Swing!

Amazing for being a low budget production with great music and dance numbers. An interesting plot with fairly good acting. Definitely worth a watch.

The first thing you must know about this film, and which may put you off of it entirely, is that the production value is unfortunately quite poor, and at times, comically so. The acting is amateurish at best, and revered director Oscar Micheaux seems to simply let it be, and also does things like give us cuts to tight shots during scenes that were obviously shot separately. I don't mind the fragment of a story, I mean, it's clear this wasn't backed by a major studio and it deserves a lot of credit simply for representing a race of people who were so heavily discriminated against, but I cringed when it dropped in lines like "I guess us colored folks are just natural born liars" and showed a man punching his wife for being too mouthy.

Despite all that, I enjoyed watching it because of its musical performances, which I had no problem waiting for. They're not as transcendent as films like Stormy Weather or Cabin in the Sky and (with some exceptions) feel more raw/indie, but there is a lot of fantastic talent on display. If the acting is 1 or 2 star, the singing and dancing are a 4, and in one case a 5. Some highlights:

• Dolly Jones (Armena) getting two extended solos on trumpet. The music on its own was great, and it was awesome to see a woman trumpeter in this period (later I found out she was the first to ever be recorded).

• The tap dance in rehearsal from "Slow Kid", an uncredited performer I could find zero information on, at about the 19-20 minute point. The move he puts on at the end is especially nice; it's like he's ice skating.

• The Tyler Twins performing "I Got Rhythm, Boy", one on piano and the other tap dancing. There is such joy in this performance, evident in the young man's eyes and as he lightly sings out little words while dancing.

• The chorus girls performing both in rehearsal and then in the show; they may be a little out of sync at times but they had a lot of life and some sass too.

• The dance by Consuelo Harris, playing Miss Harris, the "little girl from Los Angeles" at about the 45-46 minute point - WOW! It's wild, infectious, and sexy, and I could watch it every day. She appears in a skimpy two piece outfit and performs the number in heels with an energy and lack of inhibition that seems out of the 1960's. She even gets in a few proto-twerk moves along the way which are eyebrow raising for 1938. It was the highlight of the film for me and on its own made the whole thing worth seeing. It's a shame she only appeared in a couple of other films and not all that much seems to be known about her, aside from being a very popular nightclub performer at places like The Cotton Club.

• Cora Green belting out a song in rehearsal to show her character (a humble cook/seamstress) can fill in for the injured star ala 42nd Street, and then performing in an integrated nightclub along with Leon Gross's orchestra. Great voice and great presence; I wish I could find more from her too.

Oscar Micheaux specialized in low budget "race" pictures made for black audiences. Little can be said for the acting, which ranged from acceptable to simply awful. Only a few made an impression on me, the best being the nosy neighbor played by Mandy Randolph. Most of the rest, even stars Cora Green and Hazel Diaz, were very stiff. The worst of the bunch was Carman Newsome, playing the producer Ted Gregory, who is trying to be the first black producer to mount a show on Broadway. He just doesn't show any emotion even when his star gets drunk and breaks a leg. A harried producer he is not.

But people didn't see these films for acting, and some of the entertainment was OK. The budget didn't allow for any big production numbers, so all the numbers were in a small cabaret-like setting, with Leon Gross' orchestra playing and specialty numbers doing their stuff. Best was an unbilled actress called Miss Harris, doing a jazzy dance; I would have liked to know who she was. The Tyler Twins were involved in singing and tap dancing to a number called "I Got Rhythm, Boy," (no relation to the Gershwin song). And Doli Armena was featured in two numbers in which she played her trumpet. But all in all, this was not much of a film.

SWING! is an important film because it's one of the remaining Black-produced and acted films from the 1930s. Many of these films have simply deteriorated so badly that they are unwatchable, but this one is in fairly good shape. It's also a nice chance to see many of the talented Black performers of the period just after the heyday of the old Cotton Club--a time all but forgotten today.

Unfortunately, while the film is historically important and has some lovely performances, it's also a mess. The main plot is very similar to the Hollywood musicals of the era--including a prima donna who is going to ruin the show and the surprise unknown who appears from no where to save the day. However, the writing is just god-awful and a bit trashy at times--and projects images of Black America that some might find a bit demeaning. This is because before the plot really gets going, you are treated to a no-account bum who lives off his hard working wife (a popular stereotype of the time) and when he is caught with a hussy (who, by the way, totally overplays this role), they have a fight which looks like a scene from WWE Smackdown! And, the one lady wants to cut the other lady with a straight razor--a trashy scene indeed! Later in the film, when the prima donna is behaving abominably, her husband punches her in the face and everyone applauds him! It seems like the film, at times, wants to appeal to the lowest common denominator in the audience PLUS they can't even do this well--with some of the worst acting I've seen in a very long time.

Still, if you can look past a lousy production in just about every way (with trashy characters, bad acting and direction and poor writing), this one might be worth a peek so you can see excellent singing and tap dancing--as well as to catch a glimpse of forgotten Black culture. Just don't say I didn't warn you about the acting--it's really, really bad!

There are previous reviews on this board that give details about the content and subject matter of this film; as well as their low-rating, critical opinions and disparaging comments about how bad this particular film is. That being said...I am not going to waste time repeating what this film is about. What I will do....is defend Mr. Oscar Micheaux, this film and all others in his discography!

As an African-American, I commend Mr. Oscar Micheaux, for battling against the behemoth of blatant racism in Hollywood and society at large, during that time to make these "black pearls" featuring all black casts....for the black populace! I also commend those white factions that supported the pursuit of his craft with their financial assistance. The plots, acting, etc., may not be pristine, and in quite a few instances they are bad...but I don't care...because they are here and they exist! If I started a list of 'acceptable' Hollywood fare and how bad they were and continue to be even to this day.....the list would take up every available space on this board! Thank you Mr. Oscar Micheaux, for leaving "us" a legacy no one else could or wanted to do...and thank you IMDb for documenting background and dialogue on his films.