Policy Man

{{Short description|American film (1938)}}

{{Italic title}}

{{Infobox film

| director = Irwin Franklyn

| producer = Irwin Franklyn,

Hazel Franklyn

| starring = Ethel Moses,
Jimmie Baskett,
Count Bassie,
Ann Harleman,
Henry Wessels

| color_process = black and white

| studio = Creative Films Corporation

| distributor = Sack Amusement Entertainment

| released = {{Film date|1938|07|01|ref1=}}

| country = United States

| language = English

}}

Policy Man, is a 1938 American feature film in black and white, and is now a lost film.{{Cite book |last=Koszarski |first=Richard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1NzOhgPs80MC&pg=PA376 |title=Hollywood on the Hudson: Film and Television in New York from Griffith to Sarnoff |date=2008 |publisher=Rutgers University Press |isbn=978-0-8135-4293-5 |pages=376 |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=3 July 2019 |title=The Policy Man (1938) |url=https://www.frankiemanningfoundation.org/the-policy-man/ |website=Frankie Manning Foundation}} It was advertised as having an "all colored cast",{{Cite news |date=1938-07-11 |title=Roosevelt |pages=10 |work=The Pittsburgh Press |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121726268/roosevelt/ |access-date=2023-03-27}} featuring Ethel Moses, Jimmie Baskett, and Count Bassie.{{Cite news |date=July 30, 1938 |title=Negro films |work=The Palmetto Leader (newspaper) |url=https://historicnewspapers.sc.edu/lccn/sn93067919/1938-07-30/ed-1/seq-1/ocr/ |oclc=28640893}} It was directed by Irwin Franklyn, and produced by Irwin Franklyn and Hazel Franklyn.{{Cite book |last=Richards |first=Larry |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sTGSCgAAQBAJ |title=African American Films Through 1959: A Comprehensive, Illustrated Filmography |date=2015-09-17 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1-4766-1052-8 |pages=133 |language=en}}{{Cite news |last= |first= |date=July 30, 1938 |title=Hallejua Star Receives Long Time Contract (Image 1) |pages=1 |work=Twin-City Herald (newspaper) |url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn90060227/1938-07-30/ed-1/seq-1/ |access-date=2023-03-27 |via=Chronicling America, National Endowment for the Humanities}}

About

Policy Man was an urban crime film that portrayed sophisticated African Americans in Harlem.{{Cite book |last1=White |first1=Shane |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F1ytSoMM8qAC&dq=policy.man+1938&pg=PA22 |title=Playing the Numbers: Gambling in Harlem Between the Wars |last2=Garton |first2=Stephen |last3=Robertson |first3=Stephen |last4=White |first4=Graham |date=May 15, 2010 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=9780674051072 |via=Google Books}} It included in its plot a person involved in a numbers game lotteries (or a gambler), and the numbers racket (or illegal gambling).{{Cite book |last=Schlabach |first=Elizabeth Schroeder |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VW8PBAAAQBAJ&dq=policy.man+1938&pg=PA73 |title=Along the Streets of Bronzeville: Black Chicago's Literary Landscape |date=September 15, 2012 |publisher=University of Illinois Press |isbn=9780252095108 |pages=73– |chapter=Policy, Creativity, and Bronzeville’s Dreams |volume=1 |doi=10.5406/illinois/9780252037825.003.0003 |via=Google Books}} It was a popular film in northern cities in the United States.

The cast included Ann Harleman, Henry, Wessels, Ethel Moses, Jimmie Baskett, and Count Bassie. The film features musical groups The Plantation Club Chorus (or N.Y. Plantation Club Chorus), The Al Taylor Orchestra, The Savoy Lindy Hoppers, and The Big Apples.{{Cite web |title=Film, Video: Policy Man |url=https://www.loc.gov/item/jots.200018539/ |website=Library of Congress}}

It was one of a series of Creative Films Corporation produced urban crime films, all directed by Irwin Franklyn. Advertising materials for the film are extant.{{Cite web |title=Policy Man (1938) [Lost Film] |url=https://www.daaracarchive.org/2017/11/policy-man-1938-lost-film.html |website=Department of Afro-American Research, Arts, and Culture (DAARAC)}}

References