Swing!
Brief Synopsis
A seamstress tries to stop her husband from gambling and philandering.
Cast & Crew
Read More
Oscar Micheaux
Director
Cora Green
[Amanda] "Mandy" [Jenkins]
Larry Seymour
Cornell [Jenkins]
Hazel Diaz
Eloise [Jackson]/Cora Smith
Alec Lovejoy
Lem Jackson/Big Jones
Mandy Randolph
Liza
Film Details
Genre
Drama
Musical
Release Date
Jan
1938
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Micheaux Pictures Corp.
Distribution Company
Micheaux Pictures Corp.
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 40m
Sound
Blue Seal Noiseless Recording
Color
Black and White
Film Length
6,500ft
(7 reels)
Synopsis
As Amanda "Mandy" Jenkins wakes up to go to work as a cook for the white Hewitt family in Birmingham, Alabama, her husband Cornell returns home from a night of gambling. When Ethel and Liza, Mandy's friends, learn that Cornell is having an affair with Eloise Jackson, the wife of Lem, they agree that wives should stick together when men two-time them. Cornell takes Mandy's money to pay for his entertainment and diverts suspicion by telling his wife that he is an automobile salesman. Liza, however, reveals the truth about Cornell when she informs Mandy that her husband is being driven around in Eloise's car. Mandy goes to a nightclub looking for her husband, and when she finds him dancing with Eloise, a fight ensues. Months later, Eloise is living in Harlem, where she is singing under the assumed name Cora Smith. Although Eloise works for producer Ted Gregory, she pushes him around and intimidates him. When Lena Powell, Gregory's secretary, suggests to her boss that her old friend, Mandy, be hired as the wardrobe mistress, he consents to it. After punching Eloise when she is drunk, Lem delves into New York's underworld, where he soon learns that he can go on relief and be paid for not working. Three days before the show's opening, Eloise becomes intoxicated and breaks her leg, and Gregory replaces her with Mandy. Mandy, who has seen Cornell penniless, has a change of heart and takes her husband back. As Cornell soaks Mandy's tired feet, he realizes that he must stray no more. When the show finally opens it is a huge success.
Director
Oscar Micheaux
Director
Cast
Cora Green
[Amanda] "Mandy" [Jenkins]
Larry Seymour
Cornell [Jenkins]
Hazel Diaz
Eloise [Jackson]/Cora Smith
Alec Lovejoy
Lem Jackson/Big Jones
Mandy Randolph
Liza
Trixie Smith
Lucy
Carman Newsome
Ted Gregory
Nat Reed
His assistant
Sammy Gardiner
His assistant
Dorothy Van Engle
Lena [Powell]
Doli Armena
Trumpet player
The Tyler Twins
Tap dancers
Columbus Jackson
A "hustler"
George R. Taylor
Theatrical backer
Leon Gross' Orchestra
Crew
Sammy Cahn
Composer
Saul Chaplin
Composer
Ed Fenton
Recording Engineer
Lester Lang
Photography
Oscar Micheaux
Writer
Oscar Micheaux
Company
Teddy Powell
Composer
Patricia Rooney
Editing
A. Burton Russell
Presented By
Walter Samuels
Composer
E. A. Schabbehor
Recording Engineer
Sholom Secunda
Composer
Leonard Whitcup
Composer
Film Details
Genre
Drama
Musical
Release Date
Jan
1938
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Micheaux Pictures Corp.
Distribution Company
Micheaux Pictures Corp.
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 40m
Sound
Blue Seal Noiseless Recording
Color
Black and White
Film Length
6,500ft
(7 reels)
Articles
Swing!
A seamstress tries to stop her husband from gambling and philandering.
Swing!
A seamstress tries to stop her husband from gambling and philandering.
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
According to the screen credits, the story on which this film was based was titled "Mandy." Other songs featured in the film, the titles of which have not been confirmed, are "Once I Did" and "I Got Rhythm."
Miscellaneous Notes
Shown at Contemporary Films of the African Diaspora Festival in New York City November 24 - December 8, 1995.
