Murder On Lenox Avenue

2183. MURDER ON LENOX AVENUE (1941-USA). A colorful all-black-cast musical drama which offers a privileged look at life in Harlem just before the Second World War. At the center of the story is a character of deep integrity: Pa Wilkins, a proud World War I veteran and civic leader who is endlessly concerned with what he describes as “the future of our race.” He is contrasted to Marshall, an unsavory nightclub owner who has organized local merchants into a Better Business League. Marshall is a conniver with a slimy hunchbacked assistant, and it is clear that the league benefits him far more than it does its members. Pa wants his daughter Ola to marry young Jim Braxton, whose father had served with and died beside him in the Argonne. He is unaware that Braxton is a womanizer who has gotten a young girl in trouble. At the same time Ola neither loves nor trusts Braxton and has lost her heart to another. Interspersed throughout the narraÂtive are bright bursts of music. A bosomy woman sings mournfully as she sells pot pies on the street. A red hot jazz band struts its stuff. A slinky nightclub singer (whom Braxton has been fooling around with) performs several lilting numbers. As the characters are established and the story unfolds you cannot help but wonder who will be murdered. You’ll be shocked when you find out. 65 minutes. All Black Musical Murder Mystery