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Murder in Harlem

  • 1935
  • TV-G
  • 1h 36m
IMDb RATING
4.9/10
210
YOUR RATING
Murder in Harlem (1935)
DramaMystery

A black night watchman at a chemical factory finds the body of a murdered white woman. After he reports it, he finds himself accused of the murder.A black night watchman at a chemical factory finds the body of a murdered white woman. After he reports it, he finds himself accused of the murder.A black night watchman at a chemical factory finds the body of a murdered white woman. After he reports it, he finds himself accused of the murder.

  • Directors
    • Oscar Micheaux
    • Clarence Williams
  • Writers
    • Oscar Micheaux
    • Clarence Williams
  • Stars
    • Clarence Brooks
    • Dorothy Van Engle
    • Andrew Bishop
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    4.9/10
    210
    YOUR RATING
    • Directors
      • Oscar Micheaux
      • Clarence Williams
    • Writers
      • Oscar Micheaux
      • Clarence Williams
    • Stars
      • Clarence Brooks
      • Dorothy Van Engle
      • Andrew Bishop
    • 15User reviews
    • 1Critic review
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos5

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    Top cast23

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    Clarence Brooks
    Clarence Brooks
    • Henry Glory
    Dorothy Van Engle
    • Claudia
    Andrew Bishop
    • Brisbane
    Alec Lovejoy
    • Lem Hawkins
    Laura Bowman
    • Mrs. Epps
    Bee Freeman
    • The Catbird
    Lionel Monagas
    • Undetermined Role
    Alice B. Russell
    • Mrs. Vance
    Sandy Burns
    • Undetermined Role
    Lea Morris
    • Undetermined Role
    Joie Brown Jr.
    • Undetermined Role
    Eunice Wilson
    • Singer
    Henrietta Loveless
    • Undetermined Role
    Lorenzo McClane
    • Arthur Vance
    Helen Davis
    • Undetermined Role
    • (as Helen Lawrence)
    David Hanna
    • Undetermined Role
    'Slick' Chester
    • Detective
    Byron Shores
    • Undetermined Role
    • Directors
      • Oscar Micheaux
      • Clarence Williams
    • Writers
      • Oscar Micheaux
      • Clarence Williams
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews15

    4.9210
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    Featured reviews

    Michael_Elliott

    Good Race Picture

    Murder in Harlem (1934)

    ** 1/2 (out of 4)

    A black watchman is doing his rounds when he stumbles across the body of a white woman. He calls the police but he's eventually arrested for the crime. Soon a lawyer is on his case trying to find out who was really behind the crime.

    MURDER IN HARLEM is a fairly entertaining race film from director Oscar Micheaux who was of course the leading black director during this period. A lot of times the race films from this era didn't feature any white people but that's not the case here as the director was allowed a pretty good cast as well as an interesting story to work with.

    Obviously, the director was still hampered with a very low-budget that didn't allow much technical advantages. The cinematography is the biggest issue here and especially during a few scenes where the camera zooms towards the actors, cuts off the top of their heads and then has to re-arrange the shot. Of course, normally you'd be asking for a second take but that wasn't possible when you're working with this type of budget.

    The one big advantage this film had over several of the early sound films from Micheaux is that the performances were very good. Dorothy Van Engle gets most of the praise for her performance as the girlfriend and rightfully so as she comes across quite strong and certainly helps carry the picture. Clarence Brooks, Andrew Bishop and Alec Lovejoy all add very good support.

    MURDER IN HARLEM is a very good example of a race movie that could have been so much more had it had the budget and technical advantages of what was going on in Hollywood. As it stands, the film is certainly very much worth watching but one can only think of what it could have been.
    8Immanuel-6

    Murder in Harlem by Oscar Micheaux is a must see!!!

    I believe that Oscar Micheaux is one of the most prolific and uncredited Director of our time. Today, many do not know about this African American Director who became the First Independent African American Movie Director. Oscar Micheaux had his own marketing machine when it came to production of his movies. Beginning in the 1920s, Oscar Micheaux began to create a new market, the African American movie goer.

