The Melancholy Dame

Melancholy Dame, The (1929)

** (out of 4)

A store owner's (Edward Thompson) wife (Evelyn Preer) is highly upset that her husband is friendly with a waitress but there's an even bigger secret he's keeping. This black cast short really isn't that funny and doesn't contain too much of anything. There's a nice twist at the end but it's not worth sitting through just to get to it. Spencer Williams co-stars.

If you're interested in early race films then you'll still want to check this one out. You'll also want to follow the career of Williams who would go onto become one of the biggest directors in race cinema.

Edward Thompson and Evelyn Preer are the owners of a nightclub. Roberta Hyson is the dancer Ms. Preer is jealous of and wants her fired along with her piano playing hubby, Spencer Williams. I'll just now say it's interesting hearing the dialect depicted of African-American characters of the time on film and there's some amusement in what they say but nothing hilarious though Spencer Williams' question at the end was worth a chuckle. He'd later direct some notable race movies in the subsequent years as wall as portray Andy Brown in the "Amos 'n' Andy" TV show. Oh, and Roberta Hyson does a fine dance at the beginning. So I say give The Melancholy Dame a look. It's on YouTube right now.

This early Black comedy features Edward Thompson and Evelyn Preer, a husband and wife comedy team in real life, and Spencer (Andy of Amos & Andy) Williams and Roberta Hyson in a comedy of errors.

Essentially, Preer thinks that Thompson is fooling around with Hyson, who is his dancing partner at a cabaret that the couple owns and wants Hyson thrown out on her ample derriere. However, there is more to the relationship between the dancers than exceeds Preer's worst imaginings! Roberta Hyson really makes this film special with her sassy and infectious personality. Her dancing early in the film must have wowed audiences in the early days of sound. But her showdown with Preer is a sight to behold. The look on her face as she gleefully departs after giving Preer a piece of her mind defies description on paper. Sadly, she is forgotten today. This film was remade a few years later as THE BLACK NETWORK with another sister of sass, Nina Mae McKinney. (Coincidentally, Amanda Randolph, also of Amos & Andy fame as Sapphire's Mama, appeared in the latter film).

"The Melancholy Dame" is an important film historically, as it's the first talking picture featuring a black cast. And, unlike many films featuring black people in the era, the ones in this short are well dressed, economically advantaged and nothing like the typical characters you'd see in other films (specifically blacks playing either domestics or Stepin' Fetchit-types). Surprisingly, it was not made by a black-owned studio but Paramount...and so the film has a much nicer look and budget than you'd expect for a race film.

The story is set in a nightclub. The club owner's wife is jealous of the new act, Sappho Dill, and expects him to fire her. What the wife doesn't realize is that her husband was once married to Sappho! What's next? Watch the film...you can currently find it on YouTube.

A problem with this film is its sound...something NOT unusual for any short from 1929. Sound technology for films was still rather primitive and so you might need to turn this one up a lot or replay portions in order to fully understand the story. It sure would be nice if this one had some closed captions.

Something I really liked about this film was the music in the nightclub. The swing music was most enjoyable. But like films of the era, there is no incidental music--mostly because studios still didn't know how to do it properly. Usually, they had the band in the picture OR just off camera...and doing that throughout the movie wasn't yet possible. As for the story, it's pretty clever...even if some of the acting is a bit on the amateurish side (particularly the overplayed wife of the nightclub owner).

If you do see this picture, note the first wife's husband, as he's played by Spencer Williams...a director, actor and writer who gained widespread fame in the 1950s on "Amos 'n Andy". He played Andy Brown...and was a fine actor in his own right. Also, don't be surprised with some cursing in the movie...it was made during the Pre-Code and these sort of things did occasionally make it onto film...and MUCH more!

Spencer Williams is making good money at the night club he runs. But wife Evelyn Preer insists he fire Roberta Hyson, whom she thinks he's carrying on an affair with. He's not. He was just married to her before he met Miss Preer.

It's an ok short, notable for some nice singing and dancing, and for the claim that it is the first sound picture with an all-Black cast. I'm not denying that claim; it's just I've heard it about other movies.

Modern viewers will have issues with the way Black people are portrayed here. I understand, even though I recall some of these speech patterns in conversation with Black people when I was young.