Murder on Lenox Avenue (1941)

Starring:

• Mamie Smith 
• Alec Lovejoy 
• Norman Astwood
• Augustus Smith 
• Alberta Perkins 
• Edna Mae Harris 
• Sidney Easton 
• Dene Larry

 
Storyline
The crowded rooms of Harlem tenement buildings become crucibles of populist politics and powerful passions. Crooked businessman Leon Marshall runs the local Better Business League as his personal fiefdom, enriching himself at the expense of the poor. He faces a challenge from Pa Williams, a respected patriarch in the community. Marshall and his hunchback henchman Lomax are determined to end Williams' political life - not with ballots, but with bullets.

Murder With Music [a.k.a. Mistaken Identity] (1941)

Starring:

• Nellie Hill 
• Milton Williams 
• George Oliver 
• Bill Dillard 
• Ken Renard

Storyline
Louis the piano player is murdered by a knife-throwing killer in the middle of a show at Bill Smith's nightclub. Suspicion immediately falls on Mike, an escaped convict, mainly due to stories being phoned into the city desk by nosy reporter Hal Ford. Hal has more than news on his mind, though - he has his eye on the club's main attraction, Lola. The sexy singer is also Mike's girl when he's not in jail. When Mike and Lola are mistaken for club owner Bill Smith and his wife, Hal sees an opportunity to put his rival away for good.

Music is the real highlight of Mistaken Identity (aka Murder with Music), focusing most of its screen time on hot performances by The Skippy Williams Band, great singing by popular nightclub star Nelle Hill, and featuring a wild production number, "I'm a Bangi from Ubangi."