Way Down South

Way Down South

1939 · 61 min · ★ 6.4 · Crime, Music

In the pre-Civil War South, a plantation owner dies and leaves all his possessions, including his slaves, to his young son. While the deceased treated his slaves decently, his corrupt executor abuses them unmercifully, beating them without provocation, and he is planning to sell off the father'e estate--including the slaves--at the earliest opportunity so he and his mistress can steal the money and move to France. The young boy doesn't want to sell his father's estate or break up an of the slave families, and he has to find someone to help him thwart the crooked executor's plans.

Directed by Bernard Vorhaus · Written by Langston Hughes

Your Rating

Where to Watch

Streaming

Artiflix

Cast

Make it a double feature

2h 13m together

Way Down South

Fisherman's Wharf

Both from Bernard Vorhaus.

More from Bernard VorhausSee all →

The Story of William TellThe Story of William Tell · 1953
The Story of William Tell
★ 9.01953
MovieAdventureDrama
A short that follows the legend of Wilhelm Gorkeit of Tellikon (William Tell), the legendary archer and hero from Switzerland.
Fisherman's WharfFisherman's Wharf · 1939
Fisherman's Wharf
★ 8.01939
MovieAdventureDrama
Carlo Roma and his foster-son, Toma, and their friend Beppo, are living a happy fisherman's life in San Francisco until Carlo's widowed sister-in-law, Stella, shows up with her brat-son, Rudolph, and takes over. Poor Toma gets his feelings hurt and the idea he "isn't wanted" and runs away
Roman HolidayRoman Holiday · 1953
Roman Holiday
★ 7.91953
MovieRomanceComedy
Overwhelmed by her suffocating schedule, touring European princess Ann takes off for a night while in Rome. When a sedative she took from her doctor kicks in, however, she falls asleep on a park bench and is found by an American reporter, Joe Bradley, who takes her back to his apartment for safety. At work the next morning, Joe finds out Ann's regal identity and bets his editor he can get exclusive interview with her, but romance soon gets in the way.
Mr. District Attorney in the Carter CaseMr. District Attorney in the Carter Case · 1941
Mr. District Attorney in the Carter Case
★ 7.51941
MovieMysteryCrime
Like the first entry, this one is played mostly for laughs, with Radio's Mister District Attorney. James Ellison replacing Dennis O'Keefe as feckless assistant DA P. Cadwallader Jones. The publisher of a tony fashion magazine is murdered, requiring Jones to sift through a colorful array of suspects. He is helped along by snoopy girl reporter Terry Parker.
The Last JourneyThe Last Journey · 1935
The Last Journey
★ 7.21935
MovieDramaCrime
Bob Holt's last journey as a Railway engine driver before his retirement, a journey disturbed by his distress at leaving the Railway, and his suspicions of the relationship between his wife and his fireman. Aboard the train are a pair of pickpockets, a honeymoon couple, a drunk, a temperance pamphleteer and a host of familiar types, all more-or-less bizarre in characteristically English ways. Bob takes an unexpected course of action, and the characters start interacting in varied and unexpected ways. When, at last, the train stops, all has been resolved, but not as might have been expected at the beginning of the journey.
The Nun's StoryThe Nun's Story · 1959
The Nun's Story
★ 7.21959
MovieDrama
After leaving a wealthy Belgian family to become a nun, Sister Luke struggles with her devotion to her vows during crisis, disappointment, and World War II.
I contrabbandieri del mareI contrabbandieri del mare · 1949
I contrabbandieri del mare
★ 7.01949
MovieThrillerCrime
The Barefoot ContessaThe Barefoot Contessa · 1954
The Barefoot Contessa
★ 6.81954
MovieDrama
A washed-up filmmaker gets a second chance at stardom when he discovers stunning peasant Maria Vargas dancing in a Madrid nightclub. Goaded by his producer, the director convinces Maria to screen test for, and then star in, his next big picture. But as the producer's possessive nature and the realities of stardom weigh on Maria, she seeks a genuine lover with whom she can escape.
War and PeaceWar and Peace · 1956
War and Peace
★ 6.61956
MovieWarRomance
The love story of young Countess Natasha Rostova and Count Pierre Bezukhov is interwoven with the Great Patriotic War of 1812 against Napoleon's invading army.
Resisting Enemy InterrogationResisting Enemy Interrogation · 1944
Resisting Enemy Interrogation
★ 6.61944
MovieWarDrama
A downed American bomber crew quickly falls prey to the clever interrogation techniques of the Germans in this dramatic WW2 training film.
Solomon and ShebaSolomon and Sheba · 1959
Solomon and Sheba
★ 6.51959
MovieHistoryRomance
Near death, King David has a vision that his poet son, Solomon, should succeed him, rather than hot-headed Adonijah. Furious, Adonijah departs the court, swearing he will become king. Other rulers are concerned that Solomon's benevolent rule and interest in monotheism will threaten their tyrannical, polytheistic kingdoms. The Queen of Sheba makes an agreement with the Egyptian pharaoh to corrupt Solomon for their mutual benefit.
The Affairs of Jimmy ValentineThe Affairs of Jimmy Valentine · 1942
The Affairs of Jimmy Valentine
★ 6.41942
MovieComedyCrime
A New York radio personality travels to the small town of Fernville to oversee a contest to identify retired safecracker Jimmy Valentine, believed to be living there under an assumed name. The close-knit town of upstanding citizens is understandably upset by this venture, all the moreso when some of its citizens begin to be murdered. The radio personality and the local newspaper's young daughter collaborate on solving the murders while revealing Valentine, who has become one of the suspects.
The Amazing Mr. XThe Amazing Mr. X · 1948
The Amazing Mr. X
★ 6.21948
MovieThrillerHorror
On the beach one night, Christine Faber, two years a widow, thinks she hears her late husband Paul calling out of the surf...then meets a tall dark man, Alexis, who seems to know all about such things. After more ghostly manifestations, Christine and younger sister Janet become enmeshed in the eerie artifices of Alexis; but he in turn finds himself manipulated into deeper deviltry than he had in mind...
The Courageous Dr. ChristianThe Courageous Dr. Christian · 1940
The Courageous Dr. Christian
★ 6.21940
MovieDrama
A doctor fights an epidemic that breaks out in the poor section of town and tries to get the rest of the town to help out.
Ice Capades RevueIce Capades Revue · 1942
Ice Capades Revue
★ 6.01942
MovieComedyRomance
Promoter Ann Porter decides to start her own Ice Show despite the efforts of ex-racketeer Duke Baldwin who owns a rival show. Jeff Stewart, a rich, suave young Broadwayite, falls in love with Ann and aids her in her fight against Baldwin.
Three Faces WestThree Faces West · 1940
Three Faces West
★ 5.71940
MovieDramaRomance
Viennese surgeon Dr. Braun and his daughter Leni come to a small town in North Dakota as refugees from Hitler. When the winds of the Dust Bowl threaten the town, John Phillips leads the townsfolk in moving to greener pastures in Oregon. He falls for Leni, but she is betrothed to the man who helped her and her father escape from the Third Reich. She must decide between the two men.

