Bubbling Over

The short subject Bubbling Over finds Ethel Waters as the janitor's wife in a Harlem apartment house who is the only working member of her household. In a situation that predates her role in Cabin In The Sky Ethel has a lazy good for nothing husband who has the job, but Ethel does the work.

But the main reason for seeing this film is to see Ethel Waters deliver two sad ballads as only she could do. Waters was appearing on Broadway at this time in As Thousands Cheer and while the songs here don't match Heat Wave and Suppertime which Irving Berlin wrote for her, they certainly fit her mournful style perfectly. You won't forget Darkies Don't Dream after hearing her sing it.

Ethel Waters, nothing else to say.

With today the first day of Black History Month, I'd thought I'd once again review movies starring, and in some cases directed by, many people of color. We're in 1934 when Ethyl Waters has made a short meant for segregated theatres. She plays the wife of a man who is lazy with a capital L and has various relatives that are living with them who are the same. There's also a fake swami (Frank L. Wilson) and a "rich" uncle involved. I'll stop there and just say I was partially amused and partially cringing during the whole thing but the four songs that are performed are quite good like "Darkies Never Dream" by Ms. Waters (despite the politically incorrect title) and "Hang Your Hat in a Harlem Flat" sung by four more visiting relatives called the Southernaires Quartet. In summation, Bubbling Over is worth a look for anyone curious about these obscure films featuring some icons. By the way, Hamtree Harrington is listed on this site as playing lazy husband Samson but on Wikipedia it's as his uncle Presbee.

I think this is the right "Bubbling Over"...

In this all-black short musical comedy, a woman has a husband so lazy she can stick a pin in him without him waking up... but announcing lunch gets him up pretty fast. She's also saddled with a bevy of his lazy relatives. Four more come by and sing as a quartet. After the wife learns they had been traveling men, she advises them to keep traveling and kicks them out. The phony Swami who lives upstairs announces that a wealthy relative will come by to share his wealth; unfortunately the man has actually just been mistakenly released from a mental asylum.

There's several songs, and nothing's terribly memorable, but it's enjoyable enough while it lasts.