Blackface!

Mantan Moreland 1902-1973

Mantan Moreland parlayed his cocky but jittery character into a recognizable presence in the late 1930s and early 1940s, appearing in a long string of comedy thrillers.

At the age of 12, Mantan Moreland joined the circus and found success in vaudeville for many years before coming to Hollywood. Mantan's focus gradually shifted towards film, where he initially appeared in servile bit-parts (shoeshine men, porters, waiters). However, his talent for making people laugh couldn't be overlooked and he soon earned featured status in Harlem-styled western parodies and grade "A" comedy films playing the superstitious, ever-terrified manservant running from any kind of impending doom. Moreland's film debut was in That's the Spirit (1936), although he did not have a credited role. Boxer Joe Louis helped him land his part in Spirit of Youth (1938), featuring Louis himself. 

Mantan Moreland with Charlie Chan

Moreland's characters were nervous and jumpy, and ready to leap out of his skin at the slightest noise. He could pop his bulging eyes and had a way of making his entire body quake with teeth-chattering tremors. Moreland's defining role was that of Birmingham Brown, the loyal chauffeur to master detective Charlie Chan in fifteen films made by Monogram Studios in the 1940s.

Mantan Moreland clip from Dark Alibi (1946)

Moreland appeared in over one hundred films throughout his career. Some of his other films include It Started with Eve (1941), A Haunting We will Go with Laurel and Hardy (1942), Cabin in the Sky (1943), and See Here, Private Hargrove (1944).

In the late 1960s he managed a modest resurgence on TV and in commercials and occasional films.

Works in Progress
Blackface Origins in Clowning
Blackface History Prior to Minstrel Shows
 Excerpts from Monarchs of Minstrelsy (1911)

Racial and Racist Stereotypes in Media