Son of Ingagi: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A 16mm release print of the feature film Son of Ingagi. It consists of two reels of positive, black-and-white, 16mm acetate film (a) and (b) with variable-area optical sound. Two (2) metal film reels (c) and (d), and a film shipping box (e) also accompany the 16mm films. A pink and white label is taped onto the shipping box, with ["SON OF INGAGI"/ +/ "LYING LIPS"/ (SAFETY)] handwritten onto it in black ink; [WALD TRANSFER & STORAGE CO.] is printed on the bottom of the label in pink uppercase letters. There are three (3) other labels on the shipping box, all of which are blue and white. Two (2) of the other labels also have information handwritten onto them.

The film opens with a couple, Eleanor (Daisy Bufford) and Bob Lindsay (Alfred Grant), getting married inside a church. On their way out of the church, they are greeted by Mr. Bradshaw (Earle Morris), a divorce attorney, who congratulates them on their nuptials. Shortly after, two other individuals, Dr. Helen Jackson (Laura Bowman) and Detective Nelson (Spencer Williams), join Mr. Bradshaw. The rest of the film follows Dr. Jackson’s attempt to conceal a creature she brought back from a recent trip to Africa.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1940
• Directed by: Richard C. Kahn, American, 1897 - 1960
• Written by: Spencer Williams, American, 1893-1969
• Produced by: Richard C. Kahn, American, 1897 - 1960
• Distributed by: Sack Amusement Enterprises, American, 1920 - 1979
• Subject of: Spencer Williams, American, 1893-1969
• Subject of: Zack Williams, American, 1884 - 1958
• Subject of: Laura Bowman, American, 1881 - 1957
• Subject of: Alfred Grant, American, 1912 - 1984
• 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, metal and cardboard
• Dimensions: Duration: 70 Minutes
• Dimensions: Length (Film Reel 1): 1000 Feet
• Dimensions: Length (Film Reel 2): 900 Feet
• Place filmed: United States, North and Central America
• Place depicted: United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Domestic life
• Topic: Film
• Topic: Race films
• Object number: 2015.167.18.1a-e
• 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: No known copyright restrictions Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.