Underplayed Gems

Music Hath Harms (1929)

Music Hath Harms poster
Directed by
Walter Graham
Genre
music
Rating
5.3 of 10 from 3 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

A con man promises to impress a crowd with a musical act. The short film follows his scheme as it unfolds.

slapsticklivelyplayfuldatedperformance-drivenlight-heartedmusical

What happens

Music Hath Harms is an American film released in 1929. A two-reel short, it was produced by Al Christie. The film stars Spencer Williams and Roberta Hyson with musical performances by Curtis Mosby and the Blues Blowers. It was part of the Florian Slappey series. The story features a con man promising to wow an audience with a musical performance. The film remains in existence and is available online. The film series, based on Octavus Roy Cohen's Darktown Birmingham stories published in the Saturday Evening Post include racial caricatures and exaggerated dialect. The film is one of three that survive from the series produced by Al Christie and is among the early "talkie" (with sound) films featuring African American casts. The other surviving films from the series are Framing of the Shrew and Oft in the Silly Night. Williams also served as the assistant director on the film although he received no credits. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

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