Lime Kiln Club Field Day

The oldest known surviving film starring an entirely Black cast, this unfinished 1913 romantic comedy—the footage of which was miraculously recovered from the vaults of the bankrupt Biograph film studio, alongside outtakes and a trove of still images from the production—stars legendary Bahamian-American vaudeville performer Bert Williams as a dandy competing with two rivals for the love of a woman (played by Harlem entrepreneur and actress Odessa Warren Grey). Williams—wearing blackface makeup in a concession to entertainment standards of the day—proves to be a leading man of striking depth, blending impressive slapstick gifts with emotional range. Reconstructed by the Museum of Modern Art from the extant fragments, LIME KILN CLUB FIELD DAY is a remarkable living vision of Black love, joy, and comic creativity.

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