House-Rent Party
Cast & Crew
Sam Newfield
Pigmeat "alamo" Markham
John "rastus" Murray
Claude Demetrius
Rudolph Toombs
Bill Dillard
Film Details
Synopsis
In Harlem, Shorty is thrown out of the house by his wife for sitting around reading detective stories and becoming an "IOU man" instead of collecting a real salary. When Shorty runs into Pigmeat, his pal and employer, on his way to Pigmeat's barber shop, he explains to him that his wife is making a fuss about his disappearing paycheck. In turn, Pigmeat explains to Shorty that his forty dollar salary is eaten up by taxes, insurance and vacation time, and that Shorty actually owes Pigmeat $1.25 at the end of each week, a sum the shop owner is kind enough to forget. Nappy, a customer, then arrives and asks for a hair straightening, Pigmeat's speciality. When Nappy complains about the heat from the chemicals, Pigmeat assures him that he has plenty of cold water waiting for him. However, the water company has turned off the water, and Pigmeat, in a panic, yells at Shorty to get a bucket of water from outside. After being doused with the water, Nappy at first declares that his hair has never felt cleaner, then realizes that he has lost it all. Later, Shorty reads about a $1,000 reward for the capture of jewel thief Slippery Jim, who has been operating in Harlem. Shorty decides that he and Pigmeat can become famous detectives using the knowledge that Shorty has gained reading detective novels. The pair plan to to disguise themselves and go to Miss Julie Jones's House Rent Party, where they are sure Slippery Jim will strike next. Before the party, Pigmeat goes to a Chinese laundry to pick up a new shirt, but has no money to pay for it, so he and One Lung Lee, the laundry proprietor, fight. Later, One Lung tries to use a laundry ticket to get in to the party, but is turned away before he has the clever idea of forging a press pass. He and Pigmeat then play dice, and Pigmeat tries to swindle One Lung, who claims to not know the game. One Lung, however, is merely playing the fool and ends up swindling Pigmeat. Slippery Jim enters with his girl friend, singer Alberta Pryne, and while Madame Crystal does a mind-reading act with the lights turned low, Lucy, a party goer, discovers that her necklace has been stolen. She accuses Shorty of the crime, and when the police arrive, Pigmeat, the actual thief, tries to give the stolen jewelry to his pal. Pigmeat then points Slippery Jim out to the police, who agree to look in his car for stolen jewels. Pigmeat gets the $1,000 reward and promises to share it with Shorty, but divides it up unequally. When a bill collector arrives and Pigmeat gives him both of their shares, saying that Shorty gets one-half of the bills, too, Shorty is unconcerned, noting that given the way Pigmeat was counting it out, he would have ended up with nothing anyway.
Director
Sam Newfield
Cast
Pigmeat "alamo" Markham
John "rastus" Murray
Claude Demetrius
Rudolph Toombs
Bill Dillard
David Beathea
Lance Taylor
Alfred Cortez
Lou Swarz
Hannah Sylvester
Kay Freeman
James Mcneely
James Wilbur
Roy Allen
Dewey Wineglass
Willie Drake
Macbeth's Calypso Band
Alberta Pryne
Ozzy Mallon's Jitterbugs
Crew
John Allsteadt
J. Burgi Contner
Thomas Darby
Jack Etra
Porter Grainger
Rupert Grant
S. Hickman
R. J. Liszt
Richard Marks
Elmer J. Mcgovern
Nelson Minnerly
Violet Neufeld
Sam Newfield
Ted Toddy
Ted Toddy
Sol Wichuall
Film Details
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The above credits and synopsis were taken from a shooting dialogue script deposited with the NYSA, that credits actor Dewey "Pigmeat" Markham as Pigmeat (Alamo) Markham. Although the script, which was submitted for censorship approval in New York on April 10, 1946, indicates that a 1946 copyright disclaimer appeared in the screen credits, the film was never registered for copyright. Regional censorship reports contained in the MPAA/PCA Collection at the AMPAS Library indicate that the songs "Yankee Dollar in Trinidad" and "Rockaway" were cut from prints shown in the Ohio territory, and that Pennsylvania censors ordered the elimination of footage showing "Slippery Jim" sneaking up on women and removing their jewelry.
