REVIEW: ‘Dirty Gertie From Harlem U.S.A.’ continues Film Forum’s ‘Pioneers’ series

Dirty Gertie From Harlem U.S.A., a 1946 film directed by Spencer Williams, follows a singer-dancer who leaves Harlem, New York, for the warmer climates of a Caribbean nation. Francine Everett plays Gertie La Rue, the nightclub performer who takes a liking to the military men on the island. The film will play the Film Forum’s Pioneers of African-American Cinema series Monday, March 7 at 7 p.m. Movie critic Armond White will introduce the film and an accompanying short, Williams’ Hot Biskits from 1929.

Dirty Gertie is a quick character study that only lasts 60 minutes. Everett’s performance as the singer-dancer anchors the drama, which explores themes of religion, the freedom of escapism and the sensuality of its title character. Williams, who is represented a couple times in the Pioneers series, often looks at issues of morality and sin, church and freedom.

If Gertie simply arrived at the hotel with the intention of putting on a series of shows, the local Christian leadership wouldn’t mind. However, she also attracts the wandering eyes of several GIs, men she calls Tight Pants (Hugh Watson) and Big Boy (Shelly Ross). This puts her in the crosshairs of a local Christian leader and his righthand man who try to interrupt Gertie’s debut performance and rid the local area of her sinful ways.

Williams also acts in the film as a voodoo fortuneteller who tries to give Gertie some advice but also discovers some hidden skeletons in her closet about the angry man she left back in Harlem.

Everett is a good actress, someone who can play the behind-the-scenes Gertie and also have stage presence for the singing and dancing numbers. It would have been nice for Williams’ film to focus more on the nightclub performance. As it stands, the final 15 minutes feature some interesting dance numbers, but by the time Gertie is about to sing, the plot takes over and robs the audience of the opportunity to hear her sing for a long time. This leaves the viewer wondering about the theatrical appeal of this famed singer.

There’s some great detail in the film about the hoopla surrounding Gertie’s visit to the hotel. Everyone from the owners to the maids are excited to have a bonafide celebrity in the building, and they pull out the red carpet for her. However, despite the kind welcome Gertie receives, she cannot outrun her past, and the climax of the film is a struggle between her desires for the future and the reality of her former life.

Dirty Gertie From Harlem U.S.A., which has been restored on DCP for the Film Forum engagement, is yet another important film in the Pioneers of African-American Cinema series, which has included some of the earliest examples of movies starring African-American actors working for African-American directors. These films, which have been restored through a Kickstarter project with help from Kino Lorber and the Library of Congress, provide an early portrait into the artistic, religious and social minds of a community of filmmakers working at a time of discrimination and exclusion in Hollywood and throughout the United States. Seeing these films in 2016 allow for two simultaneous viewing experiences: understanding how they were viewed decades ago and seeing how they provide an historical example of American film in action.

By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com

• Dirty Gertie From Harlem U.S.A.
• 1946
• Directed by Spencer Williams
• Written by True T. Thompson
• Starring Francine Everett, Don Wilson, Shelly Ross, Hugh Watson, Don Gilbert, Williams and John King
• Running time: 60 minutes
• Not Rated
• Rating:

Revised 08/16