SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 18 - HERB JEFFRIES 2 Films 1:30 a.m. (ET)/10:30 p.m. (PT) TWO GUN MAN FROM HARLEM (1938) Herbert Jeffries, also known as Herb Jeffries and Herb Jeffrey, plays dual roles - as Bob Blake and the Deacon - in Richard C. KahnÕs Two Gun Man From Harlem (1938). JeffriesÕs character is wrongfully accused of murder and goes to Harlem, where he assumes the identity of a preacher-turned-gangster who looks like him. He infiltrates the gang in order to catch the men who framed him for the murder. The second in a series of Herb Jeffries Westerns, Two Gun Man From Harlem helped enforce the idea that a black man could ride the range and save the day as easily as a white cowboy. The idea for the character came to Jeffries in the thirties, while touring as a singer around the southern states with Earl Hines's band. He came upon a crying black child and when the boy explained that he was forbidden to join a pretend cowboy game because there were no black cowboys, Jeffries realized that he had to make a Western for his race. Though Hollywood darkened his skin and covered his wavy hair with a huge cowboy hat, Jeffries became a popular attraction on the black movie circuit as Bob Blake, the singing cowboy. In all, he made four Westerns including Two Gun Man From Harlem. The others were Harlem on the Prairie (1937), The Bronze Buckaroo (1939), and Harlem Rides the Range (1939). "A good entertainer, a man with a vision and the fortitude to make it a reality, is an inspiration to all children, of any color, and he's a man we all can look up to," Herb Jeffries once remarked. He has certainly proven himself to be that man and Jeffries is still writing and recording songs. In 1996 he received the Golden Boot Award from the Motion Picture and Television Fund Foundation for his contribution to the western film genre. Director: Richard C. Kahn Producer: Richard C. Kahn, Alfred N. Sack Screenplay: Richard C. Kahn Cinematography: Harvey Gould, Marcel Le Picard Music: Herb Jeffries Art Direction: Vin Taylor Principle Cast: Herb Jeffries (Bob Blake/The Deacon), Marguerite Whitten (Sally Thompson), Clarence Brooks (John Barker), Mantan Moreland (Bill Blake), Matthew ÔStymieÕ Beard (Jimmy Thompson), Spencer Williams (Butch Carter) BW-65m. By Kerryn Sherrod 3:00 a.m. (ET)/12:00 a.m. (PT) WICKED WOMAN (1954) You know she's trouble from the moment you see her disembarking from a bus. As the camera slowly travels up her body from her flashy high heels to her bleached blonde hair, you know this woman is going to bring bad luck to anyone she meets. And as the Wicked Woman of the title, Beverly Michaels doesn't disappoint. She promptly checks into a fleabag rooming house where she begins sponging off her fellow boarder, Charlie (Percy Helton). Then she lies her way into a job at a sleazy bar where she seduces the bartender (Richard Egan) and convinces him to leave his wife, sell the business, and run away with her to Mexico. Of course, things don't exactly go as planned but what did you expect from a Wicked Woman? As part of our salute to Herb Jeffries, Wicked Woman (1954) is a bit of a cheat because Jeffries doesn't actually appear in the film. He does sing the title song though and it sets the down and dirty tone for this tawdry little melodrama. Jeffries, who was quite the black matinee idol in the late thirties, was best known as black America's first singing cowboy. His mellifluous voice can also be heard narrating the Turner Classic Movies' original documentary on director Oscar Micheaux, Midnight Ramble (1994), and more recent appearances include a cameo in The Cherokee Kid (1996), a comedic homage to the black Western genre starring the comedian Sinbad, and Keepers of the Frame (1999), a documentary about film preservation. Director: Russell Rouse Producer: Clarence Greene Screenplay: Clarence Greene, Russell Rouse Music: Buddy Baker, Josep Mullendore Principle Cast: Beverly Michaels (Billie Nash), Richard Egan (Matt Bannister), Percy Helton (Charlie Borg), Evelyn Scott (Dora Bannister), Robert Osterloh (Mr. Lowry), William Phillips (Gus), Frank Ferguson (Mr. Porter), Bernadene Hayes (Mrs. Walters) BW-77m. By Jeff Stafford