Beale Street Mama
Beale Street Mama is a 1923 popular song by J. Russell Robinson and Roy Turk and a 1946 film with an African-American cast named for the song. An early jazz standard, the song was recorded by Bessie Smith, Ted Lewis, Fletcher Henderson, Cab Calloway, and many others.
| Beale Street Mama | |
|---|---|
 Poster art | |
| Directed by | Spencer Williams |
| Written by | Sam Elljay |
| Produced by | Bert Goldberg |
| Starring | July Jones Spencer Williams Rosalie Larrimore |
| Cinematography | H. Arthur Smith |
| Music by | Vincent Valentini |
| Distributed by | Sack Amusement Enterprises |
Release date |
|
Running time | 62 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The 1946 film Beale Street Mama was named after the song. A race film, it was directed by and stars Spencer Williams. It was distributed by Sack Amusement Enterprises.
The film is set in Memphis, Tennessee, and focuses on a street sweeper who comes upon a large parcel of money. He uses the newly acquired wealth to go on a spending spree, with the hope of getting back at an old girlfriend who dumped him for another man. However, complications arise when it is discovered the money is counterfeit.[1][2]
No copyright was filed for Beale Street Mama, which makes the production a public domain film.[1]