Harlem Double Feature: Two-Gun Man from Harlem (1938) / Keep Punching (1939) On DVD

Two-Gun Man From Harlem (1938, B&W): African-American youths in 1937 loved looking up at the silver screen to see handsome, dashing Herbert Jeffrey blazing his way across the west. Here was a black hero, getting the pretty girl, defeating the outlaws, being honorable, riding, fighting and singing his way across the range. Jeffrey is supported by an all-star cast including Clarence Brooks, Mantan Moreland, Spencer Williams, Jr. (of TV's Amos and Andy) and Stymie Beard (of Our Gang). Two-Gun-Man From Harlem is an outstanding example of the Western "Race" movie.

Lustful Mrs. Ruth Steel tries to seduce foreman Bob Blake, but the honest cowpoke will not betray his boss. The unfaithful wife has her husband murdered and frames Bob for the crime. With a posse on his trail, Bob hops a freight for Harlem, where he will hide out and attempt to find a way to clear his name.

Keep Punching (1939, B&W): Winner of three World Championships, Henry Armstrong is regarded as one of the greatest fighters of all time. Here he portrays Henry Jackson (Armstrong's real name), an athlete and scholar who eschews the career in medicine his parents are hoping for, to follow his love - boxing. The talented slugger fights his way to the top of the sport. But the corruption of the big city and the pressure of big-time racketeers, threaten to tear Henry from the straight and narrow path that has led him to the brink of a championship.