Alfred N. Sack (October 22, 1898 – March 1, 1969) was an American businessperson, newspaper publisher and the proprietor of film distribution, production, and the theater-owning business Sack Amusements in the United States.. He collaborated with Spencer Williams to make films with Black casts. Sack Amusement Enterprises was the leading distributor of this type of film between 1920 and 1950.

Biography

Sack was born in

Greenville, Mississippi Greenville is the List of municipalities in Mississippi, ninth-most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, and the largest city by population in the Mississippi Delta region. It is the county seat of Washington County, Mississippi, Was ...

. He worked as a newspaper publisher in the 1920s between stints in the film industry."Alfred N. Sack, 69, Is Dead; Texas Film Executive." ''

Boxoffice ''Boxoffice Pro'' is a film industry magazine dedicated to the movie theatre business published by BoxOffice Media LP. History It started in 1920 as ''The Reel Journal'', taking the name ''Boxoffice'' in 1931 and still publishes today, with a ...

''. Vol. 94, Iss. 21. Mar 10, 1969. p. 11. His business, Sack Amusements, included many films starring African American casts, so-called

race films The race film or race movie was a genre of film produced in the United States between about 1915 and the early 1950s, consisting of films produced for African American, black audiences, and featuring black casts. Approximately five hundred race ...

. He worked with his brother Lester. They were Jewish. They partnered with

Spencer Williams Spencer Williams (October 14, 1889 – July 14, 1965) was an American jazz and popular music composer, pianist, and singer. He is best known for his hit songs " Basin Street Blues", " I Ain't Got Nobody", " Royal Garden Blues", " I've Found a N ...

on several films. Sack distributed several

Oscar Micheaux Oscar Devereaux Micheaux (; January 2, 1884 – March 25, 1951) was an American author, film director and independent producer of more than 44 films. Although the short-lived Lincoln Motion Picture Company was the first movie company owned and c ...

films. Sack secured a deal with RKO to distribute four two-reel films of "Negro spirituals". The brothers re-released some films. The brothers purchased the Lucas Theatre in Dallas, Texas. He opened the Coronet Theatre in Dallas in 1948. It opened as an art house theatre but by the time he sold it in 1967, it was an

adult film Pornography (colloquially called porn or porno) is sexually suggestive material, such as a picture, video, text, or audio, intended for sexual arousal. Made for consumption by adults, pornographic depictions have evolved from cave paintings ...

theatre. Sack had a daughter, Sarah Lee Sack. Sarah Lee Sack's blindness was discovered when she was a few days old; her disability inspired Sack to become active in helping blind children. He had a heart attack in 1959. '' Go Down, Death!'' was adapted from a poem by

James Weldon Johnson James Weldon Johnson (June 17, 1871June 26, 1938) was an American writer and civil rights activist. He was married to civil rights activist Grace Nail Johnson. Johnson was a leader of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ...

Filmography

* ''

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

'' (1929) * '' The Black King'' (1932) * '' She Devil'' (1934), distributor * ''

Princess Tam Tam ''Princess Tam Tam'' (French: ''Princesse Tam Tam'') is a 1935 French black-and-white film which stars Josephine Baker as a local Tunisian girl who is educated and then introduced to Parisian high society. Baker sings two songs, "Dream Ship" and ...

'' (1935), distributor, a French film adaptation of ''Pygmalion'' blocked from major distribution channels by censors in the U.S. * '' The Broken Earth'' (1936) * ''

Underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld. ...

'' (1937), distributor * '' Harlem on the Prairie'' (1937), distributor * ''

Policy Man ''Policy Man'', is a 1938 American feature film in black and white, and is now a lost film. It was advertised as having an "all colored cast", featuring Ethel Moses, Jimmie Baskett, and Count Bassie. It was directed by Irwin Franklyn, and prod ...

'' (1938) * ''

Two-Gun Man from Harlem ''Two Gun Man from Harlem'' is a 1938 American contemporary Western film directed by Richard C. Kahn. It was produced by Merit Pictures, distributed by Sack Amusement Enterprises and featured an all-African-American cast. Plot summary A man wro ...

'' (1938), distributor * '' Harlem Rides the Range'' (1939) * '' The Devil's Daughter'' (1939) * '' Midnight Shadow'' (1939) * ''

Moon Over Harlem ''Moon Over Harlem'' is a 1939 American race film directed by Edgar G. Ulmer. Plot summary A gangster, Dollar Bill Richards, seduces a wealthy widow, Minnie, to get his hands on her money. Cast * Bud Harris as Dollar Bill * Cora Green as ...

'' (1939) * ''

The Bronze Buckaroo ''The Bronze Buckaroo'' is a 1939 American Western (genre), Western race film directed by Richard C. Kahn. ''The Bronze Buckaroo'' stars Black cowboys, Black cowboy singer Herb Jeffries, here billed as Herbert Jeffrey. Plot Cowboy Bob Blake rec ...

'' (1939) * '' Lying Lips'' (1939) * ''

Gang War (1940 film) A gang is a group or society of associates, friends, or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collectiv ...

'' * ''

Son of Ingagi ''Son of Ingagi'' is a 1940 American black horror monster film directed by Richard C. Kahn. It was the first science fiction horror film to feature an all-black cast.Moon 1997, p. 370 It was written by Spencer Williams (actor), Spencer Williams b ...

'' (1940) * ''

The Blood of Jesus ''The Blood of Jesus'' (also known as ''The Glory Road'') is a 1941 American independent fantasy drama race film written, directed by and starring Spencer Williams. The plot concerns a Baptist woman who, after being accidentally shot by her athe ...

'' (1941), distributor * ''

Marching On! ''Marching On!'' is a 1943 American race film directed and written by Spencer Williams. Sequences were filmed at Fort Huachuca, Arizona. The film was later rereleased with additional musical sequences under the title ''Where's My Man To-nite?''. ...

'' (1943), directed by

* '' Of One Blood'' (1944), directed by Spencer Williams * '' Go Down, Death!'' (1944) * ''

Harlem Hotshots ''Harlem Hotshots'' is an American short film from 1940 produced by Sack Amusements. The 20 minute film is a musical. One poster for the film includes a skyline of buildings and street sign for Lenox Avenue and 125th Street. The film was reissue ...

'' (1940) (short subject) * ''

Beale Street Mama Beale Street Mama is a 1923 popular song by J. Russell Robinson and Roy Turk and a 1946 film with an African-American cast named for the song. An early jazz standard, the song was recorded by Bessie Smith, Ted Lewis, Fletcher Henderson, Cab Cal ...

'' (1946) * '' Dirty Gertie from Harlem U.S.A.'' (1946) * '' Juke Joint (film)'' (1947) * '' Murder with Music'' (1948) * '' The Girl in Room 20'' (1949)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sack, Alfred N. 1898 births 1969 deaths People from Greenville, Mississippi Film distributors (people) American Jews 20th-century American newspaper publishers (people) American theatre people American film production company founders Film producers from Mississippi