Am I Guilty? is a 1940 American film directed by Samuel Neufeld for the Supreme Pictures Corporation. The film's producer A. W. Hackel,[1] who had founded Supreme Pictures, planned a series of films featuring black casts, but Am I Guilty? was the only one to be released.[2] The screenplay was cowritten by Earle Snell and George Wallace Sayre based on a story by Sherman Lowe.
Toddy Pictures rereleased the film as Racket Doctor in 1945.[3][4] Advertisements for the film, including a lobby card, remain in existence,[5] and a poster was appraised on an episode of the PBS show Antiques Roadshow.
The Pittsburgh Courier described a gala opening at the Apollo Theater in Harlem.[6]
Plot
editExtraordinary measures are taken to help the poor[7] as a young doctor opens a free clinic in Harlem.[1]
Cast
edit- Ralph Cooper as Dr. James Dunbar
- Sybil Lewis as Joan Freeman
- Sam McDaniel as John D. Jones
- Lawrence Criner as "Trigger" Bennett
- Marcella Moreland as Marcella[8]
- Monte Hawley
- Pigmeat Markham
- Reginald Fenderson
- Clarence Brooks[9]
- Jess Lee Brooks[10]
References
edit- ^ a b "Am I Guilty? (1940)" – via www.blu-ray.com.
- ^ Pitts, Michael R. (July 25, 2005). Poverty Row Studios, 1929-1940: An Illustrated History of 55 Independent Film Companies, with a Filmography for Each. McFarland. ISBN 9780786423194 – via Google Books.
- ^ Genesis, W. S. I. "RACKET DOCTOR (1940; ca. 1945 reissue)".
- ^ "Antiques Roadshow | Appraisal: "Racket Doctor" Movie Poster, ca. 1940 | Season 24 | Episode 22" – via www.pbs.org.
- ^ "Am I Guilty?, lobbycard, Ralph Cooper, 1940". Getty Images.
- ^ "Am I Guilty? (1940)". October 5, 1940. p. 21 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ Berry, S. Torriano; Berry, Venise T. (January 26, 2007). Historical Dictionary of African American Cinema. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810864641 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Am I Guilty?". www.tcm.com.
- ^ Bogle, Donald (February 19, 2009). Bright Boulevards, Bold Dreams: The Story of Black Hollywood. Random House Publishing Group. ISBN 9780307514936 – via Google Books.
- ^ Chappell, Helen F. (June 22, 1940). "CHATTER And Some NEWS". The Chicago Defender. p. 10. ProQuest 492536345.
Tuesday night we ran out to one of the Hollywood process laboratories to see a preview of Ralph Cooper's 'Am I Guilty?' [...] The cast and members of the press sat in on the preview, and perhaps Jess Lee Brooks, who has a brief but creditable role, sums it up best in: 'The photography is the best I've seen in this type of picture.'
External links
edit- Am I Guilty? at IMDb