Moms Mabley

Em 1969, no mesmo verão em que ocorreu Woodstock, outro festival musical foi organizado no Harlem, em Nova York, para celebrar a música norte-americana e a história afro-americana. As imagens do concerto Harlem Cultural Festival, filmadas há 50 anos e inéditas até hoje, capturam um empolgante momento cultural nos Estados Unidos, embora subestimado historicamente. Entrevistas com artistas que participaram do evento são intercaladas com as apresentações de, entre outros, Stevie Wonder, Mahalia Jackson e Mavis Staples, Sly & the Family Stone e Nina Simone.

The life story of Richard Pryor (1940-2005), the legendary performer and iconic social satirist who transcended racial and social barriers with his honest, irreverent and biting humor.

"Laughumentary" about black comedians in Hollywood.

Do I Look Like a Lady? (Comedians and Singers) presents a dynamic checkerboard of moving image footage featuring African-American actors and singers from across the 20th century: from Jackie “Moms” Mabley to Eartha Kitt, Whoopi Goldberg, Whitney Houston, and several others. The video focuses on their individual voices as they express heartbreaking roles, pointed lyrics, sharp jokes, and strong statements of resistance to the dominant culture. The work is a powerful, and often riotous, reflection on the roles of black women in the United States.

A feature documentary about Jackie "Moms" Mabley, an African-American stand-up comic and show-biz pioneer who emerged from the Chitlin' Circuit of African-American Vaudeville to become a mainstream star. Once billed as "The Funniest Woman in the World," Mabley pushed the boundaries of comedy by tackling topics such as gender, sex, and racism and performed up until her death in 1975. A true passion project for first-time director Whoopi Goldberg, the documentary shows Mabley's historical significance and profound influence as a performer vastly ahead of her time.

Amazing Grace is a 1974 light comedy featuring black comedienne Moms Mabley as a widow who tries to influence the local mayoral election in Baltimore, Maryland, after she discovers that a black candidate is being used by the incumbent mayor to further his own reelection efforts. Mabley appeared in the film, along with veteran actors Butterfly McQueen and Stepin Fetchit, only a year before her death at the age of 81. The film does not deal with the popular Christian hymn (with words by John Newton) but is a play on Mabley's character, who happens to be named Grace. It has been released on home video.

Tenants of a Harlem boarding house put on a show to save their home.

An all-Black comedy and dance revue with stars of stage and screen.

O inescrupuloso e ambicioso, Brutus Jones, escapa da cadeia após matar um guarda e, depois de muita luta, se encontra imperador de uma ilha no Caribe.