A gorgeous, all-black masterpiece. King Vidor directs a group of (mostly) non-actors to depict a picture of black life in the South. Daniel L. Haynes stars as Zeke, a none-too-smart cotton farmer who is tricked into wasting half a year's pay on gambling by a sexy little hoochie (Nina Mae McKinney). When Zeke gets in a fight with the man who cheated to win his money, tragedy strikes. In a fit of grief, he begins to belt out a gospel song and the people around him think he should become a priest. Not only is this a great gospel musical, it's a great religious drama, one where the emotions of faith seem deeply felt and real. Vidor's direction is as good as it ever was. When a lot of the films of 1929 were clunky and static, this one has a beautiful visual and aural flow with only a couple of small stumbles along the way.
Review of Hallelujah
