They were just magic on the screen. Hattie McDaniel was such a great talent. What a fine actress. Robeson had a magnificent voice too. No one can top his Old Man River.
I may be wrong about this, but I recall reading somewhere that at the preview of Gone with the Wind, Hattie McDaniel wasn't invited to attend. Why? Obvious in that time, and so cruel. I think she won a rightfully bestowed Academy Award for her performance in that. Hattie was simply marvbellous in everything she did.
More than magnificent, one of the most beautiful bass voices of his time and later. Warfield had a lighter tone and some think he was better. But, for me, nothing beat Robeson and the US simply had no idea what they had in their midst until it was gone.
What a voice! And Hattie was screen gold, such an expressive face. My Belgian mother used to play Robeson's 'Old Man River' on a vinyl LP record on our Grundig record player in India, and his rich bass voice rumbled out of the speakers and was low and thrilling. She said he could go so low it would shatter glass. It was impossibly low and rich. It was like watching the color black get darker and darker when you thought it could not possibly get any darker... Years later in America, I am hearing this man again immortalized on RU-vid. How wonderful!
We had the great honour to have Paul Robeson visit Great Britain. He made a film in Wales, or based in Wales (one of our home nations), but I don't think that Hattie visited us. I love them both. Great talents and had to work so much harder to overcome ignorance and prejudice. Dignified people from a time that forged great people.
Omg ..pure magic on the silver screen!!!! Loved THE both OF THEM since was lad ...Now at 65 they still bring tear of joy to me watch these amazing actors and along with being a gift from GOD ALMIGHTY to All .. I’ll never will I forget these beautiful people !!
@@flaming_trout Stop putting your values on yesteryear. They are not racist at all. A simple portrayal of a time long gone. The beauty and the hard times.
So many happy memories this song brings my late uncle Keith mathews and I would listen to this song together he would sing and I would play along on the mouth organ God I miss those happy times and yes what a song
I may know very little about Paul Robeson, but I have read Paul Robeson by Martin Duberman's book, I read Paul Robeson, Jr volume l, Paul's 'Here I Stand, (what a magical book that is). I bought a docu from Amazon called 'Songs of Freedom', and I have watched countless speaches and documentaries on youtube and elsewhere on the net. I have many of his albums and have used his songs in assemblies and attended exhibitions in london by CLR James. So NO, I don't know much, but I am doing my best.
Two people who made it possible for others to succeed. Also if you look at the table , the pancake mix has that lovely lady picture on it. Wonder if that was her idea? If so, she had more power than we realize. So say I, Moses of Englewood Chicago
I believe the woman whom you're referring to as the original "Queenie" in Showboat, was Miss Tess Gardella, often called "Jemima" because of her frequency in playing "Mammy" type characters on stage. Ironically, Miss Gardella was an Italian woman who played Blackface characters when it was unpopular (and sometimes illegal) for the races to appear on stage together; a point raised in this very film.
AH STILL SUITS ME From the film "Show Boat" (1936) (Oscar Hammerstein II / Jerome Kern) Paul Robeson & Hattie McDaniel (Film Soundtrack) - 1936 Paul Robeson & Elisabeth Welch - 1936 Bing Crosby & Lee Wiley (Recorded as "I Still Suits Me") - 1947 Thomas Carey & Ena Cabayo (London Revival) - 1971 (The kitchen. JOE is shelling peas. The show boat is rocking violently on the swollen river. A lurch of the boat sends the boat of shelled peas to the floor. JOE looks down at them dubiously. QUEENIE enters) QUEENIE Joe! Dere you go again! Look at dem peas all over de floor! JOE River done it... QUEENIE De river done it?!? JOE Ol' river can do mos' anything, Queenie. Look out dere what it's doin' now - won't be letting us give no show tonight. (QUEENIE gets on her knees and proceeds to put the peas back in the bowl) QUEENIE Show? Dat don't worry me none. Dere's somethin' else on dis ol' boat worries me mo'. JOE Miss Nola? QUEENIE Dat's what... JOE She be all right. QUEENIE Dat's what you say 'bout ev'rythin'. You don't get excited. Why? 