The Women’s Film Preservation Fund of New York Women in Film & Television in partnership with HERFLIX presents
That Man of Mine (1946)
featuring Ruby Dee & the all-female band The International Sweethearts of Rhythm
The film will stream on HERFLIX beginning June 1
In celebration of Juneteenth, the Women’s Film Preservation Fund of NYWIFT is excited to partner with HERFLIX to stream That Man of Mine – an early Hollywood musical featuring an all black cast.
This charming film, about a production company trying to make a feature film, is really a series of musical numbers presenting exuberant musicians, mostly from the all-woman jazz forties’ band, The International Sweethearts of Rhythm. Starring a very young Ruby Dee in her first film role, it was made by a small independent black production company and was one of the first films to successfully counter its era’s negative stereotypes of African Americans.
Ruby Dee was an Academy Award nominated actress whose career spanned more than 60 years. Some of her films include The Jackie Robinson Story, A Raisin in the Sun, Edge of the City, The Incident, and American Gangster (Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress, 2007). She was active in film and television and was a member of such organizations as the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), the NAACP, and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. Dee was honored with NYWIFT’s Muse Award in 1997. Her husband and fellow activist was the late actor Ossie Davis.
Director William D. Alexander established his own production company, Alexander Productions, in New York City and became a film producer and founded the Associated Film Producers of Negro Motion Pictures.
This film was preserved with support from the Women’s Film Preservation Fund of New York Women in Film & Television. With additional support from The Monterey Pop Festival Foundation, The National Film Preservation Foundation and The Academy Film Archive. Preservation supervised by the Academy Film Archive and the Library of Congress.
Special thanks to DuArt Media Services.
The Women’s Film Preservation Fund of New York Women in Film & Television is the only program in the world dedicated to saving the cultural legacy of women in the industry through film preservation. It was founded in 1995 by NYWIFT in conjunction with the Museum of Modern Art. To support our efforts – please consider a small monthly donation via our PAYPAL platform. All donations are tax-deductible and go directly to the preservation of the films.
Learn more about the WFPF and donate to the preservation.
