Lying Lips

Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

A 16mm release print of the feature film Lying Lips. It consists of two reels of positive, black-and-white, 16mm acetate film with variable-area optical sound. The film opens with the protagonist Elsie Bellwood (Edna Mae Harris) leading a group of people through a music parlor. She approaches a bandmember and asks him, “Will you play ‘Beautiful Baby’ for me?” Elsie then takes center screen and sings while the audience dances behind her. In the next scene, a woman called Elizabeth (Frances Williams) enters a room and hands Farina (Don De Leo) an object. Elizabeth and Farina, the owner of the club, engage in a conversation about Elsie’s responsibilities at the club. The rest of the film chronicles how Elsie is wrongfully convicted of murder. Benjamin (Carman Newsome), a detective with romantic motivations, sets out to prove her innocence.

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