Black Film History: A Reading List

Whether you want to expand your knowledge or diversify your summer reading challenge selections, here are a variety of classic film books about black film history to consider.

I didn't include any buy links. I encourage you to Google these titles (or click on my reviews if I listed them) if you want more information. If you're interested in purchasing books, I recommend contacting your favorite independent bookstore to see if they have any titles in stock or if they can order on your behalf. I recently placed an order with Larry Edmunds Bookshop that included Sidney Poitier's memoir This Life and a biography on Bill "Bojangles" Robinson.

If you want to get started with a few articles before diving into books, I have some pieces I wrote for Turner Classic Movies, DVD Netflix and The Film Detective that I recommend. Over the past year and a half I've been researching African-American film history and am really proud of the pieces that I was able to write for those outlets. Full list is at the very bottom of this post.

If you have recommendations to share, please leave a comment. I would love to hear from you.

PERSONAL RECOMMENDATIONS

Hollywood Black

The Stars, The Films, The Filmmakers

by Donald Bogle

(Written Review)

Other titles:

 Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies, and Bucks

An Interpretive History of Blacks in American Films

by Donald Bogle

Bright Boulevards, Bold Dreams

The Story of Black Hollywood

by Donald Bogle

Brotherhood in Rhythm
The Jazz Tap Dancing of the Nicholas Brothers
by Constance Valis Hill

The Devil Finds Work
by James Baldwin

The Many Faces of Josephine Baker
Dancer, Singer, Activist, Spy
by Peggy Caravantes
(Review)

Life Beyond Measure
Letters to my Great-Grandaughter
by Sidney Poitier
(Review)

The Measure of a Man
A Spiritual Autobiography
by Sidney Poitier

Photo by Sammy Davis Jr.
(Review)

Stealing the Show
African American Performers and Audiences in 1930s Hollywood
by Miriam J. Petty

Stepin Fetchit
The Life and Times of Lincoln Perry
by Mel Watkins
(Review)

MORE TITLES TO CONSIDER

America's Mistress

The Life and Times of Eartha Kitt

by John L. Williams

Black Oscars

From Mammy to Minny, What the Academy Awards Tell Us about African Americans

By Frederick Jr. Gooding

Dorothy Dandridge
A Biography
by Donald Bogle

Hattie McDaniel
Black Ambition, White Hollywood
by Jill Watts

Hollywood at the Intersection of Race and Identity

edited by Delia Malia Caparoso Konzett

In Black and White
The Life of Sammy Davis Jr.
by Wil Haygood

Josephine Baker
by Jose-Luis Bocquet and illustrated by Catel Muller

Mr. Bojangles
The Biography of Bill Robinson
by James Haskins and N.R. Mitgang

My One Good Nerve
by Ruby Dee

My Song: A Memoir
by Harry Belafonte with Michael Shnayerson

Oscar Micheaux
The Life of America's First Black Filmmaker
by Patrick McGilligan

Separate Cinema
The First 100 Years of Black Poster Art
by John Duke Kisch

Sing and Shout

The Mighty Voice of Paul Robeson

By Susan Goldman Rubin

Stars for Freedom
Hollywood, Black Celebrities and the Civil Rights Movement
by Emilie Raymond

Stormy Weather

The Life of Lena Horne

by James Gavin

MY ARTICLES ON BLACK FILM HISTORY

DVD Netflix

Spotlight on Sidney Poitier

Spotlight on Harry Belafonte

Turner Classic Movies

The Jackie Robinson Story (1950)

Herb Jeffries, The First Black Western Star

Sidney Poitier and A Patch of Blue (1965)

Nat King Cole and The Blue Gardenia (1953)

On the 30th Anniversary of Do the Right Thing (1989)

Paris Blues (1961)

Lena Horne Takes on Hollywood

Intruder in the Dust: A Forgotten Treasure

Cold War Tales from The Bedford Incident

Harry Belafonte's Production of The World, The Flesh and The Devil (1959)

Across 110th Street (1972)

Nothing But a Man (1964)

Fear City AKA New York City in the '70s

The Little Colonel (1935)

Film Detective

Hi De Ho (1947)

Hollywood Godfather: The Life and Crimes of Billy Wilkerson

Hollywood Godfather
The Life and Crimes of Billy Wilkerson
by W.R. Wilkerson III
Chicago Review Press
352 pages
Hardcover ISBN: 9781613736609
September 2018

Amazon — Barnes and Noble — Powell's

"All his life Billy was in love with the impossible." — Joe Pasternak


Billy Wilkerson’s biggest dream was to be his own boss. He accomplished that in spades when he founded The Hollywood Reporter in 1930. The first issue ran September 3rd of that year and up until the day he died Wilkerson would be heavily involved in the day-to-day operations and would write 8,320 daily editorials himself. His success with The Hollywood Reporter came from constant innovation, aggressive tactics to sell ad space and the shrewd buildup of influence. At one time, Billy Wilkerson was the most powerful man in the entertainment industry.

