Dorothy Dandridge

Acting

Dorothy Dandridge

Born 1922-11-09 · Cleveland, Ohio, USA

Dorothy Jean Dandridge (November 9, 1922 – September 8, 1965) was an American actress and singer. She was the first African-American film star to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress, which was for her performance in Carmen Jones (1954). Dandridge also performed as a vocalist in venues such as the Cotton Club and the Apollo Theater. During her early career, she performed as a part of The Wonder Children, later The Dandridge Sisters, and appeared in a succession of films, usually in uncredited roles. In 1959, Dandridge was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Porgy and Bess. She is the subject of the 1999 biographical film Introducing Dorothy Dandridge, with Halle Berry portraying her. She has been recognized with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Acting credits

Carmen Jones poster
6.2

In this musical set in an all-Black army camp, civilian parachute maker and "hot bundle" Carmen Jones is desired by many of the men. Naturally, she wants Joe, who's engaged to sweet Cindy Lou and about to go into pilot training for the Korean War.

Carmen Jones

1954

Porgy and Bess poster
6.3

In the early 1900s, the fictional Catfish Row section of Charleston, South Carolina serves as home to a black fishing community. Crippled beggar Porgy, who travels about in a goat-drawn cart, loves the drug-addicted Bess, who lives with stevedore Crown, the local bully.

Porgy and Bess

1959

A Day at the Races poster
7.1

Doctor Hugo Hackenbush, Tony, and Stuffy try and save Judy's sanitarium by winning a big race with a finicky horse owned by Judy's boyfriend Gil. There are a few problems. Hackenbush, who was recently put in charge of the sanitarium, isn't really a doctor, he's a veterinarian.

A Day at the Races

1937

It's Black Entertainment poster
8.7

A star-studded tribute (from the creators of That's Entertainment) to the contributions of Afro-Americans in film over the last century. Vanessa Williams traces the struggles and triumphs of the superstars of music and film. Among the many artists featured are: Whitney Houston, Ella Fitzgerald, Sammy Davis Jr., Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Cab Calloway, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Ella Fitzgerald, and Little Richard, Also included are today's contemporary superstars: Snoop Dogg, Ice T, Quincy Jones, Spike Lee, Russell Simmons, and many, more! 80 minutes plus DVD bonus features.

It's Black Entertainment

2002

Since You Went Away poster
6.6

In 1943, several people enter, re-enter, and exit the difficult life of a Midwestern family whose patriarch has been called up to war, leaving behind his wife and two teen daughters.

Since You Went Away

1944

Island in the Sun poster
6.5

A scandalous tale of politics, social inequality, interracial romance, and murder set on a fictitious British-owned Caribbean island.

Island in the Sun

1957

Ride 'Em Cowboy poster
6.0

Two peanut vendors at a rodeo show get in trouble with their boss and hide out on a railroad train heading west. They get jobs as cowboys on a dude ranch, despite the fact that neither of them knows anything about cowboys, horses, or anything else.

Ride 'Em Cowboy

1941

Going Places poster
6.6

A sports store clerk poses as a famous jockey as an advertising stunt, but gets more than he bargained for.

Going Places

1938

Ebony Parade poster
7.0

Mantan Moreland hosts a series of filmed song, dance and band numbers by various artists, mostly released previously as individual "soundies".

Ebony Parade

The Decks Ran Red poster
6.4

A band of dishonest seamen plans a murderous mutiny aboard the S.S. Berwind.

The Decks Ran Red

1958

Irene poster
6.5

Upholsterer's assistant Irene O'Dare meets wealthy Don Marshall while she is measuring chairs for Mrs. Herman Vincent at her Long Island estate. Charmed by her, Don anonymously purchases Madame Lucy's, an exclusive Manhattan boutique, and instructs newly hired manager Mr. Smith to offer Irene a job as a model. She soon catches the eye of socialite Bob Vincent, whose mother is hosting a ball at the family mansion. To promote Madame Lucy's dress line, Mr. Smith arranges for his models to be invited to the ball.

Irene

1940

Sun Valley Serenade poster
7.1

When Phil Corey's band arrives at the Idaho ski resort its pianist Ted Scott is smitten with a Norwegian refugee he has sponsored, Karen Benson. When soloist Vivian Dawn quits, Karen stages an ice show as a substitute.

Sun Valley Serenade

1941

Tarzan's Peril poster
5.5

Escaped convicts are selling weapons to a warlike native tribe.

Tarzan's Peril

1951

Swingtime Jamboree poster
NR

Compilation film of various African-American performers and acts.

Swingtime Jamboree

1946

Goldwyn: The Man and His Movies poster
8.5

The life and work of Samuel Goldwyn, a Polish-born glove salesman who became one of Hollywood's greatest independent producers, is remembered in this classy documentary created for the PBS American Masters series. Based on A. Scott Berg's acclaimed biography, the film includes new interviews with Goldwyn's surviving family members as well as vintage interviews with such luminaries as Bette Davis, John Huston, Laurence Olivier and others.

Goldwyn: The Man and His Movies

2001

Happy Go Lucky poster
5.5

A gold-digger hopes to land a rich husband in Trinidad, but gets mixed up with a beach boy and voodoo.

Happy Go Lucky

1943

Remains to Be Seen poster
6.0

A singer and her apartment manager get mixed up in a creepy Park Avenue murder and find themselves facing danger at every turn.

Remains to Be Seen

1953

Orchestra Wives poster
6.5

Connie Ward is in seventh heaven when Gene Morrison's band rolls into town. She is swept off her feet by trumpeter Bill Abbot. After marrying him, she joins the band's tour and learns about life as an orchestra wife, weathering the catty attacks of the other band wives.

Orchestra Wives

1942

Sundown poster
5.5

Englishmen fighting Nazis in Africa discover an exotic mystery woman living among the natives and enlist her aid in overcoming the Germans.

Sundown

1941

Bright Road poster
6.5

Teachers at an all-black school fight to save a problem child.

Bright Road

1953

Lucky Jordan poster
7.4

Lucky Jordan is a gangster living in New York City and when he's drafted into the army, he tries to escape duty by using an old con woman named Annie to convince the draft board he's needed at home. When that fails, Jordan is sent to boot camp, but he doesn't stay there long. He takes a beautiful USO worker hostage and flees back to New York. There, he learns that a rival gangster is plotting against America.

Lucky Jordan

1942

Lady from Louisiana poster
5.4

Northern lawyer John Reynolds travels to New Orleans to try and clean up the local crime syndicate based around a lottery. Although he meets Julie Mirbeau and they are attracted to each other, the fact that her father heads the lottery means they end up on opposite sides. When her father is killed, Julie becomes more and more involved in the shady activities and in blocking Reynolds' attempts at prosecution.

Lady from Louisiana

1941

Jungle Jig poster
NR

A Soundie with Dorothy Dandridge and Cee Pee Johnson.

Jungle Jig

1941

The Harlem Renaissance poster
6.0

Chronicling the Harlem Renaissance era, this retrospective documentary tracks the origins of the soulful music of the period, along with the challenges many of the genre's artists faced when trying to gain recognition within conventional society. Included are anecdotes from musicians and historians, plus footage of performances and interviews with Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington, Count Basie and more.

The Harlem Renaissance

2004