Harlem on the Prairie (film)
"Harlem on the Prairie" is a 1937 African American musical Western film, notable for being one of the first Westerns with an all-black cast. The film features Herbert Jeffrey, who later became known as Herb Jeffries, in the lead role of Jeff Kincaid. Shot in the high desert of Southern California, it combines elements of comedy, music, and action, including horseback chases and gunfights, while centering around a plot that involves the search for hidden gold stolen by outlaws. The film also showcases performances from notable figures such as Flournoy Miller and Mantan Moreland, who provide comic relief, alongside musical interludes by The Four Tones.
While directed by Sam Newfield and produced by white executives, "Harlem on the Prairie" reflects the era’s common practices in the film industry regarding African American representation. The film was originally aimed at black audiences, particularly in the South, but its distribution later expanded thanks to cowboy-actor Gene Autry. Despite its production limitations, the film holds cultural significance as a pioneering work in the Western genre and contributed to the popularity of race films during that time. Jeffrey’s later career as a singer with the Duke Ellington Band and his success with songs like "Flamingo" further highlight the film's place in the broader context of African American entertainment history.
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Harlem on the Prairie (film)
Identification Musical film with an all-African American cast
Director Sam Newfield
Date 1937
Harlem on the Prairie is known as the first B-musical Western starring an all-African American cast. It was publicized as the first black film to play in a first-run theater.
Although there had been Westerns with all-black casts in silent films, the 1937 African American musical Western Harlem on the Prairie was presumably the first of its kind. It starred the tall, handsome, Detroit-born, baritone singer Herbert Jeffrey, who was later sometimes billed as Herb Jeffries. The film was produced by Associated Features and was shot on a dude ranch in the high desert of Southern California.
As was the common practice with African American films in those days, the director, Sam Newfield, and all of the production executives were white. The producer, Jed Buell, may have codirected the film as well. Also common practice was for the word “Harlem” to be inserted in titles of all-black films. Jeffrey played the hero, Jeff Kincaid. Of mixed parentage, Jeffrey was light-skinned and could easily portray Latino characters. As was sometimes done, darkening makeup was applied to make him look more African American, and he almost always wore a hat onscreen to conceal his straight, light-brown hair.
Comic relief in the film was supplied by the stage and vaudeville star Flournoy Miller and comedian Mantan Moreland, later better known as the chauffeur Birmingham Brown in many Charlie Chan films. Miller was also credited with adapting the script from one of his own specialty pieces. Also in the cast was Spencer Williams, an actor and director whose later fame came as Andy in the television series Amos ’n’ Andy. The de rigueur musical interludes were supplied by the musical group The Four Tones, the female lead was played by Connie Harris, and the menacing gangster villain was Maceo Sheffield. The plot involved the search for a cache of hidden gold that had been stolen by a gang of outlaws.
Though Harlem on the Prairie was a short feature film, it managed to incorporate comedy; music, including the title song and the popular “Romance in the Rain”; horseback chases; and gunfights. The film was originally intended to be released mainly in the South, where numerous theaters showed so-called race films, that is, those intended for black audiences only. However, cowboy-actor Gene Autry supposedly arranged to have Sack Amusement Enterprises distribute the film to a wider audience.
Because the rights to the lead character’s name were held by the original production company, Jeffrey played Bob Blake in the three remaining installments in the series: Two-Gun Man from Harlem (1938), The Bronze Buckaroo (1939), and Harlem Rides the Range (1939). Apparently, more films had been planned for the series, but they were never made. Jeffrey went on to have a noted singing career with the Duke Ellington Band, and he had a major hit in 1941 with the ballad “Flamingo,” his theme song for many years. Other successful recordings of Jeffrey included “Angel Eyes” and “Satin Doll.”
Impact
Although Harlem on the Prairie broke no new ground in the Western genre in terms of production values or plot, it is significant as the first all-black musical Western. Its reach extended beyond African American audiences of the day to the wider audiences who flocked to these bottom-of-the-bill “horse operas.”
Bibliography
Berry, S. Toriano, and Venise T. Berry. The Fifty Most Influential Black Films: A Celebration of African-American Talent. New York: Citadel Press/Kensington, 2001.
Green, Douglas B. Singing Cowboys. Salt Lake City, Utah: Gibbs Smith, 2006.
Sampson, Henry. Blacks in Black and White: A Source Book on Black Films. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1997.