Midnight Shadow: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A 16mm release print of the feature film Midnight Shadow. It consists of two reels of positive, black-and-white, 16mm acetate film with variable-area optical. In the film’s opening scene, Prince Alihabad (Laurence Criner) addresses Mr. Dan Wilson (Clinton Rosemond) and Mrs. Emma Wilson (Ollie Ann Robinson), his love interest’s parents. Prince Alihabad, who is next to the dining table and wears a turban says to the couple, “When possible, I live in private homes, that is the only way I can get the quiet and rest I must have in my work.” The men then engage in a conversation about religion. The rest of the film chronicles Prince Alihabad’s attempts to court Margaret Wilson (Frances Redd), Mr. and Mrs. Wilson’s daughter. After a man burglarizes The Wilson’s home and murders Don Wilson, detectives try to solve the crime.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1939
• Directed by: George Elwood Randol, American, 1895 - 1973
• Directed by: Charles Hawkins, American
• Produced by: George Elwood Randol, American, 1895 - 1973
• Distributed by: Sack Amusement Enterprises, American, 1920 - 1979
• Subject of: Ruby Dandridge, American, 1900 - 1987
• Subject of: Frances Redd, American, 1917 - 1993
• Subject of: Buck Woods, American, 1905 - 1974
• 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: 57 Minutes
• Dimensions: Length (Film Reel 1): 700 Feet
• Dimensions: Length (Film Reel 2): 1240 Feet
• Place depicted: Oklahoma, United States, North and Central America
• Place filmed: Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: American South
• Topic: Business
• Topic: Film
• Topic: Race films
• Object number: 2015.167.14.1ab
• 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: Public Domain Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.