Gang Wars (1940)

 

 

 

Starring:

• Ralph Cooper 
• Gladys Snyder
• Reginald Fenderson

Storyline
Bullets fly and blood flows in the streets of Harlem as three rival gangster bosses vie for control of the lucrative jukebox racket. Aptly named "Killer" Meade (Ralph Cooper) eventually rises to the top of this seamy heap by ruthlessly exterminating the competition, but the one person closest to him puts the police on his trail. The all-powerful crime lord is caught in a running gun-battle with the cops across the rooftops of the city.A rugged and charming actor, multi-talented Ralph Cooper was variously billed as the "Bronze Bogart" and the "Dark Gable." A song-and-dance man, he learned the movie trade by paying close attention on the set while choreographing the Shirley Temple film, Poor Little Rich Girl. He went on to make a series of hits on the "Black" cinema circuit. Cooper was also one of the founders and early emcees at Harlem's famed talent showcase, the Apollo Theater.  

Sunday Sinners (1940)

Starring:

• Mamie Smith
• Earl Sydnor
• Cristola Williams
• Norman Astwood
• Edna Mae Harris
• Alec Lovejoy
• Sidney Easton

Storyline
Reverend Jesse Hampton has a bone to pick with the management of Club Harlem, a wildly popular nightspot where drinking and dancing are the rule. No old-fashioned prude, the Reverend tries to see the positive side of the juke joint activities, knowing that the jitterbuggers are basically decent kids who just need to blow off a little steam. But the preacher sees red when the club opens on the Sabbath, threatening to turn the good townsfolk into Sunday sinners. An upcoming dance contest seems destined to become a showdown between the powers of light and darkness. 

Four Shall Die (a.k.a Condemned Men, 1940) [Lost Film]

Starring:

• Dorothy Dandridge
• Niel Webster 
• Mantan Moreland 
• Laurence Criner 

Storyline
Heiress Helen Fielding has dumped the shady Lew Covey for reporter Bill Summers. Chomping at the bit to get his hands on Helen's inheritance, Covey comes up with a scheme to do just that, involving spiritualists, fortune tellers and "visits" from Helen's dead father. However, when Covey winds up dead in Helen's room, suspicion falls on Bill Summers as the killer. Complications ensue.

* This film is presumed lost until further notice. Any information of the films existence would be greatly appreciated. *