Harlem Double Feature: Harlem Rides The Range (1939) / Murder In Harlem (1935)

A double bill of vintage films from early independent African-American filmmakers Oscar Micheaux and Spencer Williams, Jr., each weaving a story of fighting injustice, whether in the wild west or "back east!"

Harlem Rides The Range (B&W, 1939): Tall and true in the saddle, Bob Blake and his comic sidekick, Dusty, ride into trouble when the owner of a radium mine is murdered and evidence points to Blake! When the real killer reveals himself and threatens to kill the miner's beautiful daughter, Blake must bust out of jail to set things straight! Written by and co-starring Spencer Williams, Jr., who later gained fame as Andy of TV's "Amos 'N' Andy" series, this all-black western melodrama also features music by heroic Herbert Jeffrey and The Four Tones.

Stars Herbert Jeffrey, Lucius Brooks and Spencer Williams, Jr.; Directed by Richard C. Kahn.

Murder in Harlem (B&W, 19356): A night watchman discovers the body of a murdered woman. Reporting it to the police, the watchman himself is accused of the crime, and so begins his nightmare, trying to clear his name and prove his innocence.

Murder in Harlem was directed by the acclaimed independent African-American filmmaker Oscar Micheaux, who directed over two dozen all-black cast movies between 1918 and 1940.

Stars Clarence Brooks and Dorothy Van Engle; Directed by Oscar Micheaux.

• drama