Double Deal
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Arthur Dreifuss
Monte Hawley
Jeni Le Gon
Eddie Thompson
Florence O'brien
Freddie Jackson
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Murray Howard owns a nightclub where entertainer Nita Walker dances and sings. Although admired by Dude Markey, she is already in love with Jim McCoy. Snively, the club manager, in turn loves Sally, a cigarette girl and aspiring performer. She, however, likes Slim, who is penniless. Dude and Howard offer Jim's little brother Tommy a job, on condition he ask no questions. Tommy had earlier rejected his brother's offer of a Pullman job, despite it being a respectable position. Tommy discovers to his dismay that Dude is a criminal when he accompanies him on a safecracking job that results in the murder of a night watchman. Dude brings the stolen jewels back to Howard, who puts them in his safe as Dude secretly notes the combination. In the nightclub, after Shelton Brooks sings "Hole in the Wall," Dude asks Snively to fix him up with Nita, who then directs her singing of "Gettin' in Right with You" toward Dude. Jim becomes jealous, and when he goes to Nita's dressing room and Dude enters, a fight ensues between the two men. The fracas is broken up by Lanny, a policeman. Howard warns Dude to lay off Jim. When Jim escorts Sally and Nita to the their rooms, he finds Tommy waiting for him, and an inspector arrives to tell them of the recent robbery and murder. Later, Jim joins Dude and some others in a poker game. Dude removes the jewels, then takes advantage of Jim's presence by accusing him of robbing the safe, having dropped a slip of paper with the combination into his pocket. Jim escapes and, noticing the number 271 on the back of the piece of paper, asks Slim to see if it is someone's "lucky" number. Meanwhile, Nita has found Dude's gun in her dressing room with three cartridges missing. Howard is unhappy that Dude has not caught Jim, and Dude suggests they bring in Tommy instead. Dude tries to convince Nita to elope with him. Slim has found out that Dude was playing the number 271, and Nita tells Howard. However, Dude overhears and shoots Howard through the window, and Tommy is blamed. That night, Jim catches Dude picking up the diamonds where he had hid them, and after a pursuit to Nita's, they fight. Lanny arrives and Dude is shot. With the reward money, Jim becomes the new owner of the nightclub, which clears the way for his marriage to Nita. Slim becomes the new club manager, while Sally becomes the new entertainer.
Director
Arthur Dreifuss
Cast
Monte Hawley
Jeni Le Gon
Eddie Thompson
Florence O'brien
Freddie Jackson
Maceo Sheffield
Buck Woods
Tommy Southern
Vernon Mccalla
Jack Clissby
Arthur Ray
Charles Gordon
F. E. Miller
Shelton Brooks
Charles Hawkins
Crew
Shelton Brooks
Ross Di Maggio
Glen Glenn
Jack Goldberg
Dixon R. Harwin
Arthur Hoerl
William C. Kent
F. E. Miller
J. I. Ree
Ruth
Ralph Slosser
H. J. Stearnes
Mack Stengler
Peter Tinturin
Harry Tobias
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
According to the onscreen credits, the film was copyrighted by Argus Pictures, but no record of copyright registration has been found. No specific release date has been found for the film, although December 1939 reviews suggest that it May have been released at that time. According to unidentified contemporary clippings from the black press, this was "the first Class A film made solely for colored consumption." One article indicates that Argus, which was located in Hollywood, secured the best in technical resources and crew for the production, including a ten-piece Swing orchestra. The cast of one hundred included a retired Los Angeles police captain. According to modern sources, the cast also included Blue Washington, and Bert Goldberg was co-executive producer with Jack Goldberg. The file for the film in the MPAA/PCA Collection at the AMPAS Library contains a letter dated October 19, 1939, in which the PCA warned producer D. R. Harwin to avoid filming the "bump and kootch movements" in the dance sequence, and to remove any sexual suggestiveness in the dialogue between "Dude" and "Sharpie." In addition, the PCA urged the producer to "minimize the showing of the slot machines... details of the jewelry store break-in...and killing of policemen by criminals."
Miscellaneous Notes
Released in United States 1939
Released in United States October 1998
Released in United States October 1998 (Shown at African American Film Marketplace in Los Angeles October 15-22, 1998.)
Released in United States 1939
Shown at African American Film Marketplace in Los Angeles October 15-22, 1998.
