Hallelujah! (1929)
An early (dubbed after the fact) sound era Musical drama, set in the deep South and featuring an all Black cast, from director King Vidor, who not only wrote its story but received an Academy Award nomination for his direction. Wanda Tuchock and Richard Schayer wrote the screenplay. After being duped into gambling away his family's cotton crop money to Hot Shot (William Fountaine) under the influence of a juke joint dancer named Chick (Nina Mae McKinney), after which his brother Spunk (Everett McGarrity) is killed, Zeke (Daniel Haynes) goes on a sabbatical of discovery and becomes a preacher. Harry Gray plays his Pappy; Fanny Belle de Night plays his Mammy. But (now) preacher Zekiel, who becomes engaged to Missy Rose (Victoria Spivey), has his respectability threatened (again) by his inability to resist Chick, whose guilt causes her to seek the preacher for her own redemption. The Dixie Jubilee Singers sing, and several Negro spirituals are featured, including: "Let My People Go", "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot", and "Gimme Dat Old Time Religion" in addition to the first song that Irving Berlin ever wrote for MGM, "Waiting at the End of the Road".
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