Spencer Williams
Ras Jackson
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Synopsis
After her baptism, Martha is accidentally shot by her husband. While neighbours pray at her bedside, her spirit reaches a crossroads between salvation and temptation. A rural community's religious life becomes the frame for a journey beyond the everyday world.
Cast
DirectorsSpencer Williams
Historical context
Spencer Williams made the film in Texas with a very small budget, among the limited opportunities available to Black directors in the period. Its importance was recognised by selection for the National Film Registry in 1991.
Sources and availability
The synopsis and editorial text were written for this collection. The references below were cross-checked to identify the film and its copy; each editorial section identifies its reference.
Work catalogued as public domain in the United States.
The reference concerns the original work. Restorations, colorization, translations and other territories may have different conditions. This site uses the player enabled by the channel.
Availability checked on September 10, 2026.
Photograph credit
Photographs cropped, resized and optimized as WebP, displayed in monochrome.
- Spencer Williams — Publicity still-CBS-TV. The photo can be dated by the years the Amos 'n' Andy television show was in production. Comparing the photo with File:Spencer Williams Alvin Childress Amos n Andy 1952.JPG , another publicity photo from the show, it can be seen that Williams is dressed as the "Andy" character. Williams apparently supplied the Carmel Theatre with the photo when he was signed to appear in the musical Simply Heavenly for them in 1958. Fellow cast member Ernestine Wade wrote about the actors and actresses being supplied with photos in a 1981 letter: Page 1 Page 2 The notes on the back of the image are: "Portrait of actor Spencer Williams, signed with "Thoughtfully yours, Spencer Williams, Jr., Andy." Photograph caption reads, "The face that has been peering at you from your TV screen will peer at you in person beginning Friday (14). It belongs to Spencer Williams, the slow, lumbering, beloved character known as Andy Brown in the Amos n' Andy TV series. Andy is one of the many notable artists in the musical comedy, 'Simply Heavenly', which opens Friday at 8:30 PM on the stage of the Carmel Theatre, Santa Monica and Crescent Heights Boulevards, Los Angeles. This is the successful musical extravaganza with an all-Negro cast that stayed from an entire year in New York, the first to play L.A. in many a year." Photograph dated March 26, 1958." The theater then apparently provided the photo to the Herald-Examiner for publicity and promotion of the musical. United States Copyright Office page 2 "Visually Perceptible Copies The notice for visually perceptible copies should contain all three elements described below. They should appear together or in close proximity on the copies. 1 The symbol © (letter C in a circle); the word “Copyright”; or the abbreviation “Copr.” 2 The year of first publication. If the work is a derivative work or a compilation incorporating previously published material, the year date of first publication of the derivative work or compilation is sufficient. Examples of derivative works are translations or dramatizations; an example of a compilation is an anthology. The year may be omitted when a pictorial, graphic, or sculptural work, with accompanying textual matter, if any, is reproduced in or on greeting cards, postcards, stationery, jewelry, dolls, toys, or useful articles. 3 The name of the copyright owner, an abbreviation by which the name can be recognized, or a generally known alternative designation of owner.1 Example © 2007 Jane Doe." Uploaded by We hope at en.wikipedia · Public domain
