Stella Mayo – the ‘Sensational Colored Screen Beauty’ – won the lead as Violet Daniels in Regeneration, only after director Richard Norman had struggled for months to find a lead actress who would (a), ‘photograph well’ and (b), meet the salary requirements of Norman Studios, stricken by a sharp decrease in the market for race… Read more »
Tag: Into the Archive
Into the Archive: Black Action Figures
Last Fall, our former archivist Mary Hueslbeck put together a display at the IU Cinema featuring a collection of toys and action figures of black movie stars. It’s a pretty interesting collection, and reminds me how action figures and toys have the Janus-like quality of being both fun (I had a great time popping Jim… Read more »
Into the Archive: Exploring the Jessie Maple Collection
Not enough people, it seems, are aware of Jessie Maple, given her contributions to black cinema. So for those who aren’t familiar, an introduction from Diane Tucker: Jessie Maple is included in nearly every who’s who of film except the Registry. Will is the first post civil rights feature-length film produced by an African-American woman…. Read more »