Gang War: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A 16mm release print of the feature film Gang War. It consists of two reels of positive, black-and-white, 16mm acetate film strips with variable-area optical sound. The film is about two Harlem gangs fighting for control of a jukebox “racket.” It opens with a newspaper headline from the Daily Times about a recent surge in crime. This is followed by a scene in a diner in which a gang member, Bob “Killer” Meade (Ralph Cooper), accuses members of a rival gang of conducting business in the wrong territory and a fight erupts between the two gangs. Some of the men flee the diner and run into a waiting car as another man shoots at them through a window. A chase between the men in the car and police officers ensues. The film ends with Bob “Killer” Meade resisting arrest by assaulting a police officer, which leads to a shootout between Killer and other law enforcement personnel.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1940
• Directed by: Leo C. Popkin, Canadian, 1914 - 2011
• Produced by: Harry M. Popkin, American, 1906 - 1991
• Produced by: Million Dollar Productions, American, 1937 - 1940
• Subject of: Ralph Cooper, American, 1908 - 1992
• Subject of: Monte Hawley, American, 1901 - 1950
• Subject of: Gladys Snyder, American, 1920 - 1998
• Subject of: John L. Criner, American, 1898 - 1965
• Subject of: Jess Lee Brooks, American, 1894 - 1944
• Type: sound films
• Type: black-and-white films (visual works)
• Type: release prints (motion pictures)
• Type: feature films
• Type: 16mm (photographic film size)
• Medium: acetate film
• Dimensions: Duration: 60 Minutes
• Dimensions: Length (Film Reel 1): 1100 Feet
• Dimensions: Length (Film Reel 2): 1250 Feet
• Place depicted: Harlem, New York City, New York County, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Place filmed: United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Actors
• Topic: Business
• Topic: Film
• Topic: Nightlife
• Topic: Race films
• Topic: Urban life
• Object number: 2015.167.8.1ab
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Randall and Sam Nieman
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: Unknown - Restrictions Possible Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.