The Darktown Revue (1931)
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Director Oscar Micheaux had already made several dozen features by the time he shot this two-reeler. This eighteen-minute short has the Donald Heywood Choir performing a handful of songs and we also get a couple comedy acts.
If you're a fan of these early race films then you'll certainly want to check this out. Hollywood and the major studios were pumping out countless shorts like this that showed off various acts. Most of these acts appeared in the one film and never got back on the big screen, which is basically what we've got here. Tim Moore would go on to appear in a few Micheaux movies and Amos Davis would appear in the television show Amos and Andy. As far as the comic acts go, there's nothing here overly funny but it's still nice to get to see them. The same is true with the choir. There's certainly nothing ground-breaking or excellent about them but it's still nice to get to see them.
