-29
Cosmo Jones, Crime Smasher
Overview: Cosmo Jones, a correspondence-school detective from a small town, comes to the big city to offer his services to the police. He happens by where a gangster is killed by an opposing gang. Socialite Phyllis Blake is running around with gang member Tom and the opposing gang plan on kidnapping her. Cosmo is with Sergeant Flanagan when the attempt is made in front of a night club, where a bystander is seriously wounded in the gun-battle. Police Chief Murphy blames Flanagan for the shooting and demotes him. Cosmo, with the aid of a porter, Eustace and Flanagan's fiancée, Susan, tries to find the killer. Phyllis is finally kidnapped and Cosmo decides the act was committed by one of the two gangs. He has her father place an ad in the newspaper that contact has been made with the kidnappers. Each gang thinks the other is pulling a double cross, and one gang wipes out the other.
Genres: Crime Drama Mystery Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1943-01-29
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Melody Parade
1943-08-27
Melody Parade
Overview: The owner and staff of a Hollywood nightclub struggle to keep their establishment from closing.
Genres: Romance Music Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1943-08-27
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Swing Fever
1943-11-01
Swing Fever
Overview: Comedy about a bandleader with hypnotic powers.
Genres: Comedy Romance Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1943-11-01
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Freckles Comes Home
1942-01-02
Freckles Comes Home
Overview: Freckles Winslow comes home from college and the sheriff accuses him of murder, gangsters put him on the spot, and his girl friend, Jane, falls in love with a confidence man.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1942-01-02
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The Gang's All Here
1941-06-11
The Gang's All Here
Overview: Two friends take jobs as truck drivers, unaware that the trucking company is being targeted by a gang of saboteurs who will stop at nothing, including murder, to stop them.
Genres: Adventure Comedy Mystery
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1941-06-11
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Revenge of the Zombies
1943-09-17
Revenge of the Zombies
Overview: When Dr. Von Altermann's wife Lila dies mysteriously at his spooky mansion her relations suspect murder. They also suspect the doctor is turning her into a zombie, to join the army of living dead he hopes to devote to the Nazi cause. However, Lila, though dead, has developed a will of her own.
Genres: Horror Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1943-09-17
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Mantan Messes Up
1946-01-01
Mantan Messes Up
Overview: Mantan takes a job as office boy at a new TV station and gets to watch several pre-recorded musical numbers.
Genres: Comedy Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1946-01-01
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You're Out of Luck
1941-01-20
You're Out of Luck
Overview: An elevator operator and a janitor team up to solve two murders that may be connected to an illegal gambling operation. Monogram.
Genres: Mystery Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1941-01-20
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Four Jacks and a Jill
1942-01-23
Four Jacks and a Jill
Overview: Karanina "Nina" Novak, is befriended by Nifty, the leader of a four-piece orchestra, and in return, secures an engagement for them at the Little Aregal Cafe, with herself as the vocalist, by pretending she once knew the King or Aregal back in the old country. Steve shows up pretending to be the King of Aregal, and complicates the growing romance between Nina and Nifty. When Steve runs off with Opa, the real King of Aregal (also Steve) appears and complicates things again.
Genres: Comedy Music Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1942-01-23
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Next Time I Marry
1938-12-09
Next Time I Marry
Overview: Heiress Nancy Crocker Fleming will only receive her inheritance if she marries a "plain American." Her late father was afraid a foreign gigolo would steal her heart and money. So Nancy pays Tony Anthony, working on a WPA road project, to marry, then divorce her. When Nancy inadvertently drives off with Tony's dog, Tony seemingly kidnaps her to retrieve the pooch, which leads to a cross-country race between the two to reach Reno and the divorce court since neither one wants to be the second to file papers.
Genres: Comedy Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1938-12-09
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Spirit of Youth
1938-04-01
Spirit of Youth
Overview: The story of the rise of boxer Joe Thomas, which paralleled the life of Joe Louis.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1938-04-01
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Two-Gun Man from Harlem
1938-05-01
Two-Gun Man from Harlem
Overview: A cowboy is wrongfully accused of murder. He winds up in Harlem, where he assumes the identity of a preacher-turned-gangster who looks like him. He infiltrates the gang to catch the men who framed him.
