M. & M. Smith: for Posterity's Sake 1995
Distributed by New Day Films,190 Route 17M, P.O. Box 1084, Harriman, NY 10926; 888-367-9154 or 845-774-7051
Produced by Little City Productions
Director n/a
VHS, color, 56 min.
Adult
Art, African American Studies
Date Entered: 11/09/2018
Reviewed by Patricia Sarchet University at BuffaloIn 1937, twin brothers, Marvin and Morgan Smith, opened M. Smith Photography Studio on 125th Street in New York City. This studio wasn't in just any old place. It was next to the Apollo Theater where, at the time, it was happening in music, dance and art during the African American renaissance in Harlem.
Portraying rich slice of Harlem's history, this film is about twin African American boys, sons of a Kentucky sharecropper who became prominent photographers of everyday people as well as the greats of black Harlem. The film documents their desire to photograph everything Harlem and everyone black for the thirty years they worked. And it gives us a glimse into the life of twins who were only separated once when Morgan was drafted for WWII.
Born in 1910 in Kentucky farm country they moved to Lexington to pursue art and photography. One white benefactor bought them a camera while another suggested they should move to Harlem to work.
Here we taste the bitter paradox of black men whose benefactors were white women and men but the Smith's couldn't rent a first floor store front in Harlem because the owner, Frank Schifman, wouldn't rent to blacks. To add to the irony Schifman was the owner of the Apollo and a life time member of the NAACP.
The Smith's were inseparable. People who knew them said they were like one person. They both believed profoundly in race pride and made pictures of the early civil rights movement in Harlem, boycotts, strikes, as well as weddings, celebrations and general everyday events. Sadly, for all of us, most of those negatives were thrown away for lack of storage.
The film is a bit slow to start but worth the wait. The audio is clear and the jazz is wonderful. Pristine archival 16mm footage shows many well known stars of stage, sports and politics. The archival photographs still have that just made satin quality. Just a few of the stars were Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Adam Clayton Powell, W.C. Handy, Joe Lewis and Eartha Kit.
Woven through this film are the memories of the Smiths and their pride in self and their people. The weave is knotted here and there with racism and white benefactors. This is the paradox we continue to struggle with in our society and this is a film whose time is now. A great film for social science and humanities classes high school level through graduate school.