CS #401. Dirty Gertie from Harlem U.S.A. M

CS #401. Dirty Gertie from Harlem U.S.A. M

is a 1946 "race film" directed by Spencer Williams, who is also well known for his role as Andy on The Amos 'n' Andy Show.
Production and Context
Genre: It is a low-budget independent melodrama, part of the "race movie" genre—films featuring all-Black casts produced specifically for African American audiences in racially segregated theaters.
Source Material: The film is an unauthorized retelling of W. Somerset Maugham's short story "Miss Thompson" (later known as "Rain"). It mirrors previous Hollywood adaptations like Sadie Thompson (1928) and Rain (1932), but relocates the story from the Pacific to the Caribbean.
Director: Spencer Williams was a pioneering Black filmmaker who directed a series of films for the Dallas-based Sack Amusement Enterprises. He also appears in the film in drag as a female fortune-teller named Old Hager.
Plot Summary
The story follows Gertie LaRue (Francine Everett), a provocative nightclub performer from Harlem who flees to the fictional Caribbean island of "Rinidad" to escape a jilted former lover.
Conflict: On the island, she headlines a revue at the Paradise Hotel, attracting the attention of various men, including military officers and the hotel owner, "Diamond Joe".