    Not only did he make "Murder in Harlem" on a shoestring budget, he also made movies that dealt with the era. Oscar Micheaux singlehandedly got African-American movie goers into the movie houses. Oscar Micheaux taught the new cinema goer what they should expect from a movie. Micheaux addressed African American life in his movies and gave the viewer something to be proud of. Yes, in some of his movies we saw characters such as Lincoln Perry (the lazy servant character), but we also saw strong professional characters such as: Robert Earl Jones (Father of Actor James Earl Jones),William Graves (The Attorney Actor), Lorenzo Tucker (Movie Heartthrob) and Francine Everett(Our African American Beauty).

    Too some viewers, "Murder in Harlem" isn't one of Micheaux' best efforts, however, to me, Micheaux played to the themes of life in Harlem. Affluence and Poverty, Professional Life and the Underworld. Good vs. Evil. See this movie when you get a chance!!!
    6tavm

    Murder in Harlem was an okay Oscar Micheaux mystery drama

    Just watched this Oscar Micheaux-directed movie on YouTube. Based on the Mary Phagan murder case of which a Leo Frank was the accused one, a black night watchman sees a dead white woman on his rounds, and first tries to call his boss. Somehow the police find out and this particular watchman gets arrested even though he says he didn't do it. I'll stop there and just say the story goes back to before the beginning quite a few times which may get you confused as the narrative goes on if you're not paying enough attention. Some of the performances seem stiff but Alec Lovejoy, playing Lem Hawkins, seems somewhat of a comic relief when he does some of his kowtowing to his white boss or does a good acting turn expressing concern about what his possible fate might be if he doesn't follow orders. There's also some good musical numbers whenever there's a restaurant scene. The print I saw on YouTube skipped some frames but for the most part, I understood what was going on. In summary, Murder in Harlem was an okay murder mystery drama.
    7guisreis

    More qualities than drawbacks in this crime film by black pioneer Oscar Micheaux

    The script is not tight, as there are unnecessary long parts and it is sometimes confusing. However, the general crime story is amusing and quite important, as it addresses serious issues together the parallel (and underdevelopped) love story: structural racism that make the black and the poor as being seen as suspucious and not owners of civil rights. Oscar Micheaux was a black pioneer in cinema in the United States, and his cinegraphy does matter. I may add that this particular film by him is much more interesting than most of the early mainstream white-made flicks produced in Hollywood under authoritarian Hays Code then and through subsequent years. The casting (mostly but not entirely black, what was interesting and unusual those years) has an acceptable, but not very skilled, performance. Sometimes, they seemed artificial and mechanic while saying their lines, and that includes the actors and actress in the leading roles: Clarence Brooks, Dorothy Van Engle and Andrew Bishop. There is, however, a great exception: Alec Lovejoy did a great job, with a very expressive and convincing performance, mostly as a comic relief but als with drama moments.
    Single-Black-Male

    The 51 Year Old Oscar Micheaux

    This film was the inspiration for Micheaux to write 'The Story of Dorothy Stanfield' eleven years later. The story is actually about her husband, Nathan Stanfield, who is living in hard times as a black medical doctor. It touches some very sensitive issues.

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    Related interests

    Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama
    Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway in Chinatown (1974)
    Mystery

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The lead character Henry Glory pays his way through university by selling copies of his own novel door-to-door. This is a self-reference by director Oscar Micheaux, who supported himself much the same way when he was starting out as a writer.
    • Connections
      Edited into SanKofa Theater: Murder in Harlem (2023)
    • Soundtracks
      Harlem Rhythm Dance
      (1933) (uncredited)

      Music and Lyrics by Clarence Williams

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 12, 1935 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Brand of Cain
    • Filming locations
      • Fort Lee, New Jersey, USA(Studio)
    • Production company
      • Micheaux Film
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 36m(96 min)
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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