Join or Sign In

Continue with Facebook Continue with email

By joining TV Guide, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy.

Hearts in Dixie Reviews

1929
1 hr 11 mins
Drama
NR

Watchlist
Where to Watch

Together with MGM's Hallelujah, Fox's Hearts in Dixie is historically significant as one of the first all-talkie, big-studio productions to boast a predominately African-American cast. The ineluctable Clarence Muse, all of forty years old, stars as elderly Grandpap Nappus, a former slave whose beloved daughter Chloe (Bernice Pilot) marries the shiftless Gummy (comedian Stepin Fetchit, in his only "straight" role). After Chloe's death, Grandpap determines that his grandson Chinaquapin (Eugene Jackson) will not follow in Gummy's footsteps. He intends to send the boy North for a proper education, a move that is strongly opposed by the no-good Gummy. Essentially a white man's view of the Black South, Hearts in Dixie may strike modern viewers as stereotypical and demeaning, but its intentions were honorable, and the end result was quite pleasing to both black and white audiences in 1929.

Unfortunately viewed only in the novelty sense as an "all-Negro film," this Civil War drama is good enough to stand on its own merits. Muse plays Grandpap Nappus who decides that his grandson should be educated in the North. Because of the death of his granddaughter, he must battle to convince the boy's stubborn father who vehemently disagrees. Stepin Fetchit takes on a major role and turns in one of his finest performances. Much of it is a stereotyped view of the black way of life, but this picture is no worse an offender than many other Hollywood products. Originally released with a sympathy-raising speech that opened the film.