Genres: Action Drama Music Western
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1938-05-01
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Mr. Washington Goes to Town
1942-05-09
Mr. Washington Goes to Town
Overview: While serving time in county prison, Wallingford sees a story in the newspaper that his cellmate, Schenectady, has inherited a mansion from his recently deceased uncle. Hearing this, Schenectady dreams of luxury.
Genres: Comedy Horror
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1942-05-09
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Irish Luck
1939-08-22
Irish Luck
Overview: A spunky young bellhop investigates the murder of a hotel guest.
Genres: Comedy Action Adventure
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1939-08-22
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Pin Up Girl
1944-04-25
Pin Up Girl
Overview: Glamorous Lorry Jones, the toast of a Missouri military canteen, has become "engaged" to almost every serviceman she's signed her pin-up photo for. Now she's leaving home to go into government service (not, as she fantasizes, to join the USO). On a side trip to New York, her vivid imagination leads her to True Love with naval hero Tommy Dooley; but increasingly involved Musical Comedy Complications follow.
Genres: Music Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1944-04-25
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Sarong Girl
1943-06-11
Sarong Girl
Overview: A dancer in a girlie show plots revenge when a judge orders her show closed.
Genres: Music Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1943-06-11
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Let's Go Collegiate
1941-09-12
Let's Go Collegiate
Overview: Rawley University is about to receive a star athlete who could give it the first championship rowing team it's ever had. Unfortunately, he gets drafted into the army before he's able to join the team. Two of the team's members get the bright idea of passing off a burly truck driver as the "athlete". Complications ensue.
Genres: Comedy Music Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1941-09-12
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Riverboat Rhythm
1946-02-16
Riverboat Rhythm
Overview: A financially-strapped showboat captain struggles to stay in business.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1946-02-16
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Andy Hardy's Double Life
1942-12-01
Andy Hardy's Double Life
Overview: Andy is about to head off to college but he's got a few things to take care of before leaving. For starters, he must try and sell his junk car for $20 to pay for a bill and he must convince his father not to go with him to college. Worst of all is that Polly wants to make up but her best friend decides to give Andy a test.
Genres: Comedy Family Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1942-12-01
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Dressed to Kill
1941-08-08
Dressed to Kill
Overview: A detective's wedding is postponed when gunshots are heard nearby.
Genres: Mystery Thriller
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1941-08-08
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Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery
1941-03-24
Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery
Overview: Chinese ventriloquist Gordon Cobb is murdered by a gang of jewel thieves. Baffled by the contradictory clues, Inspector Queen asks his son Ellery to help out.
Genres: Mystery
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1941-03-24
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Captain Tugboat Annie
1945-11-17
Captain Tugboat Annie
Overview: This tale of two tugboats focuses upon the rivalries between two operators competing to win a major shipping contract. Meanwhile a tugboat office secretary and an ex-con who wants to go straight, fall in love. Tugboat Annie is put in charge of a child violinist. When a waterfront fire breaks out, the two warring captains join forces to put it out.
Genres: Comedy Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1945-11-17
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Rockin' the Blues
1956-10-11
Rockin' the Blues
Overview: DJ Hal Jackson is the all-rhyming onstage host of this all-black musical.
Genres: Documentary Comedy Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1956-10-11
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Enter Laughing
1967-02-25
Enter Laughing
Overview: A machinist's apprentice in Depression-era New York, David dreams of becoming the new Ronald Colman. Defying the wishes of his parents, David lands a nonpaying job in a seedy theatrical production directed by broken-down ham Marlowe.
Genres: Comedy Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1967-02-25
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Chip Off the Old Block
1944-02-01
Chip Off the Old Block
Overview: The son of a strict Navy officer falls for the daughter of a musical-comedy star.
