All-black casts of the past

American Visions, Oct-Nov, 1998

Cowboy Bob Blake was a lean, mean, stirrup-straining, bullet-blazing, rhythm-roaring machine. He roped, he tied and he kept the peace in the Old West. Those of us who don't remember Cowboy Blake, or the actor who played him (Herb Jeffrey), or his most famous film (The Bronze Buckaroo, 1938) need not worry. We need instead to get to the St. Louis International Film Festival, October 29 to November 8, for a healthy dose of black films that span 50 years (1915 to 1965), panel discussions that feature directors and filmmakers, and an exhibit of vintage movie posters, as well as the requisite gala parties. "A Separate Cinema" is a traveling exhibition of posters and independently produced films that the film festival has chosen to incorporate into its programming as a special feature.

In addition to The Bronze Buckaroo, there will be screenings of other movies that featured all-black casts: Bronze Venus, a 1943 film starring none other than Lena Horne; Bright Road (1953), with dynamic duo Dorothy Dandridge and Harry Belafonte; and Nothing But a Man (1963), widely regarded as one of the finest films ever made about black family life.

Now in its seventh year, the film. festival has been working to expand its audience and its community's awareness of world cinema. Adding to its level of sophistication in past years have been special interest sidebars, such as the New Filmmakers Forum, the Documentary Sidebar, the Young People's Sidebar, the Australian Sidebar and the Jewish Sidebar. "A Separate Cinema" is the most recent in the festival's line of sidebars.

Last year, Eve's Bayou, starring Samuel L. Jackson and Lynn Whitfield, had its St. Louis premiere at the festival. This year will feature educators (Edward Mapp, the author of Blacks in American Film; Lawrence M. Richards, the author of African American Film Through 1959; and Mamye Clayton, the head of the Black American Cinema Society in Los Angeles and contemporary filmmakers.

For more information, call (314) 367-FEST or visit the World Wide Web at www.sliff.org.