Review of Hallelujah

This pioneer all black cast soundie was a project that director King Vidor had been waiting to do for several years. He waited until sound filming arrived, wanting it to be part musical, as well as drama. Vidor had been a frequent director through most of the silent era. He would continue to make soundies over the next 30 years...............Although this film is often cited as the first all black cast soundie, that needs to be qualified to say that it was the first such full feature length film, as the programmer-length obscure "Heart in Dixie" actually scooped it as the first such film..............This film is currently available as a DVD, which includes 2 relevant entertaining musical shorts you will want to see............. The story features a romantic quadrangle involving 40 yo Daniel Haines as leading man Zeke, 17yo Nina Mae McKinney, as the leading 'lady'(actually a seductress and con artist, named Chick), William Fontaine, as Hot Shot, usually Chick's partner in crime and romance, always dressed to a T in the latest fashion, in marked contrast to the initial shabby cotton picking clothes of Zeke. Fourth is Missy Rose: Zeke's sometimes girlfriend, played by Victoria Spivey. Other main characters include 'Parson', played by Harry Grey, and 'Mammy', played by Fanny Bella De Knight. The last 2 represent an older couple who are looking after several young boys, and with whom Zeke lives. It's implied that Hot Shot and Chick are corrupt city slickers, come to fleece the poor honest country folk............Check out the Wikipedia site, for a thorough discussion and analysis of the film. .............. In part, it's a morality play, with the 2 evil people eventually perishing, and the mostly virtuous Zeke and Miss Rose surviving.................There's plenty of singing and a bit of dancing, sometimes by groups, sometimes by individuals: mostly Zeke and Chick. Thus, the film rightly earns its designation as a musical, as well as drama. You will easily recognize some of the songs as gospel standards, including "Going Home" : played during the opening credits and sung by Zeke, near the end, when he is 'going home'. .............Although most attention by reviewers is directed at Nina, I thought that 'Zeke" did some fine singing and acting..............During the film, Zeke changes from being a cotton picker, to being a preacher, then to being a saw mill operator, next a prison inmate, and finally he goes home to once more be a cotton picker. .............. While Zeke is a preacher, his sermon one day surprisingly transforms Chick from a scoffer to 'getting religion', to save her foul soul. At a subsequent revivalist meeting, Zeke is on the podium, as the preacher, having just made an engagement with Missy Rose, who stands by him. At one point, he sees Chick in the audience. In the least believable part of the film, Zeke abandons the podium and makes his way through the crowd, toward Chick, who retreats toward the door. He follows her, as she exits, she playfully running toward the nearby woods. Zeke runs after her. What happens next is very unclear. Apparently, they supposedly make love in the forest. Meanwhile, Missy Rose has exited, looking around for them. Not finding them, she reenters, and the crowd suddenly goes silent. In the center of the crowd, Missy kneels down and wails, moving her arms up and down, signifying that she assumes she has lost her man to that sexy harlot............I didn't find Nina as impressive as I had been led to believe. I didn't see her as especially pretty, and her singing and dancing I found ordinary. Nonetheless, she did exhibit a certain charisma. Check out the 2 shorts on the DVD, both which feature her singing a song or two, a few years later. Her singing was then more impressive, and I could now describe her as beautiful, dolled up. Like many African American actors, she spent much of her career in Europe, where the whites were much more accepting of black entertainers. Probably, the fact that she was a light-skinned African American helped her acceptance. She gradually gravitated more toward stage work.