Genres: Music Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1944-02-01
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Harlem on the Prairie
1937-12-09
Harlem on the Prairie
Overview: A cowboy helps a pretty young woman find lost gold. Restored by the Academy Film Archive with additional funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Genres: Music Western Action Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1937-12-09
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Up Jumped the Devil
1941-01-01
Up Jumped the Devil
Overview: Two ne'er-do-wells, Washington and Jefferson, just out of prison are looking for jobs so they won't get arrested for vagrancy. They find out that the wealthy Mrs. Brown is looking to hire a butler and a maid, and Jefferson talks Washington into dressing up as a woman so they can get both jobs. They get the jobs, but they soon run into Bad News Johnson, a crook they met in prison. They find out that Johnson is planning to pull a con on Mrs. Brown and he wants them to go in on it with him. Complications ensue.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1941-01-01
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Professor Creeps
1942-02-28
Professor Creeps
Overview: Two cut-rate private detectives are broke, hungry and down to their last nickel. They decide to hock their banjo in order to get some money for food, and while one partner is negotiating the deal, the other one falls asleep and dreams that a wealthy society matron has hired them to investigate a string of suitors.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1942-02-28
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Return of Mandy's Husband
1947-05-22
Return of Mandy's Husband
Overview: In order to make some cash, buddies Mantan and Alex found the "Ghost Association," which will hold mock seances for the local residents. After studying the details of the locals' various deceased relatives, Alex insist that the reluctant Manta, who is afraid of ghost, play "Prince Alabastar Amsterdam" and fool people into thinking that he is in communication with their dead loved ones.
Genres: Comedy Horror
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1947-05-22
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Girl Trouble
1942-10-09
Girl Trouble
Overview: A South American in New York rents the apartment of a socialite who pretends to be his maid.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1942-10-09
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Tell No Tales
1939-06-12
Tell No Tales
Overview: A newspaper editor turns a kidnapping into the banner headlines and exclusive story that could save his publication.
Genres: Crime Mystery Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1939-06-12
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Law of the Jungle
1942-02-06
Law of the Jungle
Overview: Nona Brooks, former member of a stranded theatrical troupe, earns a temporary living singing in a café in Duakwa, British Rhodesia, Africa. The café owner is secretly in league with two foreign agents with a goal of making the natives restless. American explorer Larry Mason leaves for the jungle with his servant, Jeff and a safari. Nona escapes the café into the jungle but is followed by the agents as, unknowing to her, she is carrying a report of the agent's activities. She joins the safari just as all hands are captured by a tribe of natives
Genres: Adventure Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1942-02-06
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Riders of the Frontier
1939-08-15
Riders of the Frontier
Overview: The Rancho Grande, a Texas border ranch, cut off from the law by a gang of outlaws led by ranch foreman Bart Lane, who is holding the elderly owner of the ranch, Sarah Burton, a prisoner. Tex Lowery, an undercover Texas Ranger, rescues Martha Williams, a nurse sent for by the ailing Sarah, from a stagecoach holdup by Lane's henchmen. He later convinces Laner that he is a wanted outlaw named Ed Carter, and gains entry to Rancho Grande. But the real Ed Carter shows up.
Genres: Action Western Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1939-08-15
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Moon Over Las Vegas
1944-04-01
Moon Over Las Vegas
Overview: A beautiful woman goes to Las Vegas in a scheme to make her husbnd jealous, but once she gets there she becomes involved with another man.
Genres: Romance Comedy Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1944-04-01
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Chasing Trouble
1940-01-30
Chasing Trouble
Overview: A delivery boy for a flower shop, who thinks of himself as an amateur detective, finds out that his boss is mixed up with a foreign espionage ring.
Genres: Comedy Drama Mystery
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1940-01-30
Popularity:
Come On, Cowboy!
1949-01-01
Come On, Cowboy!
Overview: Mr. Wilson hires Mantan to travel out West and clean out an old property. Mantan runs into trouble in believing the house is haunted while a gang uses it as a hideout. A race film Western produced by the Toddy Company; made for $500 over two days. Restoration by the Academy Film Archive and Blackhawk Films with funding from the estate of David Shepard from the only surviving 35mm nitrate print donated by Giancarlo Esposito and Laurence Fishburne.
