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About this Item

Title

  • St. Louis blues

Summary

  • Bessie arrives at her rooming house where the participants of a hallway craps game tell her that her man, Jimmy, has just gone to her room with a beautiful young woman. When she confronts the couple, Jimmy knocks her to the ground, and leaves with the other woman. Bessie begins to sing the blues. Later, in a nightclub, Bessie mournfully continues her song, accompanied by the band and the patrons. When she finishes, the band plays an upbeat tune and people begin to dance. Jimmy enters, laughing, glad-handing, and dancing up a storm. Everyone is delighted to see him. When the song ends, Jimmy calls out to Bessie, who turns and smiles, happy to have him back. They begin to dance. After a few minutes, Jimmie reaches down, steals Bessie's bankroll, and shoves her back to the bar. Holding up her money, he exits laughing, as Bessie returns to singing her sad song.

Names

  • Murphy, Dudley, 1897-1968, film director, screenwriter
  • Smith, Bessie, 1894-1937, actor, performer
  • Handy, W. C. (William Christopher), 1873-1958, composer
  • Johnson, J. Rosamond (John Rosamond), 1873-1954, arranger
  • Radio Pictures, production company
  • RKO Distributing Corp., film distributor
  • RKO Productions, copyright claimant
  • Sack Amusement Enterprises, film distributor
  • Video Images (Firm), film distributor
  • Video Yesteryear (Firm), copyright claimant

Created / Published

  • United States : RKO Distributing Corp., 1929 ; United States : Sack Amusement Enterprises ; United States : Video Images, 1983.

Headings

  • -  Blues (Music)--Drama
  • -  African American singers--Drama
  • -  Gamblers--Drama
  • -  Betrayal--Drama

Genre

  • Musical films
  • Race films
  • Short films
  • Fiction films

Notes

  • -  LP1051 U.S. Copyright Office
  • -  Copyright: RKO Productions, Inc.; 8Sep29; LP1051.
  • -  Copyright notice on film: Video Yesteryear ; 1983.
  • -  Poor picture quality.
  • -  Parts of summary from the National Film Registry essay by Mark Cantor.
  • -  LC copy is a video reissue copy of a Sack Amusement Enterprises reissue.
  • -  On one cassette with two other films: Symphony in black and Caldonia.
  • -  LC also holds a digital viewing copy and a viewing print in the AFI Theatre Collection.
  • -  Sources used: Donor collection inventory in M/B/RS Acquisitions file; Meeker, Jazz in the movies; Sampson, Blacks in black and white, p. 66-67; Variety, September 4, 1929, p. 12 (ad) viewed March 20, 2023; Copyright catalog, motion pictures, 1912-1939, p. 737; Library of Congress WWW site viewed March 20, 2023, National Film Preservation Board pages (St. Louis Blues essay by Mark Cantor).
  • -  Choral arrangements by W.C. Handy and Rosamund Johnson ; cinematographer, Walter Strenge ; edited by Russell Sheilds ; recordist, George Oschmann.
  • -  Bessie Smith, Jimmy Mordecai, Isabel Washington.
  • -  Performers: James P. Johnson orchestra, Fletcher Henderson band, W.C. Handy choir.
  • -  Produced at the Gramercy Studio of RCA Photophone, Inc., in Astoria, Long Island, N.Y. in June 1929.
  • -  ©1983 Video Yesteryear copyright notice on film
  • -  This film was selected for the National Film Registry.

Medium

  • viewing copy 1 videocassette of 1 (VHS) (approximately 16 min.) : sd., b&w ; 1/2 in.

Call Number/Physical Location

  • VAB 6837 (viewing copy)

Source Collection

  • Valburn/Ellington Collection (Library of Congress)

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 92506553

Online Format

  • web page

Additional Metadata Formats

Rights & Access

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For guidance about compiling full citations consult Citing Primary Sources.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Murphy, Dudley, Film Director, Screenwriter, J. Rosamond Johnson, Film Distributor Rko Distributing Corp, Copyright Claimant Rko Productions, Film Distributor Sack Amusement Enterprises, Film Distributor Video Images, and Copyright Claimant Video Yesteryear. St. Louis blues. composeds by Handy, W. C, performeds by Smith, Bessie, Actor, produceds by Radio Picturesuction Company United States: RKO Distributing Corp., ; United States: Sack Amusement Enterprises ; United States: Video Images, 1983, 1983. Web Page. https://aj.sunback.homes/item/92506553/.

APA citation style:

Murphy, D., Johnson, J. R., Rko Distributing Corp, F. D., Rko Productions, C. C., Sack Amusement Enterprises, F. D., Video Images, F. D. & Video Yesteryear, C. C. (1983) St. Louis blues. Handy, W. C., comp, Smith, B., performer, Radio Picturesuction Company, prod United States: RKO Distributing Corp., ; United States: Sack Amusement Enterprises ; United States: Video Images, 1983. [Web Page] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://aj.sunback.homes/item/92506553/.

MLA citation style:

Murphy, Dudley, Film Director, Screenwriter, et al. St. Louis blues. comp by Handy, W. C, performer by Smith, Bessie, Actor, prod by Radio Picturesuction Company United States: RKO Distributing Corp., ; United States: Sack Amusement Enterprises ; United States: Video Images, 1983, 1983. Web Page. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <aj.sunback.homes/item/92506553/>.