This movie, made before IMITATION OF LIFE, had a subplot of a friendship between two women, one white and one black.
And while Chico was "officially" Lily's maid, she was treated as an equal.
I remember one scene where Chico is about to go out on a date, and she's dressed to the nines--probably the first time in US cinema where a black woman looked so elegant.
For the issue of race relations, BABY FACE was a movie ahead of its time.
Very true, snsurone. In addition, the actress was slim and beautiful, not a mammy at all. There were a few other Pre-Codes that presented women of color as fully dimensional, Safe In Hell and Hold Your Man come to mind.
shareI saw BABY FACE maybe 20 years ago. Wasn't the black character played by Teresa Harris? She was also a skilled singer/dancer. See her paired with Eddie (Rochester) Anderson in BUCK BENNY RIDES AGAIN.
May I bone your kipper, Mademoiselle?
Hi Bradford-1,
Yes, Teresa Harris played the character. She also played Jean Harlow's friend in Hold Your Man. There is even a scene where Harris's father, a preacher, marries them. Harris worked for years playing domestics. Her husband was a doctor.
She also played Bette Davis' maid in JEZEBEL.
Sadly, that was just a "yas'm" role for her.
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I never saw SAFE IN HELL, but from reading about it in Wiki, the story is a real downer.
And Dorothy McKaill is a totally forgotten actress.
I wish TCM would air it sometime; in fact, I wish TCM would devote a whole month to pre-Code movies.
Hi snsurone,
See it if you get a chance. It's terrific and really worth a look. I agree with you about TCM although they do devote a lot of time to Pre-Code films, I'd love to see more.
I really liked Nina Mae McKinney as "Chick" when I saw HALLELUJAH! in a revival theater MANY years ago.
She was beautiful and a good singer.
Sad that her career never really took off; her best role was probably as Paul Robeson's wife in THE EMPEROR JONES.
But, of course, roles were limited for black actors in those days, as IMITATION OF LIFE attests.