Genres: Western
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1949-01-01
Popularity:
Millionaire Playboy
1940-03-14
Millionaire Playboy
Overview: A young millionaire gets hiccups whenever he kisses a pretty woman.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1940-03-14
Popularity:
The Man Who Wouldn't Talk
1940-01-11
The Man Who Wouldn't Talk
Overview: A man involved in a crime (Nolan) kills his key witness by mistake and resigns himself to death. He changes his name so as not to harm his family. The law is not content with his explanation, however.
Genres: Crime Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1940-01-11
Popularity:
Viva Cisco Kid
1940-04-12
Viva Cisco Kid
Overview: Cisco saves a stagecoach from being robbed and takes a shine to one of the passengers whose father is in cahoots with a vicious criminal who plans to murder him.
Genres: Western
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1940-04-12
Popularity:
Treat 'Em Rough
1942-01-30
Treat 'Em Rough
Overview: When his father is accused of graft, a former boxer returns home to clear his name.
Genres: Drama Action Crime
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1942-01-30
Popularity:
Star Dust
1940-04-06
Star Dust
Overview: When Hollywood film studios reject her because she's too young, an Arkansas woman sets out to build a career as an actress on her own.
Genres: Comedy Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1940-04-06
Popularity:
The Green Pastures
1936-08-01
The Green Pastures
Overview: God, heaven, and several Old Testament stories, including the Creation and Noah's Ark, are described supposedly using the perspective of rural, black Americans.
Genres: Drama Fantasy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1936-08-01
Popularity:
Laughing at Danger
1940-08-12
Laughing at Danger
Overview: Frankie Kelly, pageboy at the beauty salon ran by Madam Celeste, and his helper Jefferson find the routine broken when the body of one of the operators, Florence, is found in the dumbwaiter. She had been shot just before she was to give Detective Dan Haggerty information about a blackmail gang. Since Mary Baker, Frankie's girl friend saw her last, she is suspected, and Frankie determines to clear her using his own sleuthing methods. He has hardy begun when Pierre, another member of the staff, and Florence's fiancée is found dead.
Genres: Mystery Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1940-08-12
Popularity:
Drums of the Desert
1940-10-06
Drums of the Desert
Overview: On his way to a post as special adviser of the new parachute troops of the French Foreign Legion in Morocco, Paul Dumont meets the beautiful Helene on the ship. A romance ensues, but the two decide to part when Paul learns that Helene is the fiancée of his best friend and fellow officer Raoul. Raoul is wounded during an Arab attack and the wedding is postponed, and Helene and Paul are thrown together and find it impossible to hide their feelings. The meet in the tent of Hassan, a fortune teller, not knowing the tent is a storage place for arms and ammunition belonging to Addullah, an Arab leader determined to avenge the death of his brother Ben Ali.
Genres: Adventure
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1940-10-06
Popularity:
Four Shall Die
1940-10-15
Four Shall Die
Overview: Helen Fielding, heir to the fortunes of the late millionaire Roger Fielding, Sr., has broken off her relationship with the unscrupulous Lew Covey to pursue a romance with reporter Bill Summers. Covey, determined to get at Helen's inheritance, vows to win her back.
Genres: Crime
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1940-10-15
Popularity:
He Hired the Boss
1943-04-02
He Hired the Boss
Overview: A shy bookkeeper accidentally discovers that the company where he works is targeted in a series of late-night robberies.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1943-04-02
Popularity:
A-Haunting We Will Go
1942-08-07
A-Haunting We Will Go
Overview: Stan and Ollie get involved with con men, crooks, a genial magician, and two interchangeable coffins with disastrous but funny results.
Genres: Adventure Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1942-08-07
Popularity:
Mantan Runs for Mayor
1946-08-23
Mantan Runs for Mayor
Overview: After collecting his usual meager paycheck, Mantan, a part time janitor at the local courthouse, commiserates with his ne'er-do-well friend Alex, who is similarly poorly paid. Since Mayor Henry Corbit has been arrested for drunken driving and sentenced by the famous "poetical" judge, Alex comes upon the idea of having Mantan run for mayor, with Alex serving as his campaign manager.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1946-08-23
Popularity:
The Dreamer
1948-04-04
The Dreamer
Overview: An all-black musical featuring the talent of funnyman Mantan Moreland.
