The Duke is Tops

A popular small-town singer dubbed "The Bronze Venus" gets offered a shot at the big time in New York City, but it will mean leaving behind the loyal promoter who helped her make it this far. This remarkable film, one of the many so-called "race movies" made in the 1930s and '40s for the all-black theaters in existence at the time, also marks the screen debut of a 20 year-old Lena Horne, and co-stars Ralph Cooper, longtime host of "Amateur Night At The Apollo". In the film debut of Lena Horne, Duke is a stage show promoter in love with the a successful performer. When he realizes that promoters want her to go to big leagues and she refuses to leave, he devises a deception so that she can better her career.

• musical