'Cause you don't do nuthin'. You don' cook like me. You don' act like the show folk. You don' work on the tow boat. What do you do? JOE Well, I jes' shelled dem peas. QUEENIE (snorting) You ain't pickin' dem up. JOE No, but I could've ef you didn't do it. I could do a lot of things ef it wuz necessary. QUEENIE Den why don'cha? JOE It ain't necessary... (He starts to sing, extemporaneously rhyming, stating his mood of the moment. He sings as QUEENIE goes about her work) JOE Keep on a-naggin', 'n bullyraggin', 'n criticizin', 'n call me pizen, Ah ain't apologizin', no siree! No matter what you say, Ah still suits me. De rag you're chewin' Mus' be a ruin, Keep right on knockin', Keep right on mockin', Mah rockin' chair ain't rockin', No siree! No matter what you say, Ah still suits me. QUEENIE (coming over to him, belligerently) Does you ever wash the dishes? Does you do the things I wishes? Does you do dem? No, you don't! Will you do dem? No, you won't! When dere's any workin' to it I'm de one dat's gotta do it! When it's rainin' who's the feller Uses up the whole umbreller? Selfish as a man can be! JOE (looking up blandly) No matter what you say, Ah still suits me. QUEENIE You don' make money! JOE Ah know dat, honey! QUEENIE I never see none! JOE Ain't gonna be none, But dat don' worry me none, No siree! QUEENIE (spoken) Shif'less! Lifeless! No good! JOE No matter what you say, Ah still suits me. I may be no good, No good fo' yo' good, I may be lifeless, But wid one wife less Mah life would be mo' strifeless, Yes siree! No matter what you say Ah still suits me. (imitating QUEENIE with falsetto exaggeration) Does you ever wash de dishes? Does you do de things ah wishes? Does you do dem? No you don't! Will you do dem? No, you won't! QUEENIE (interrupting) Always imitatin' me An' always aggravation' me! Den in spite of ev'rything, 'Spite of all de grief you bring, 'Xpectin' me to love you true! JOE No matter what you say, Ah thinks you do. (He reaches out and pulls her to him affectionately. She roars with glee)
AH STILL SUITS ME lyrics/complete From the film "Show Boat" (1936) (Oscar Hammerstein II / Jerome Kern) Paul Robeson & Hattie McDaniel (Film Soundtrack) - 1936 Paul Robeson & Elisabeth Welch - 1936 Bing Crosby & Lee Wiley (Recorded as "I Still Suits Me") - 1947 Thomas Carey & Ena Cabayo (London Revival) - 1971 (The kitchen. JOE is shelling peas. The show boat is rocking violently on the swollen river. A lurch of the boat sends the boat of shelled peas to the floor. JOE looks down at them dubiously. QUEENIE enters) QUEENIE Joe! Dere you go again! Look at dem peas all over de floor! JOE River done it... QUEENIE De river done it?!? JOE Ol' river can do mos' anything, Queenie. Look out dere what it's doin' now - won't be letting us give no show tonight. (QUEENIE gets on her knees and proceeds to put the peas back in the bowl) QUEENIE Show? Dat don't worry me none. Dere's somethin' else on dis ol' boat worries me mo'. JOE Miss Nola? QUEENIE Dat's what... JOE She be all right. QUEENIE Dat's what you say 'bout ev'rythin'. You don't get excited. Why? 'Cause you don't do nuthin'. You don' cook like me. You don' act like the show folk. You don' work on the tow boat. What do you do? JOE Well, I jes' shelled dem peas. QUEENIE (snorting) You ain't pickin' dem up. JOE No, but I could've ef you didn't do it. I could do a lot of things ef it wuz necessary. QUEENIE Den why don'cha? JOE It ain't necessary... (He starts to sing, extemporaneously rhyming, stating his mood of the moment. He sings as QUEENIE goes about her work) JOE Keep on a-naggin', 'n bullyraggin', 'n criticizin', 'n call me pizen, Ah ain't apologizin', no siree! No matter what you say, Ah still suits me. De rag you're chewin' Mus' be a ruin, Keep right on knockin', Keep right on mockin', Mah rockin' chair ain't rockin', No siree! No matter what you say, Ah still suits me. QUEENIE (coming over to him, belligerently) Does you ever wash the dishes? Does you do the things I wishes? Does you do dem? No, you don't! Will you do dem? No, you