Nina Mae McKinney- The Black Independent Movie Star

Nina Mae McKinney, Jackie Ward, and Jack Carter in Straight to Heaven (1939)

Lionel Monagas in Straight to Heaven (1939)

Nina Mae McKinney in Straight to Heaven (1939)

Jack Carter

Pearl Bains

James Baskett

Buddy Freeman

Cyrus Wood

Singer Jimmy Williams&apos; father Joe is a chemist who recently lost his job to George Elliott. Since then, Joe has been investigating the &quot;Adam and Even&quot; brand of canned goods sold in Harlem. Soon after Joe tells his friend, lawyer S...

Arthur H. Leonard

Straight to Heaven

My interest for this movie was because of Nina Mae McKinney. The movie is boring without her in the scenes. She keeps the movie watchable with her in it. She sings &quot;When The Dark Became Dawn&quot; which is worth watching for. Jackie Ward is the star of this film, even though Nina gets top billing. Jackie Ward is no younger then 12 or 13, but a good actor and good singer. Nina Mae does some great acting, no stereotype, or dumb talking or acting stupid. The only way Blacks could and show their talent was in Independent Black Movies and be movie stars within their own race, but unknown to other races, and they deserved better. A lot of the films have been hidden, and the history of Black Movies. But a lot of them are starring to get released. Only if Hollywood would of gave Blacks a chance in movies, were they scared Blacks would eclipse the white actors and actresses? I always felt the Black community needed Black stars and pin-up girls. I guess Hollywood felt Blacks couldn&apos;t keep a movie audience, that we couldn&apos;t act. But if you watch these films you will see differently.

My interest for this movie was because of Nina Mae McKinney. The movie is boring without her in the scenes. She keeps the movie watchable with her in it. She sings "When The Dark Became Dawn" which is worth watching for. Jackie Ward is the star of this film, even though Nina gets top billing. Jackie Ward is no younger then 12 or 13, but a good actor and good singer. Nina Mae does some great acting, no stereotype, or dumb talking or acting stupid. The only way Blacks could and show their talent was in Independent Black Movies and be movie stars within their own race, but unknown to other races, and they deserved better. A lot of the films have been hidden, and the history of Black Movies. But a lot of them are starring to get released. Only if Hollywood would of gave Blacks a chance in movies, were they scared Blacks would eclipse the white actors and actresses? I always felt the Black community needed Black stars and pin-up girls. I guess Hollywood felt Blacks couldn't keep a movie audience, that we couldn't act. But if you watch these films you will see differently.

Singer Jimmy Williams' father Joe is a chemist who recently lost his job to George Elliott. Since then, Joe has been investigating the "Adam and Even" brand of canned goods sold in Harlem. Soon after Joe tells his friend, lawyer Stanley Jackson, that racketeers are forcing storekeepers to sell the rotten canned food, he is framed for the murder of George. When the police find cyanide in Joe's laboratory, they believe that it was used to kill George. Stanley tells Joe's wife Ida that she must get a job and fight for Joe's freedom, but when offered a job by "Lucky" John Simon, the head of the racketeers distributing the food, she refuses it. Jimmy, however, decides to take a job from Lucky and goes to the Trocadero, where he performs a song and dedicates it to his mother. When Joe's appeal fails, Stanley offers to quit as his lawyer because the only piece of evidence he has found to prove Joe's innocence, an Apex salt shaker, has led them nowhere. Ida, who knows that Lucky is fond of her, gathers evidence on her own, while Stanley agrees to join Lucky's racketeers as an undercover agent. At the Trocadero, Ida sings a song and then goes to Lucky's office, where she accepts his gift of pearls. Jimmy witnesses the act and, misunderstanding his mother's intentions, commits a minor theft in order to be jailed with his father. Stanley finally breaks the case when he learns that Lucky is a former owner of the Apex Café in St. Louis, and thus connects him with the salt shaker clue and with the murder. The police return Jimmy to the Trocadero, but when Stanley tells Lucky what he knows, Lucky abducts him and Jimmy and takes them to his estate, where he and the gang force Jimmy to pace back and forth without water. The police eventually arrive and rescue them, and Stanley gets the truth out of Lucky, who is exposed in the newspapers. Reunited, the Williamses proudly listen to their son sing a song on the radio.

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Straight to Heaven

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