The Duke Is Tops

This is worth watching simply because it is Lena Horne's first movie and she only appeared in six or seven. Although, the plot centers around her character, Ethel Waters, trying to make it as a singer, she is only in the movie for about 20 minutes. The main story is about her manager, Duke Davis (Ralph Cooper), who sacrifices himself to make sure that she becomes a success.

Ralph Cooper was the creator and host of amateur night at the Apollo starting in 1937 for over 25 years. This multi-talented man also starred in and wrote several movies. This is the first one I've seen, and it is a fun ride.

Cooper is handsome smart and funny, "the Dark Gable" was a good nickname for him. His best scenes come with Lawrence Criner who plays a salesman of a universal tonic that cures all ills. Criner was one of the founders of black theater in America and stared in a dozen movies from 1926-1948. He was also in some Hollywood films like "The King of the Zombies," and "The Jackie Robinson Story." Cooper and Criner make a great comedy team. They also appear together in "Gang War" and "Gangsters on the Loose" Black cinema in the 30's and 40's was a true alternative to Hollywood films which almost invariably portrayed blacks in submissive, lowly secondary roles. Because of the law budgets, shooting was usually done in four or five days with restricted sets. The technical qualities varied, but in the best films, as here, they rivaled some Hollywood "B" movies.

I watched this on CUNY TV. I was curious and stayed because it had enough elements to be entertaining. Ralph Cooper is handsome and likable. I didn't even realize that Lena Horne was the beautiful singer. I thought she was a Lena Horne knock off. She seems to have been required to slim down and had better glamour treatment in Hollywood films. Interesting because of its use of black actors and performers in ways they couldn't be shown in film other than those made for black audience. Talented singers and dancers and a window into what the TOBA houses were like in the south. And an extended snake oil routine of the rural south. Even the diner with its ham and eggs special is interesting as an historic window on life eighty years ago. I'm glad Lena Horne was able to make it out of this niche market even if she was still relatively isolated in the roles she could play.

This all black film was Lena Horne's screen debut. Made for black audiences, it was re-released after the cross-over success of her two great 1943 films, Cabin in the Sky and Stormy Weather. The Duke Is Tops is a typical film about stage performers, and it is certainly a B movie. Duke Davis (Ralph Cooper) and Ethel Andrews (Horne) are a songwriter/singer team. When Ethel gets bigger offers, Duke can't come with, so he breaks it off hard with her so she'll have no regrets. He travels to the South with an old friend who is selling cure-all elixirs from his wagon; meanwhile, without Duke's behind-the-scenes work, Ethel is a flop in New York. It's all fairly mediocre. Horne would become a much better actress in her later films. Fans of the singer will probably be disappointed anyways, as she is only in the film for about 15 minutes. Cooper is the star. But there are several wonderful musical performances that make the film much more worth watching than it otherwise would have been. For a much better film of the same time, definitely check out Stormy Weather, which is probably the pinnacle of the all-black films of this era. 6/10.

An unusual film for an audience outside the USA. Lena Horne looks fabulous and so does Ralph Cooper. There is not added background of tap steps as in other musicals so you do not hear the beat of the taps which is great realism. Music is muted to hear what dancing steps there are. Acting is a little stilted and the casts speak slowly so that you think the movie is older than it is. Costumes are daring for the time in the dance routines at the end. Often feels like you are part of an audience at a stage show. What furniture you see is very modern which adds to the movies feeling of other worldliness. A must for all film buffs.

Black cinema has done far better than this. Even allowing for the constraints imposed by a low budget, there is very little here of entertainment value. The story lacks originality, the acting is stiff and self-conscious, the direction devoid of imagination. A half-dozen "specialty" acts are no better than passable; a very young Lena Horne had yet to develop her star qualities. The chorus girls' costumes looked suspiciously familiar (Warner Brothers?), and the two or three steps they learned for their routines have likewise been seen elsewhere. I hope the price of admission was cut-rate, too. Otherwise, the audience was short-changed.