Genres: Comedy Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1948-04-04
Popularity:
Ebony Parade
Ebony Parade
Overview: Mantan Moreland hosts a series of filmed song, dance and band numbers by various artists, mostly released previously as individual "soundies".
Genres: Comedy Music
Original Language: en
Release Date:
Popularity:
She's Too Mean for Me
1948-08-23
She's Too Mean for Me
Overview: Mantan Moreland's comedy feature.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1948-08-23
Popularity:
What a Guy
1948-01-01
What a Guy
Overview: Mantan Moreland's comedy feature.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1948-01-01
Popularity:
Girl in 313
1940-05-31
Girl in 313
Overview: A priceless necklace goes missing at a plush party. Police close in on the jewel thieves but is one cop getting too close to one of the crooks?
Genres: Crime Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1940-05-31
Popularity:
Maryland
1940-07-19
Maryland
Overview: A woman tormented by the hunting death of her husband forbids her son to have anything to do with horses. But when he falls for the daughter of his father's trainer, he defies his mother by entering the Maryland Hunt.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1940-07-19
Popularity:
City of Chance
1940-01-13
City of Chance
Overview: Texas girl goes to New York, becomes a newspaper reporter, and tries to get her gambler boyfriend to come home.
Genres: Crime Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1940-01-13
Popularity:
Sky Dragon
1949-04-27
Sky Dragon
Overview: All the passengers on an airplane headed for San Francisco are drugged, and when they wake up, it is discovered that a quarter-million dollars is missing. Charlie Chan--and, of course, his #1 son--must discover the identity of the person who doped the passengers and stole the money.
Genres: Adventure Comedy Crime
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1949-04-27
Popularity:
Gang Smashers
1938-12-30
Gang Smashers
Overview: An undercover police woman poses as a nighclub entertainer to catch the main man behind the racketeers going on around Harlem. Meanwhile two men are falling for her.
Genres: Crime Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1938-12-30
Popularity:
Cracked Nuts
1941-07-02
Cracked Nuts
Overview: A young man in a small town wins $5000 in a radio contest. He goes to New York City to propose to his girlfriend, but gets mixed up with a crooked attorney and two con men...
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1941-07-02
Popularity:
Mexican Spitfire Sees a Ghost
1942-06-26
Mexican Spitfire Sees a Ghost
Overview: Carmelita and Uncle Matt find themselves in a haunted house, but the "ghosts" are actually enemy agents who are trying to frighten away visitors in order to develop a nitroglycerin bomb.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1942-06-26
Popularity:
Slightly Dangerous
1943-04-01
Slightly Dangerous
Overview: Small-town soda-jerk Peggy Evans quits her dead-end job and moves to New York where she invents a new identity.
Genres: Comedy Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1943-04-01
Popularity:
Bowery to Broadway
1944-11-03
Bowery to Broadway
Overview: Two Bowery vaudevillians find success in producing shows on Broadway, but when one of them suddenly departs to work for a beautiful woman, a feud erupts.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1944-11-03
Popularity:
You're a Lucky Fellow, Mr. Smith
1943-10-22
You're a Lucky Fellow, Mr. Smith
Overview: A young woman marries a soldier to fulfill the conditions of a will. However, when she gets ready to divorce him, she realizes that she actually loves him, and determines to find a way to keep him.
Genres: Comedy Music Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1943-10-22
Popularity:
South of Dixie
1944-06-23
South of Dixie
Overview: To save their music publishing firm from bankruptcy, Bill "Brains' Watson creates a colorful life-story about his partner, Danny Lee, representing him as a descendant of Louisiana's famous Josh Lee family and rightful poet laureate of Dixieland.
