Two-Gun Man from Harlem

I loved this movie. My father was a jazz drummer and he talked just like these cats. There is a great jazz drummer/tap dancer in it and the opening number is also great. Made me miss my father. Btw, I am not black nor a man nor a western fan. I wanted to give this movie a ten (10) but decided not to because I mostly listened to it and watched the musical bits. Though I did like the plot of unjustly framing a black guy who has to leave the range run and hide I. Harlem. Production values are about equal to that "Witch" movie made on a cell phone.

Pretty typical of the all-black-cast Westerns of the 1930s and 40s, starring the leading black singing cowboy of the genre, Herb Jeffries. The only difference between these movies and the Saturday matinee cowboy pics made for white audiences is the black cast. Which in this case includes the great comedian Mantan Moreland, the equally fine Spencer Williams (who starred in and sometimes directed all-black movies of the era, and later made his mark with white audiences in the short-lived Amos n Andy TV show) and, in a cute role, "Stymie" of the Our Gang series. None of which is to say it's a good movie--even by the low-budget and often plot-deprived standards of 1930s "race" movies, this one's pretty dumb. Its pleasures, as with most movies of the genre, derive from seeing black actors who were always relegated to supporting shtick in mainstream films of the era given starring and somewhat less stereotyped roles.

Herb Jeffries who died a few years ago at the century mark stars in this black cast western playing a dual role, as a man accused of murder and a notorious Harlem gangster known as the Deacon because he dresses and affects the manners of one.

The accused criminal Jeffries impersonates Deacon Jeffries and learns the truth of things. That notorious reputation has a way of intimidating folks.

A couple of players that should be recognized by film and TV fans are Mantan Moreland who is Jeffries sidekick who is a fan of Cab Calloway and Spencer Williams noted musician and composer and star of the TV Amos and Andy as Andy Brown who is a henchman to the villain..

It isn't exactly John Ford material, but it's a decent enough horse opera.

This movie, Two-Gun Man from Harlem, is the third one in the disc of "Black Westerns" that stars Herb Jeffries with Spencer Williams and Clarence Brooks in support. Marguerite Whitten is the love interest and Mae Turner is the femme fatale. Then there's Mantan Moreland-who's from the town of Monroe in my home state of Louisiana-as the cook sidekick who's also Jeffries' brother here and Matthew "Stymie" Beard as the son of Ms. Whitten who idolizes Mr. Jeffries. In fact, he idolizes two roles of Herb: his usual one of Bob Blake and another of The Deacon who he disguises as to clear his name of a murder. The print I saw on the DVD set called "Black Entertainment in Film" was, at least for the first reel, the worst I saw of any of them there. There were many noticeable splices that might have contributed to some confusion I had concerning the story. Despite that, I did like seeing Jeffries and The Four Tones performing his theme song "I'm a Happy Cowboy" which is only heard in the opening credits of The Bronze Buckaroo and Harlem Rides the Range. And Mantan does provide some amusements whether telling of Lot's Wife or hitting the bad guys with his pan. And what a treat to see him in scenes with fellow Louisianaian Williams (who's from New Orleans) and with "Stymie" at the end. So for all that, Two-Gun Man from Harlem is worth a look.

Greetings & Salutations! Who can forget Mantan Moreland as Bill Blake the cook in this and other cowboy movies with African-America's answer to Randolph Scott and William S. Hart cowboy actors. Mantan went on to star in 133 other films and made special guest appearances on television before his death on September 28th, 1973 at age 71 years. He starred in "One Dark Night" (1939), also known as "Night Club Girl." Also in "What a Guy" in 1939. He stayed very busy for most of his 40 years in front of the camera and can still be seen in so many classics. If anyone ever deserved a Life Time Achievement Award and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, it has to be Mantan Moreland!