Black and Tan (film)

Black and Tan
Directed byDudley Murphy
Written byDudley Murphy
StarringDuke Ellington
Fredi Washington
Arthur Whetsel
Barney Bigard
Wellman Braud
Duke Ellington Orchestra
Tricky Sam Nanton
Production
company
Distributed byRKO Radio Pictures
Release date
  • December 8, 1929 (1929-12-08)
Running time
19 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Black and Tan (1929) is a musical short film written and directed by Dudley Murphy.[1] The plot is about a couple in the performing arts; it is set during the contemporary Harlem Renaissance in New York City. It is the first film to feature Duke Ellington and His Orchestra performing as a jazz band, and was also the film debut of actress Fredi Washington. The film is thought to express the emergence of African-American artists in New York City during the Harlem Renaissance.

In 2015, the United States Library of Congress selected the film for preservation in the National Film Registry, finding it "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[2][3][4]

  1. ^ Flickchart
  2. ^ Mike Barnes (December 16, 2015). "'Ghostbusters,' 'Top Gun,' 'Shawshank' Enter National Film Registry". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
  3. ^ "Complete National Film Registry Listing". Library of Congress. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  4. ^ "2015 National Film Registry: "Ghostbusters" Gets the Call". Library of Congress. Retrieved September 17, 2020.