Beware

On this-what would have been the 100th birthday of jazz musician Louis Jordan-I thought I'd watch another one of his movies he made for the Astor Pictures Corp.: Beware. He's Lucius 'Brokenshire' Louis Jordan here, a former Ware College student who stumbles there after his train is held over in the town of the same name. Turns out the son of the late founder is intent on closing the school unless the female teacher-who harbors a crush on Lucius-marries him. Now that I've got that filler plot out of the way, the real reason to see this less-than-an-hour picture is the many songs Jordan sings, one after another during the final 15 minutes, that brings energy and joy to the proceedings and should bring a smile to anyone who loves great jazz. I saw this on a 3-disc DVD set called Black Entertainment in Film that was probably the best available print the company had. There's also an amazing dance from Dimples Daniels playing the title character of Louis's song, "Long Legged Lizzie". I also liked the inspirationally up beat song by him called "Don't Worry 'Bout That Mule" among other entertaining numbers. So if you can tolerate the stilted dialogue that abounds here, I highly recommend Beware.

Beware (1946)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Ware College, a historically black college, receives a notice that the new owner is about to close it down. The school doesn't have the greatest attendance anymore and the new owner just doesn't care about its history. Thankfully Louis Jordan and his band stop in the town.

BEWARE runs just under a hour and I must say that it's one of the better race movies from this period. If you're looking for a good story or some heart-warming type of movie then you certainly won't find it here. I say that because there's really not much of a story here and the entire college thing is just a set-up for Jordan whose music is certainly the main focus of the picture.

At just under a hour there's really not much here. The greatest thing about the movie is certainly the music by Jordan who performs a lot of different songs. If you're never heard of Jordan before then the film will at least give you a chance to hear some great Jazz music. This here alone is what makes BEWARE worth watching and the music is great enough to where anyone should want to check it out.

You unequivocally know you have found a gem worth more than any Gemstone as soon as you see the opening credits. "Bobby Byrd" James Brown's Famous Flames 'side-man' and singer. Uhhh, get ready this movie will blow your mind. It's about Louie alright. I wish you well upon your re-entry in to the current solar system after watching. I decided to stay with Louie & Bobby. Very special, transformitive movie. FIRST MINUTE IN FIILM: (Professor calmly telling Student at Black College when he didn't know who discovered America....."and son, I'm glad you didn't know the 'answer' to that question. Good day class."

The low rating for this film at IMDb makes no sense. First, the film isn't intended as anything other than a showcase for the great Louis Jordan, one of the most simply entertaining musicians of the period, and that intent is realized pretty well. I don't see the point in not giving the film credit for completely achieving its goals.

Second, the story is no more silly than the typical Rooney-Garland vehicle of the '30s, and those are considered 'classics.' Even the dreadful Elvis vehicles of the '60s are given more benefit of the doubt, and deserve it less - lighten up here! Third, given the evident lack of funds, the quality of the film-making is strictly professional. There are no major gaffs in the camera-work or editing, the pace is very spry, the supporting players turn in believable performances.

But of course, the whole purpose of the film is Louis Jordan, a fascinating musician, bandleader and singer, oozing charisma, who is clearly having a great deal of fun giving us a great deal of fun. And that's what this film is, a whole lot of fun.

It's not art, it was never meant to be. The art here is Louis Jordan. I give him 10 stars.