Edna Mae Harris
Edna Mae Harris was one of the best-known Black actresses of the 1930s and 1940s. She starred in many all-black cast independently produced movies of the day. An attractive woman who had a soulful voice, personality and sex appeal, she could sing, dance and act. The personification of a Harlem performer, Edna found fame by playing in both stage and screen versions of The Green Pastures (1936) as Zeba. Audiences loved her, and she received glorious reviews, so it was no surprise when Hollywood asked her to repeat her role on screen to wide acclaim. Edna Mae was very much in demand starring in some of the top Black movies such as Spirit of Youth (1938), Paradise in Harlem (1939), Sunday Sinners (1940), The Notorious Elinor Lee (1940), and Tall, Tan, and Terrific (1946), showing her excellent acting skills in drama and comedy. Edna Mae Harris got to tell her story in her later years in the documentary, Midnight Ramble (1994), about independently produced Black films.
Fury
as Black Woman (uncredited)Joe, who owns a gas station along with his brothers and is about to marry Katherine, travels to...
Movie pageBullets or Ballots
as Rose - Lee's Maid (uncredited)After Police Captain Dan McLaren becomes police commissioner, former detective Johnny Blake...
Movie pageStage Door Canteen
as Sun Tan Girl (uncredited)A young soldier on a pass in New York City visits the famed Stage Door Canteen, where famous...
Movie pageThe Green Pastures
as ZebaGod, heaven, and several Old Testament stories, including the Creation and Noah's Ark, are...
Movie pagePrivate Number
as Lulu (Uncredited)Ellen Neal, a young and inexperienced maid, becomes romantically involved with her employers son...
Movie pageParadise in Harlem
as Doll DavisIt is the story of a comedian Lem Anderson who dreams of playing in Shakespeare scenes but he is...
Movie pageSpirit of Youth
as Mary BowdinThe story of the rise of boxer Joe Thomas, which paralleled the life of Joe Louis.
Movie pageSunday Sinners
as Corrine AikenReverend Jesse Hampton has a bone to pick with the management of Club Harlem, a wildly popular...
Movie pageStolen Paradise
as MaidRobert Gordon, a sheltered 18-year-old youth reared in a Catholic school, believes he has a...
Movie pageLying Lips
as Elsie BellwoodA nightclub singer refuses to "date" customers, so she's framed for the murder of her aunt.
Movie pageI Remember Harlem
as selfWilliam Miles’s landmark epic documents the early settlement of the Village of Harlem in the...
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