{"product_id":"midnight-menace","title":"Midnight Menace","description":"Following yet another show-stopping performance, famed vaudevillian \"Lollypop\" Jones finds the dead body of a woman in his dressing room. After repeated attempts to dispose of the body -- including hiding it in a closet, and stuffing it down a laundry chute -- fail, Lollypop realizes that his unwanted guest isn't dead...she's a zombie! \u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Onnie \"Lollypop\" Jones (1897-1954) was a popular African-American vaudeville singer, tap dancer, and comedian in the 1940s. In 1946, he was enlisted by All-American News in Chicago, Illinois to star in a series of \"streamlined\" (short) musical comedy features. These included \u003ci\u003eMidnight Menace\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eLucky Gamblers\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eChicago After Dark\u003c\/i\u003e. All-American News had originally been formed during World War II to specifically make newsreels documenting the efforts of African-American soldiers overseas for blacks-only theaters. \u003ci\u003eMidnight Menace\u003c\/i\u003e was also released as \u003ci\u003eHidden Menace\u003c\/i\u003e. Lollypop performs his signature hit, \"Don't Sell My Monkey, Baby\", with Alma Jones. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e PLUS: \u003cb\u003eThe Framing of the Shrew (1929)\u003c\/b\u003e: In 1929, movie producer Al Christie adapted author Octavus Roy Cohen's \"Darktown Birmingham\" stories into a series of two-reel comedy shorts for Paramount. They starred the all-black, California-based Lafayette Players theatre company. Cohen's stories ran in the \u003ci\u003eSaturday Evening Post\u003c\/i\u003e from 1919 to 1938, and centered on the adventures of the bumbling Florian Slappey. In \u003ci\u003eThe Framing of the Shrew\u003c\/i\u003e, Slappey convinces his best friend, Privacy Robson, to threaten his wife Clarry with divorce if she nags him about taking out the garbage one more time. The plan backfires when Clarry calls his bluff, and soon Privacy is starving for a homecooked meal. The couple's lawyer is played by Spencer Williams, who would later find fame on television as Andrew H. Brown on \u003ci\u003eAmos 'n' Andy\u003c\/i\u003e (1951-1955). Starring Spencer Williams, Evelyn Preer. Directed by Arvid E. Gillstrom. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eThe Private Eye (1951)\u003c\/b\u003e: Florian Slappey made one last appearance in this unsold TV pilot, meant to be the first of a series adapting Octavus Roy Cohen's stories. In \"The Private Eye\", Slappey opens his own detective agency. His first case of recovering some stolen jewels doesn't go so well when he's accused of the theft himself! \"The Private Eye\" is directed by Erle C. Kenton, who made the horror classics \u003ci\u003eIsland of Lost Souls\u003c\/i\u003e (1932) \u003ci\u003eThe Ghost of Frankenstein\u003c\/i\u003e (1942), \u003ci\u003eHouse of Frankenstein\u003c\/i\u003e (1944) and \u003ci\u003eHouse of Dracula\u003c\/i\u003e (1945). Starring Milt Wood. Directed by Erle C. Kenton.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Alpha Video","offers":[{"title":"DVD","offer_id":45802319085718,"sku":"089218801197","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0703\/9621\/5446\/files\/089218801197.jpg?v=1762193652","url":"https:\/\/moviezyng.com\/products\/midnight-menace","provider":"Movie Zyng","version":"1.0","type":"link"}