won't! When dere's any workin' to it I'm de one dat's gotta do it! When it's rainin' who's the feller Uses up the whole umbreller? Selfish as a man can be! JOE (looking up blandly) No matter what you say, Ah still suits me. QUEENIE You don' make money! JOE Ah know dat, honey! QUEENIE I never see none! JOE Ain't gonna be none, But dat don' worry me none, No siree! QUEENIE (spoken) Shif'less! Lifeless! No good! JOE No matter what you say, Ah still suits me. I may be no good, No good fo' yo' good, I may be lifeless, But wid one wife less Mah life would be mo' strifeless, Yes siree! No matter what you say Ah still suits me. (imitating QUEENIE with falsetto exaggeration) Does you ever wash de dishes? Does you do de things ah wishes? Does you do dem? No you don't! Will you do dem? No, you won't! QUEENIE (interrupting) Always imitatin' me An' always aggravation' me! Den in spite of ev'rything, 'Spite of all de grief you bring, 'Xpectin' me to love you true! JOE No matter what you say, Ah thinks you do. (He reaches out and pulls her to him affectionately. She roars with glee) ****** as rec by Bing Crosby & Lee Wiley w Victor Young & his Orch March 17th 1947 Los Angeles [bc] Keep on a-naggin' and bully-raggin' And criticisin' and call me "pison!", I ain't apologisin', no sirree, No matter what you say, I still suits me! [lw] Does you ever wash the dishes? Does you do the things I wishes? Does you do them? No you don't! Will you do them? No you won't! When there's any workin' to it, I'm the one who's got to do it! When it's rainin', who's the fella Uses up the whole umbrella? selfish as a man can be! [bc] No matter what you say, I still suits me! [lw] You don't make money, [bc] Ha-ha, I know that honey! [lw] I never see none! [bc] And there ain't likely to be none! But that don't worry me none, no sirree, [lw] Shiftless, lifeless, and no good! [bc] No matter what you say, I still suits me! [lw] I may be no good - [bc] No good for your good! [lw] I may be lifeless - [bc] But with one wife less My life would be more strifeless, yes sirree, No matter what you say, I still suits me! "Does you ever wash the dishes? Does you do the things I wishes? Does you do them? No you don't! Will you do them? No you won't!". [lw] Always imitatin' me, Always aggravatin' me! Still in spite of everythin', Spite of all the grief you bring, 'Xpecting me to love you true! [bc] Ha-ha-ho-ho-ho! No matter whart you say, I think you do! [lw] I knows I do! (Transcribed by Peter Akers - June 2011)
People do nothing but degrade Hatties performances playing a "Mammy". This woman was a real superstar during her career. She could take the tiniest role and make it the most memorable character. She was a spokeswoman for civil rights, right along with Paul Robeson. She was a real powerhouse. Look at her... She was actually a beautiful woman. She was one of the kindest people in showbusiness. She acted rings around everyone. And, although it was a small sample, she proves she could sing. In fact, she sang in nearly every movie she starred in! Who can forget "Sooner Or Later" from "Son Of The South", which is her second greatest performance next to "Gone With The Wind".
Loved that film .Hattie was my idle .rest in peace Hattie GodBless You Amen.You May Be Gone But Your Not Forgotten. 🕊🕊🕊🕊🕊🕊🕊🕊🕊🕊🕊🕊🕊🕊🕊🕊🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
What a treat to see Miss McDaniels singing and dancing, and how kind of Mr. Wynn to give another vaudeville veteran some national exposure to "plug" her own show.
@brerfox71 according to the IMDb trivia: "In the scene in which Paul Robeson sings 'Ah Still Suits Me,' Queenie (Hattie McDaniel) has a box of Aunt Jemima pancake mix on her work table. It's a subtle nod to Tess Gardella (stage name 'Aunt Jemima'), who created the role of Queenie in the 1927 Broadway production."
Hattie was one of the 1st Rappers, and then Pigmeat Markum, who rapped just like the modern day ones. Paul Roberson was one of the 1st real crooners, his vocals could be played, even today, for people suffering from Insomnia
Imagine the parts that they would have now, I know Hattie McDaniel said she would rather play a maid then be one. But she was a pioneer, the first Black to win an academy award!
