Spirit of Youth: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A 16mm release print of the feature film Spirit of Youth. It consists of two reels of positive, black-and-white, 16mm acetate film with variable-area optical sound.

In the opening scene, children can be seen playing outside. Young Joe Thomas’s mother calls him inside to clean himself before his father’s arrival from work. However, when his father returns to the family home it is revealed that he was injured by a falling castor and probably will never walk again. The rest of the film is loosely based on the life of American heavyweight boxer Joe Louis. The lead character, adult Joe Thomas, is played by Joe Louis himself. The film closes with a boxing match between Joe and a fellow boxer.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1938
• Directed by: Harry L. Fraser, American, 1889 - 1974
• Written by: Arthur Hoerl, American, 1891 - 1968
• Subject of: Joe Louis, American, 1914 - 1981
• Subject of: Edna Mae Harris, American, 1910 - 1997
• Subject of: Mantan Moreland, American, 1902 - 1973
• Subject of: Tom Southern, American, 1906 - 1980
• Subject of: Jess Lee Brooks, American, 1894 - 1944
• Subject of: Marguerite Whitten, American, 1913 - 1990
• 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: 65 Minutes
• Dimensions: Length (Film Reel 1): 1300 Feet
• Dimensions: Length (Film Reel 2): 1100 Feet
• Place filmed: Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, United States, North and Central America
• Place depicted: Birmingham, Jefferson County, Alabama, United States, North and Central America
• Place depicted: Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan, United States, North and Central America
• Place depicted: New York City, New York County, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Actors
• Topic: Boxing
• Topic: Families
• Topic: Film
• Topic: Race films
• Topic: Sports
• Object number: 2015.167.19.1ab
• 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.