A Tough Winter (1930)

"A Tough Winter" (1930) is a comedy short part of the "Our Gang Comedies [a.k.a. The Little Rascals]" by Hal Roach and is the 99th episode of the series. The film stars Stepin Fetchit, Allen 'Farina' Hoskins, Jackie Cooper, Mary Ann Jackson, Bobby 'Wheezer' Hutchins, and Pete the Dog.

Lincoln Theodore Perry [a.k.a. Stepin Fetchit] became famous in Hollywood in 1929 and starred in nine films. However, his fame was due to his negative stereotypical depiction of Black people in movies. Most of his portrayals were shiftless, slow-talking, tap-dancing, and dim-wittedness. He was a comedic relief, making him the first black actor to earn $1 million. 

Allen 'Farina' Hoskins started acting in 1922 as an original cast member of the "Our Gang Comedies." He had a total of 118 credits, with his last in 1936. He branched away from the "Our Gang Comedies" in the 1930s and appeared in a few films, such as "The Mayor of Hell" (1933) and "Reckless" (1935). 

Unfortunately, many Hollywood films that feature Black actors in the 20s and 30s suffered from racist stereotypes. The early years of "Our Gang Comedies" were a product of the era, so Farina and Stepin Fetchit are examples of Hollywood's depiction of Black people. It may be challenging for some to see this film and not feel offended, which is understandable. But we must be critical and truthful about history, even if it makes us uncomfortable. Pretending it didn't happen helps nobody.

Director: Robert F. McGowan

Writers: Robert A. McGowan, H.M. Walker

Starring Stepin Fetchit, Farina' Hoskins, Jackie Cooper, Mary Ann Jackson, Bobby 'Wheezer' Hutchins, Pete the Dog, Thomas Atkins, Walter Weidler, Warner Weidler

Storyline

Stepin Fetchit allows the gang to come in from the cold and later attempts to help Mary Ann clean up after a "taffy pull" goes wrong.

Yamekraw (1930)

Starring:

• Louise Cook
• Hugo Mariani
• Jimmy Mordecai
• Margaret Simms

Storyline

A picturization of a jazz symphony. This short is an impressionistic expression of the moods and emotions of the Negro. A vignette of black life. The dilemma surrounding the move from country to city, leaving the security of the known for the uncertain promise of opportunity ahead.

A Daughter of the Congo (1930) [Lost Film]

Starring:

• Kathleen Noisette
• Lorenzo Tucker 
• Salem Tutt Whitney 
• Willor Lee Guilford 
• Roland C. Irving 
• Joe Byrd 
• Alice B. Russell

Storyline
The central character is Lupelta, a beautiful mulatto girl who has been stolen as a baby and brought up among the savages of the jungle. The story opens with Lupelta on her way to the village to marry the tribal chief. She has paused to bathe in a brook when she is surrounded, captured ad made a prisoner of slave hunters. In the meantime, Captain Paul Dale, colored U.S. Army, and his first lieutenant have been sent by their government to operate a constabulary, and are on a reconnaissance. They encounter the slave hunters and promptly take their prisoners and rescues Lupelta. She is taken to a mission school where she succumbs to learning and soon becomes a popular maid in spite of her frequent inclination to revert to the wild life of the jungle.  

**This film is considered lost until notified otherwise**

Ol' King Cotton (1930)

Starring:

• George Dewey Washington

Storyline
George is a shiftless father and husband, who lets his wife and old mother in law do all the work at his tumbledown farm, preferring to sleep under a tree. His wife finally threatens him into finding a job moving cartons in a warehouse.