Swing! (1938)

Drama | 1938

Director:

Oscar Micheaux

Writer:

Oscar Micheaux

Cinematographer:

Lester Lang

Editor:

Patricia Rooney

Production Company:

Micheaux Pictures Corp.
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HISTORY

According to the screen credits, the story on which this film was based was titled "Mandy." Other songs featured in the film, the titles of which have not been confirmed, are "Once I Did" and "I Got Rhythm." ...

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According to the screen credits, the story on which this film was based was titled "Mandy." Other songs featured in the film, the titles of which have not been confirmed, are "Once I Did" and "I Got Rhythm."

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PERSONAL & COMPANY INDEX CREDITS
CAST
PRODUCTION CREDITS
NAME
PARENT COMPANY
PRODUCTION COMPANY
PRODUCTION TEXT
An Oscar Micheaux Production
DISTRIBUTION COMPANY
NAME
CREDITED AS
CREDIT
DIRECTOR
PRODUCER
A. Burton Russell
Pres
WRITER
PHOTOGRAPHY
Photog
FILM EDITOR
SOUND
Ed Fenton
Rec eng
E. A. Schabbehor
Rec eng
SOURCES
SONGS
"Bei Mir Bist du Schön," music by Sholom Secunda, English lyrics by Sammy Cahn and Saul Chaplin; "Heaven Help This Heart of Mine," music and lyrics by Leonard Whitcup, Walter Samuels and Teddy Powell; and other songs.
SONGWRITERS/COMPOSERS
+ −
DETAILS
Production Date:

Physical Properties:
Sound
Blue Seal Noiseless Recording
Black and White
Length(in feet):
6,500
Length(in reels):
7
Country:
United States
SYNOPSIS

As Amanda "Mandy" Jenkins wakes up to go to work as a cook for the white Hewitt family in Birmingham, Alabama, her husband Cornell returns home from a night of gambling. When Ethel and Liza, Mandy's friends, learn that Cornell is having an affair with Eloise Jackson, the wife of Lem, they agree that wives should stick together when men two-time them. Cornell takes Mandy's money to pay for his entertainment and diverts suspicion by telling his wife that he is an automobile salesman. Liza, however, reveals the truth about Cornell when she informs Mandy that her husband is being driven around in Eloise's car. Mandy goes to a nightclub looking for her husband, and when she finds him dancing with Eloise, a fight ensues. Months later, Eloise is living in Harlem, where she is singing under the assumed name Cora Smith. Although Eloise works for producer Ted Gregory, she pushes him around and intimidates him. When Lena Powell, Gregory's secretary, suggests to her boss that her old friend, Mandy, be hired as the wardrobe mistress, he consents to it. After punching Eloise when she is drunk, Lem delves into New York's underworld, where he soon learns that he can go on relief and be paid for not working. Three days before the show's opening, Eloise becomes intoxicated and breaks her leg, and Gregory replaces her with Mandy. Mandy, who has seen Cornell penniless, has a change of heart and takes her husband back. As Cornell soaks Mandy's tired feet, he realizes that he must stray no more. When the show finally opens it is a huge ...

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As Amanda "Mandy" Jenkins wakes up to go to work as a cook for the white Hewitt family in Birmingham, Alabama, her husband Cornell returns home from a night of gambling. When Ethel and Liza, Mandy's friends, learn that Cornell is having an affair with Eloise Jackson, the wife of Lem, they agree that wives should stick together when men two-time them. Cornell takes Mandy's money to pay for his entertainment and diverts suspicion by telling his wife that he is an automobile salesman. Liza, however, reveals the truth about Cornell when she informs Mandy that her husband is being driven around in Eloise's car. Mandy goes to a nightclub looking for her husband, and when she finds him dancing with Eloise, a fight ensues. Months later, Eloise is living in Harlem, where she is singing under the assumed name Cora Smith. Although Eloise works for producer Ted Gregory, she pushes him around and intimidates him. When Lena Powell, Gregory's secretary, suggests to her boss that her old friend, Mandy, be hired as the wardrobe mistress, he consents to it. After punching Eloise when she is drunk, Lem delves into New York's underworld, where he soon learns that he can go on relief and be paid for not working. Three days before the show's opening, Eloise becomes intoxicated and breaks her leg, and Gregory replaces her with Mandy. Mandy, who has seen Cornell penniless, has a change of heart and takes her husband back. As Cornell soaks Mandy's tired feet, he realizes that he must stray no more. When the show finally opens it is a huge success.

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Legend
Viewed by AFI
Partially Viewed
Offscreen Credit
Name Occurs Before Title
AFI Life Achievement Award

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The American Film Institute is grateful to Sir Paul Getty KBE and the Sir Paul Getty KBE Estate for their dedication to the art of the moving image and their support for the AFI Catalog of Feature Films and without whose support AFI would not have been able to achieve this historical landmark in this epic scholarly endeavor.