Ten Nights in a Barroom

Although the PC and woke hosts at TCM kept referring to this movie as "a race film," it had nothing to do with race.

It is a story about people. It's about individuals who have various problems, as all people do. And the skin color of the participants is a totally insignificant aspect: They are just people.

The folks who performed are, yes, all black, but, again, skin color has no bearing on the plot. Various pitfalls of living, such as alcohol and gambling, affect, even afflict, people of all races, creeds, and colors, and place of national origin.

This version of "Ten Nights" gets attention from TCM during Black History Month because of the black people who produced and performed in it, and it's a shame TCM feels it must wait till then. There are some very good actors, the production values were noticeable, and, up to the end, the story holds together -- meaning it deserves to be watched at other times.

However, I guess the sad truth is it gets shown only because of its being a black production; that is, it's seen as more interesting, as an oddity, than as entertaining. Regardless, I do urge its being watched, especially by movie historians, but also by anyone wanting to see what the black movie-makers could do, and could have done more of were it not for the stupid and stifling segregation of the time.