Ten Nights in a Barroom (1926 film)
| Ten Nights in a Barroom | |
|---|---|
Film still | |
| Directed by | Roy Calnek |
| Written by | Timothy Shay Arthur |
| Based on | Ten Nights in a Bar-Room 1860 play by William W. Pratt |
| Starring | Charles Gilpin Lawrence Chenault Myra Burwell |
| Music by | Philip Carli |
| Color process | Black and White |
Production company | |
Release date |
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Running time | 63 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | Silent |
Ten Nights in a Barroom is a 1926 American silent drama race film directed by Roy Calnek[1] and starring Charles Gilpin, Lawrence Chenault, and Myra Burwell.
Plot
A man begins drinking heavily after he is swindled out of his mill. After his daughter is killed by a blow to the head during a bar fight, he is reborn and runs for mayor.
Cast
- Charles Gilpin as Joe Morgan
- Lawrence Chenault as Simon Slade
- Myra Burwell as Fannie Morgan
- Harry Henderson as Willie Hammond, the Judge's son
- William A. Clayton Jr. as Harvey Green, a rival for Slade's daughter
- Ethel Smith as Flora, Slade's daughter
- Arline Mickey as Mehitable Cartwright
- Edward Moore as Sample Swichel
- William Johnson as Judge Hammond
- Florence Kennedy[2]
Production
The film had a temperance theme and an African American cast. It followed on Timothy Shay Arthur's 1854 novel Ten Nights in a Bar-Room and What I Saw There and William W. Pratt's play, as well as earlier film adaptations (listed at Ten Nights in a Barroom) albeit with white casts. A man's drinking causes him to lose money, his business, and his daughter.[3]
Oscar Micheaux's film company was a rival and released films that competed with the newer film company's releases, in this case The Spider's Web, which was released a week after it debuted. The newer film company also poached actors from Micheaux including Chenault, and both firms claimed they had the greatest star.[4]
Reception and legacy
Released during the Prohibition era[5] the film was positively reviewed by critics.[6] It is the second of four films released by Colored Players Film Corporation and one of two, along with The Scar of Shame, that remain in existence. A copy of Ten Nights in a Barroom which came from 35mm film elements preserved by the George Eastman Museum was released on home video in 2016 by Kino Lorber as part of the five-disc Pioneers of African-American Cinema set.[7]
In 2025, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant."[8]
References
- ^ "Ten Nights in a Barroom (1926)". chicagotribune.com.
- ^ IMDB cast list
- ^ Norman Studios Online Museum
- ^ Musser, Charles; Gaines, Jane Marie; Bowser, Pearl (March 28, 2016). Oscar Micheaux and His Circle: African-American Filmmaking and Race Cinema of the Silent Era. Indiana University Press. ISBN 9780253021557 – via Google Books.
- ^ "The STAGE Network". The STAGE Network.
- ^ Lupack, Barbara (May 26, 2016). Early Race Filmmaking in America. ISBN 9781317434252.
- ^ "Pioneers of African-American Cinema: Ten Nights in a Bar Room". kinonow.com. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
- ^ Tucker, Neely (January 29, 2026). "The 2025 National Film Registry: "The Thing," "Inception," "Clueless" and More! | Timeless". The Library of Congress. Retrieved January 29, 2026.
External links
- Ten Nights in a Barroom at IMDb
- Ten Nights in a Barroom at the TCM Movie Database (archived version)
- Ten Nights in a Barroom at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
- Ten Nights in a Barroom at the TCM Movie Database (archived version)