HattieMcdaniel Tagged Articles at Cinematical
African American Cinema Honored by U.S. Postal Service
Filed under: Classics », Independent », Music & Musicals », Awards », MGM », Cinematical Indie »
I'm typically a fan of all the movie-related stamps produced by the U.S. Postal Service, and I'm very glad to read the news that important early African American movie stars are being recognized and celebrated with a new series of 42-cent stamps (see them all here). However, I am a little disappointed that it carries on the usual exclusion of mostly forgotten non-musical race films, which are a significant part of both film history and African American history. Considering the stamps are tagged "Black Cinema USA," a number of people may assume this was the height of what African Americans were offered in the first half of the 20th century (Oscar Micheaux deserves a stamp).Gripes aside, though, it is nonetheless a wonderful set. The five stamps feature vintage poster designs from old movies starring musical artists Josephine Baker (Princess Tam-Tam), Duke Ellington (Black and Tan) and Louis Jordan (Caldonia), plus King Vidor's monumental Oscar-nominated musical, Hallelujah! (it was one of the rare studio films featuring an all black cast) and the 1921 silent film The Sport of the Gods. In previous, separate years, Showboat costars Paul Robeson and Hattie McDaniel have also received their own postage stamps.
The new stamps come out Wednesday and there will be a ceremony on their behalf that day at the Newark Museum, which is currently holding the 34th annual Newark Black Film Festival. The festival is also holding free screenings of Hallelujah on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
The strange tale of the missing Oscar
Filed under: Celebrities and Controversy », Obits »
It seems that the Oscars haven't always been about handing out statuettes and incessant self-promotion. The awards actually have a deep, dark past that I must say I was not aware of until recently. Hattie McDaniel, who was the first black person to win an Oscar for her role of the slave "Mammy" in Gone with the Wind, passed the statuette on to Howard University before her death in 1952. However, while researching a book about the much celebrated and maligned actress, the author found out that officials at Howard University were unaware they were ever given the Oscar, which still remains somewhere in limbo today.
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