Genres: Comedy Music Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1944-06-23
Popularity:
We've Never Been Licked
1943-07-29
We've Never Been Licked
Overview: Young Brad Craig enters the military school with a chip on his shoulder which upperclassmen quickly knock off. Once adjusted, Craig falls in love with a professor's beautiful daughter, only to find she is in love with his roommate.
Genres: Drama Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1943-07-29
Popularity:
Hit the Ice
1943-06-02
Hit the Ice
Overview: After Flash Fulton and Weejie McCoy take pictures of a bank robbery, they're lured to the mountain resort hideout of the robbers, where they meet an old friend and his band.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1943-06-02
Popularity:
That's the Spirit
1933-04-15
That's the Spirit
Overview: In this musical short, two night watchmen hear songs performed in a haunted pawn shop.
Genres: Comedy Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1933-04-15
Popularity:
Tall, Tan and Terrific
1946-06-26
Tall, Tan and Terrific
Overview: Professional gambler The Duke (Dots Johnson) attempts to cheat Handsome Harry Hansom (Monte Hawley), who owns a successful Harlem nightclub, out of his club and his contract with his lead singer and girlfriend Tall, Tan, and Terrific (Francine Everett). This leads to a murder that is solved by club comic Mantan Moreland and club photographer Butterbeans (Barbara Bradford). But the plot takes little screen time, most of which is devoted to stage acts at the nightclub.
Genres: Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1946-06-26
Popularity:
See Here, Private Hargrove
1944-03-18
See Here, Private Hargrove
Overview: Journalist Marion Hargrove enters the Army intending to supplement his income by writing about his training experiences. He muddles through basic training at Fort Bragg with the self-serving help of a couple of buddies intent on cutting themselves in on that extra income.
Genres: Comedy Romance War
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1944-03-18
Popularity:
Swing Fever
1943-11-01
Swing Fever
Overview: Comedy about a bandleader with hypnotic powers.
Genres: Comedy Romance Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1943-11-01
Popularity:
The Patsy
1964-06-24
The Patsy
Overview: When a star comedian dies, his comedy team decides to train a 'nobody' to play the Star in a big TV show (a Patsy). But the man chosen, bellboy Stanley Belt (Lewis), can't do anything right. The TV show is getting closer, and Stanley is getting worse.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1964-06-24
Popularity:
The Young Nurses
1973-03-01
The Young Nurses
Overview: Sexy young nurses apply special therapy in their daily rounds, as they work against a drug ring operating out of the hospital
Genres: Thriller Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1973-03-01
Popularity:
Marry the Boss's Daughter
1941-11-28
Marry the Boss's Daughter
Overview: Young man from Kansas goes to New York to work for his tycoon-hero. His superiors won't listen to his ideas about business, but the boss and his daughter do.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1941-11-28
Popularity:
One Dark Night
1939-01-02
One Dark Night
Overview: Samson Brown is a lazy and shiftless husband who lets his wife, Hannah, support the family. He is constantly insulted and annoyed by his in-laws, who live with them, and finally takes off for points unknown. At home, life goes on as usual with the exception of a former suitor who shows up to court Hannah when it is believed Samson is dead. While wandering around the desert Samson discovers a valuable radium deposit. The now-rich Samson plans to return home and sort out the family matters but first he buys a nightclub.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1939-01-02
Popularity:
While Thousands Cheer
1940-09-15
While Thousands Cheer
Overview: Kenny Harrington, the star football player of Gilmore College, leads his team to many victories, raising hopes that Gilmore will play in the "Peach Bowl," the championship playoffs of the Western conference. Unknown to Kenny, Downey, the head of a gambling syndicate, has placed a $100,000 bet against the Gilmore team.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1940-09-15
Popularity:
The Comic
1969-11-19
The Comic
Overview: An account of the rise and fall of a silent film comic, Billy Bright. The movie begins with his funeral, as he speaks from beyond the grave in a bitter tone about his fate, and takes us through his fame, as he ruins it with womanizing and drink, and his fall, as a lonely, bitter old man unable to reconcile his life's disappointments. The movie is based loosely on the life of Buster Keaton.
Genres: Comedy Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1969-11-19
Popularity: