Souls of Sin

Souls of Sin
Collage-style "window card" poster for the original theatrical release
Directed byPowell Lindsay
Written byPowell Lindsay
Produced byWilliam D. Alexander
StarringSavannah Churchill
Jimmy Wright
Billie Allen
CinematographyLouis Andres
Edited byWalter Kruder
Production
company
Release date
  • January 1949 (1949-01)
Running time
64 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Souls of Sin is a 1949 American race film written and directed by Powell Lindsay, and produced by William D. Alexander.

Generally regarded as the last race film (all-black film of the pre-Civil Rights era) with either a Black director or producer, Souls of Sin has been described as a landmark film of the genre. The film was producer Alexander's final feature before his move to London, where he began making documentaries (he produced one further film, The Klansman, in the 1970s).

Plot

Dollar Bill Burton, a gambler, lives in a Harlem basement apartment with Roberts, a hard-luck writer, and Alabama, a talented guitarist-singer. At a local bar, Bill is hired by Bad Boy George to sell stolen jewelry and takes an interest in Regina, George's girlfriend who helps Alabama get a break in television. Bill dies of gunshot wounds, but the other characters realize personal success.

— Southern Methodist University Libraries

Cast

Music

Songs featured in the film include:

Release

Souls of Sin screened at the 1989 Galveston Film Festival.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Souls of Sin (1949)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on February 11, 2018. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
  2. 1 2 "Souls of Sin". Library of Congress. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
  3. ↑ "Souls of Sin". Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 "Souls of Sin". Southern Methodist University Libraries. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
  5. ↑ "Souls of Sin". Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on October 5, 2012. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
  6. ↑ "Powell Lindsay Directs Film". The New York Age. January 8, 1949. Retrieved March 28, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "Drama to Be Filmed". California Eagle. January 20, 1949. Retrieved March 28, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. 1 2 Hyde, Paul (March 9, 1989). "Black films highlight opening day of film festival". The Galveston Daily News. Retrieved March 28, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "Act Black: Posters from Black American Stage & Screen - Poster House Access". Poster House. 2026. Retrieved September 8, 2026. considered the last race film created by a Black director (Powell Lindsay)
  10. ↑ Black, Louis (July 25, 2014). "The Racial Divide in Movies". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
  11. ↑ Zack, Jessica (August 8, 2018). "Ishmael Reed: 1980 film 'Personal Problems' still feels groundbreaking". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
  12. ↑ Johnson, G. Allen (March 6, 2019). "Ishmael Reed talks Bill Gunn, 'Personal Problems' and indie black cinema". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved March 28, 2021.