Go Down, Death!

Go Down, Death! (1944)

** (out of 4)

Spencer Williams' fourth feature as producer and director is a step up from The Blood of Jesus. In this film, a new preacher (Samuel H. James) moves to a small Southern town where he tries to teach the black folks about God. By doing this, people stop going to a local bar, which doesn't sit well with the owner (Williams). The bar owner then sets the preacher up by taking a picture of his with three women hoping this will ruin his reputation. The story here, like the above film, is pretty interesting and makes for a good drama, although the film is still hampered by some poor acting. Williams gives a good performance and is certainly the highlight of the film.

had to watch it for history of film class.... i understand why because of the racism in the the 30s and 40s and lack of African Americans in cinema... but M. Night Shalalalalaman and Branden Frasier couldn't make this film worse The audio is bad due to lack of funds, and the editing is riddled with jump cuts and i think it would have been a lot better and the acting and script understood more if it had been performed by third graders..there really is nothing beneficial one can get out of this film. except to understand that African Americans were basically shut out of Hollywood and forced to make mega ultra extreme low budget movies

Very inexpensive movie made by Spencer Williams of Amos and Andy. Entirely post-dubbed, superficially moralistic, with Williams portraying a preacher who is mobbed by female parishoners. The last five minutes feature the villain's surrealistic trip to hell that smacks of Dali, Ed Wood, Catholic iconography and other medieval influences. Unforgettably weird.

Made in the good ole bygone days when black people had their own movies!

Such a lovely uplifting tale that you'd never see today.

This was made at a time when black movies featured life lessons and role models.

Sadly, they are all gone in favor of exploitation.

The Plot

A bar owner attempts to discredit the new preacher with whom he is feuding by framing him with a photograph showing him drinking with women with bad reputations.

The bar owner's adoptive mother, a member of the minister's church, supports the preacher and gets the photographic prints. When the bar owner struggles with his mother for the prints, he accidentally kills her.

After the preacher's funeral sermon, the bar owner's conscience drives him to his death.

As an ex-history teacher, I understand why this film was so horrible. Black Americans were usually not allowed in White theaters in the US and many of the Hollywood films never made it to Black theaters. In addition, Black audiences didn't want to see films where there were either no Blacks or the only ones you did see were the sad stereotypical images--maids, butlers or the lazy Stepin Fetchit types. So I do understand why films like "Go Down, Death!" was made. I also know that there just wasn't much economic power in the community--so they couldn't afford to make big budget films. However, even in this context, you can't objectively say this is a good film. In other words, you may understand why it's so bad, but it's still very bad. Cringe-inducing bad, in fact.

The story is a very, very non-subtle religious film--sort of like a Tyler Perry film but with horrible production values. I like the idea of combining the strong religious values of the Black community with a contemporary story. It's just that the film is terrible...even for a 1940s Black-produced film. The story is about a disreputable gambler who has set out to destroy the preacher. His plan appears to be working--until it backfires and results in God's judgment on this wicked man. Here are a few reasons I disliked it: 1. At least 1/3 to 1/2 of the movie consists of the preacher preaching and the choir singing. This killed the film dramatically. It should have been much shorter--because the way it dominated the film ruined the drama.

2. The acting quite bad--even for Spencer Williams--who usually was a lot better. I've seen him in several other films of the day (before he gained fame playing Andy on "Amos 'n Andy" and he was good. Here, he isn't believable...and considering he also directed the film, he has no one else to blame.

3. The entire story is obvious and amateurish. The writing seems very, very poor and the dialog is bad.

Yet, despite it being a terrible film in almost every way, I don't say it has no value. As a record of the Black American experience of the era, it's invaluable. But, as entertainment, it's awful.