Hattie won an Oscar for 'Gone With The Wind'. I remember watching a film clip some years later of her receiving the award, and she walked on from one side, made a speech, then left on the other side. As a child I did not understand why, and it seemed mean spirited. Of course it was, because she wasn't allowed to eat at the hotel.
@@maszlagma It's not. Some people can't handle the truth and the truth is this is just a fun song, not meant to be taken too seriously. Just a married couple exaggerating each other's faults. In a time when husbands did not do much domestically. It's not racist or patronising as they are portraying the time period of the movie and they are just living as best they can.
Miss McDaniels always portrayed a hard working, generous, honorable loving woman. Her clothes weren’t rags and dirty, she was always impeccably dressed and mannered and made Scarlett look like trash. Good Morals are the finest gams to wear and she could definitely wear them.💕🙏💕🙏
That’s Tess Gardella’s face on the flour bag she was a black face vaudeville performer who originated the role of Queenie on stage in the 20s ironically the book that Showboat was adapted from was about the unfairness of segregation. I like to think that the pancake mix bag was cinemas first Easter Egg reference and I think a jab at the original Showboat cast for its own racism
You don't get it. You are focussing on me offending you yet you say it's my problem if I am offended by you. Where do you get your reasoning from? You make no sense at all. I don't care what you think about me, I am just saying to you that there is nothing derogatory about the way the artist are acting, because it is placed at a certain time in history. They are speaking and acting as people did around that time. slavery was still not very far from their minds and jim crow law was still fresh.
History needs to be understood in the context of how people thought and felt during that time. Issues then were resolved according to the times, and we don't need to relive them today. We got enough problems of our own today than having to deal with problems that have already been resolved.
Nickleby2 Hattie McDaniel and Paul Robeson were happy to sing that song, I know just as much about Paul’s exacting life, but you can see both Hattie and Paul have a great rapport with each other, they obviously enjoyed each other. The serious side comes into play later in Paul’s spectacular life, I say spectacular because in my opinion he was the greatest human being of all. He petitioned for black rights more effectively than Martin Luther King ever did, he spoke all over the world on equality for black people, he met with prime ministers, with Queens, going to Russia and China, black people have forgotten history, forgetting that they were given dignity by Paul Robeson.
This has to be the song of my life. It used to drive my Mrs crazy, especially when I'd sing the "I maybe lifeless, but with one wife less, my life would be more strifeless" verse to her.. :D :D :D
Shame on the entertainment industry back in those days she had to accept roles that picture her cooking and cleaning they even made her have a certain dialect . In fact she didn't even like to cook if you read history on her. That's why she always wanted to be shown with just a spoon cooking. She was underrated most definitely. What a beautiful lady and then to turn around and die of breast cancer at 59. Even more sad. May the world realize that all people are to be treated equal no matter what. 💟🙂
Was this song included in the Show Boat from 1951?? I think not. Maybe it was in the original 1927 Broadway musical?? Upon looking it up, this particular Duet was definitely excluded from the 1951 MGM musical. I wonder why? My guess might be that Paul Robeson wrote the song, not Jerome Kern, and Robeson refused to release the rights to be used in the MGM remake?
1/5/19: There is a new world coming where there will be no more racism, no diseases, killing, sadness, no disappointments or anything that is false or a lie. JESUS CHRIST will completely reign & rule. Even so, Come, LORD JESUS.
Trivia: Hattie McDaniel put the "Aunt Jemima" box on the table because the woman on the box was the actress in the original "Showboat" on Broadway. It was a sort of homage. I've heard this more than once, but cannot remember the actress' name. Her stage name was "Aunt Jemima" though. Also, many women tease their men in this way. Why, even I have been called "shiftless and no good". No truth to it, of course.
Even blacks at that time gave her crap for playing the role of a maid all the time, but what they didn't understand was she played those roles with dignity and she did it her way and ignored her critics both white and black. Now THAT is someone to look up to.
The NAACP was really misguided re: Hattie McDaniel. Instead of hailing an amazing talent and continue to march towards equality. They used Hattie as a scape goat re: the civil rights movement. This lady was an amazing talent. A powerful actress that transcends time.
