Hearts in Dixie is a 1929 American pre-Code musical drama film starring Stepin Fetchit, was one of the first (all-talking) sound films, big-studio productions to boast a predominantly African-American cast. This film celebrates African-American music and dance. It was released by Fox Film Corporation just months before the release of Hallelujah!, another all-black musical released by competitor Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The director of Hearts in Dixie was Paul Sloane. Walter Weems wrote the screenplay, and William Fox was producer.Aberjhani & West, Sandra L. (2003). Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance, p. 151. Facts On File.
Synopsis The film has no overarching storyline, consisting of a series of unconnected scenes celebrating the advent of sound technology in the context of "black music".
Hearts in Dixie unfolds as a series of sketches of life among American blacks. Although the characters are not slaves, they are nevertheless racial stereotypes in terms of the contemporary white images of the period.
Cast Stepin Fetchit as Gummy Clarence Muse as Nappus Eugene Jackson as Chinquapin Bernice Pilot as Chloe Clifford Ingram as Rammey Mildred Washington as Trallia Zack Williams as Deacon Gertrude Howard as Emmy Dorothy Morrison as Melia Vivian Smith as Violet A.C.H. Bilbrew as Voodoo Woman Richard Carlyle as White Doctor The Billbrew Chorus
See also African-American representation in Hollywood List of early sound feature films (1926–1929)
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