MovieChat Forums > Blossoms in the Dust (1941) Discussion > Black face?

Black face?

posted 8 years ago by mdonln
3 replies | jump to latest

I thought the maid, Cleo, looked so unnaturally dark she actually looked blue in some scenes. I was surprised to see she was played by Theresa Harris, an actress I had just seen in another movie. In that movie she had a much lighter complexion.

Does anyone know why a black actor would be made up to look even darker? There were other black cast members in the movie including two babies; none of them seemed to be made up in the same way.

Woman, man! That's the way it should be Tarzan. [Tarzan and his mate]

[–] Henry_Framus_Valentine 8 years ago

Theresa Harris was a great actress and a great beauty. It galls me that she was in blackface for her role, like some coon show. Bad taste — and what a waste!

🇺🇸 Liberty • E Pluribus Unum • In God We Trust 🇺🇸

[–] lexyladyjax 8 years ago

African Americans tan. Perhaps she had been outdoors a long while, or had a beach vacation or it may have been the lighting. POC did not wear blackface in films unless they were in minstrel shows.

Bored now.

[–] Henry_Framus_Valentine 7 years ago

POC did not wear blackface in films unless they were in minstrel shows.

Forgive me for contradicting you, but many light-skinned Blacks were made-up to look darker in films during the Jim Crow period. I suggest that you look into the career of Fredi Washington, for example.

🇺🇸 Liberty • E Pluribus Unum • In God We Trust 🇺🇸