A medical school drop out, Wilkerson transitioned to film and wore many hats in his early days in the industry. He worked in sales, marketing promotion, film criticism and journalism, all of which gave him wisdom and experience to make The Hollywood Reporter a success. In New Jersey he owned a Nickelodeon and a luxe theater. He eventually moved to Hollywood with dreams of becoming a filmmaker. He worked with his friend Joe Pasternak and with actor El Brendel on a film project called Help Yourself. He shopped it around but no one bit. Hollywood had rejected Wilkerson and it hurt. Badly. He exacted revenge in a monumental way by going after the studio moguls with the first daily trade paper for the film industry.

Wilkerson went on to have other business ventures including the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas and the Cafe Trocadero and Ciro in Hollywood. Many of his business ventures were innovative but ultimately failed him financially or personally. Wilkerson was tight-fisted with money and very demanding of his employees. He was a devout Catholic but also a man of many vices. He was a reckless gambler and had a severe Coca Cola addiction that ruined his health. Wilkerson was vehemently anti-communist and used his power, his connections with Howard Hughes and the public platform of The Hollywood Reporter to take down perceived communists in the industry. He could be very cruel, was unapologetic about his actions and used his mob connections to his advantage. The only thing that could truly be admired about Wilkerson is his business acumen and innovation. He was always thinking on his feet.

"The most successful figures in the entertainment industry... shared a sense of determination, an ability to weather massive misfortune." - W.R. Wilkerson III

Billy Wilkerson and his son W.R. Wilkerson III - Photo Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Billy Wilkerson: Photo Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Hollywood Godfather: The Life and Crimes of Billy Wilkerson effectively chronicles the life of a difficult man who had a profound influence on the film industry in its early days. The biography is written by Wilkerson's son. I'm always a bit cautious about biographies written by family members. However, while reading the book I kept forgetting that the book was written by Wilkerson’s son. It felt very unbiased and thorough. The author leaves no stone unturned and is not afraid to explore the ugly side of his father's life story. And there was plenty of dirt to dig up. Perhaps the most shocking was Wilkerson's involvement with the Hollywood Blacklist. Even after the fact, Wilkerson was unapologetic about what he had done.

This biography offers a comprehensive look at Wilkerson's life and career, with a particular focus on the later, and his dealings with close friends including Joe Schenck, Joe Pasternak, Greg Bautzer (his lawyer), Howard Hughes, Johnny Rosselli (a mobster) and Lana Turner. The author conducted extensive interviews with his father’s right hand man George Kennedy who helped supply much of the information found in the book. Many people refused to be interviewed and it's a testament to the author's efforts that he pursued as many avenues and angles as he could to offer such a thorough biography.

 Thank you to Chicago Review Press for a copy of Hollywood Godfather for review.

Please note that this book review is not an entry into my summer reading challenge.

2020 Summer Reading Challenge

It's that time again! I'm very happy to announce this year's Summer Reading Challenge (or Winter for those of you on the Southern Hemisphere)! We're all spending way more time at home this year and that means plenty of time for reading. And what's the best kind of reading? Classic film reading!

I'm keeping the challenge the same but I encourage you to do additional posts including sharing your TBR stack of books, your shelfie (a selfie of your book collection), favorite place to read, favorite classic film books you've read in the past, etc. Keep the hashtag #ClassicFilmReading going all summer long with classic film book posts!

Please remember that in order to participate you must follow each of the rules below. The three most important ones are signing up, using the hashtag and submitting your review links.

If you don't read all 6 books that's okay! You can participate with one or two books if that's all you have time for. 

All of the details and the forms are on the main hub for the Summer Reading Challenge. Here is an overview of the rules.

Summer Reading Challenge Rules

• Sign up for the challenge on the official page.
• Read a classic film book
• Write a review and post it on your Blog, Instagram or Goodreads profile
• Use hashtag #classicfilmreading
• Submit your review link  on the official page.
• Repeat until you have read and reviewed 6 books!
• Review 6 and be automatically entered to win a prize.

Challenge runs from June 1st until September 15th, 2020. Sign-up before July 15th.



If you complete all 6 reviews by September 15th you’ll be eligible to win one single disc DVD-MOD from the Warner Archive Collection, film of your choosing. # of winners to be determined.

Open internationally.

HAPPY READING!