Murder in Harlem

Murder in Harlem
Directed by	Oscar Micheaux Clarence Williams (cabaret sequence) (uncredited)
Produced by	Alice B. Russell (producer) Oscar Micheaux (producer) (uncredited)
Written by	Oscar Micheaux (novel The Story of Dorothy Stanfield) Oscar Micheaux (screenplay) Clarence Williams (cabaret sequence) (uncredited)
Starring	See below
Cinematography	Charles Levine
Release dates	1935
Running time	102 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Murder in Harlem (also released as Lem Hawkins Confession) is a 1935 American race film written, produced and directed by Oscar Micheaux, who also appears in the film. He remade his 1921 silent film The Gunsaulus Mystery.

Basing the works on the 1913 trial of Leo Frank for the murder of Mary Phagan,^[1] Micheaux used the detective genre to introduce different voices and conflicting accounts by his characters.

Plot

An African-American man is framed of the murder of a white woman, but a white man is found to be responsible.^[2][3]

Cast

• Clarence Brooks as Henry Glory
• Dorothy Van Engle as Claudia Vance
• Andrew Bishop as Anthony Brisbane
• Alec Lovejoy as Lem Hawkins
• Laura Bowman as Mrs. Epps
• Bee Freeman as The Catbird
• Alice B. Russell as Mrs. Vance
• Eunice Wilson as Singer
• Lorenzo McClane as Arthur Vance
• David Hanna as Undetermined Role
• "Slick" Chester as Detective

Soundtrack

• "Harlem Rhythm Dance" (Music and lyrics by Clarence Williams)
• "Ants in My Pants" (Music and lyrics by Clarence Williams)

See also

• List of films in the public domain

References

1. “Oscar Micheaux and Leo Frank: Cinematic Justice Across the Color Line,” Film Quarterly, Summer 2004
2. “Overview: Lem Hawkins’ Confession,” Turner Classic Movies
3. J. Ronald Green, Straight Lick,

External links

• Murder in Harlem at the Internet Movie Database
• Murder in Harlem is available for free download at the Internet Archive