Lying Lips

In celebrating the film achievements of people of color for Black History Month in chronological order on my itinerary, we're now in 1939 when writer/producer/director Oscar Micheaux brought back some cast members from his previous movies for the one I'm reviewing here. Among them: Carman Newsome (Swing!, God's Step Children), Amanda Randolph (also Swing!), and Juano Hernandez (The Girl from Chicago). There are also a couple of cast members from The Green Pastures (Edna Mae Harris, Slim Thomson). Incidentally, I also saw Thomson in Edgar Ulmer's Moon Over Harlem. This picture also marked the debut of one Robert Earl Jones, James Earl Jones' father. Also, Ms. Randolph is the sister of Lillian Randolph, another player from my favorite movie-It's a Wonderful Life. With that out of the way, I'll just say this murder mystery is pretty interesting plot-wise though the dialogue is stilted especially the way the actors deliver them. Why, I laughed when the Jones character said, "That just makes my blood boil!" But, like I said, I liked the plot and I especially loved the many musical numbers that made up the first 45 minutes of the movie especially when Ms. Harris sang "You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby". She may not have been a great actress but she sure was a fine singer and dancer. So on that note, I'll say Lying Lips is at the least worth a look.