More Like This

Tales from the HoodTales from the Hood · 1995
Tales from the Hood
★ 6.31995
MovieHorrorCrime
A strange mortician tells four horrific tales to three drug dealers that he traps in a local funeral parlor.
The LetterThe Letter · 1940
The Letter
★ 7.31940
MovieCrimeDrama
After a woman shoots a man to death, a damning letter she wrote raises suspicions.
South PacificSouth Pacific · 1958
South Pacific
★ 6.11958
MovieMusicRomance
Can a girl from Little Rock find happiness with a mature French planter she got to know one enchanted evening away from the military hospital where she is a nurse? Or should she just wash that man out of her hair? Bloody Mary is the philosopher of the island and it's hard to believe she could be the mother of Liat who has captured the heart of Lt. Joseph Cable USMC. While waiting for action in the war in the South Pacific, sailors and nurses put on a musical comedy show. The war gets closer and the saga of Nellie Forbush and Emile de Becque becomes serious drama.
Fletch LivesFletch Lives · 1989
Fletch Lives
★ 6.01989
MovieComedyCrime
Fletch is a fish out of water in small-town Louisiana, where he's checking out a tumbledown mansion he's inherited. When a woman he flirts with turns up dead, he becomes a suspect and must find the killer and clear his name.
Mississippi MermaidMississippi Mermaid · 1969
Mississippi Mermaid
★ 6.61969
MovieRomanceDrama
A tobacco planter on Réunion island in the Indian Ocean becomes engaged through correspondence to a French woman he does not know. The woman that arrives does not look like the picture he received, but he marries her anyway.
Red DustRed Dust · 1932
Red Dust
★ 6.91932
MovieRomanceDrama
Dennis, owner of a rubber plantation in Cochinchina, is involved with Vantine, who left Saigon to evade the police. When his new surveyor arrives along with his refined wife Dennis is quickly infatuated by her.
Scooby-Doo! Meets the Boo BrothersScooby-Doo! Meets the Boo Brothers · 1987
Scooby-Doo! Meets the Boo Brothers
★ 7.41987
MovieAnimationFamily
After the death of Shaggy's Uncle Beaureguard, he, Scooby and Scrappy arrive at the late uncle's Southern plantation to collect the inheritance. But as soon as they arrive, they find it is haunted by the ghost of a Confederate soldier. With this spook on their tails while they solve riddles in search of the inheritance, they seek help from the Boo Brothers, a trio of ghost-exterminators to help catch this nasty ghoul.
White ZombieWhite Zombie · 1932
White Zombie
★ 6.01932
MovieHorror
A wealthy landowner living in Haiti convinces a sorcerer to lure the woman he has fallen for away from her fiancé. The madman later betrays their agreement by keeping the woman for himself…as a zombie.
I Walked with a ZombieI Walked with a Zombie · 1943
I Walked with a Zombie
★ 6.81943
MovieMysteryHorror
A nurse in the Caribbean turns to voodoo in hopes of curing her patient, a mindless woman whose husband she's fallen in love with.
The Loss of a Teardrop DiamondThe Loss of a Teardrop Diamond · 2008
The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond
★ 5.22008
MovieDramaRomance
Fisher Willow is the disliked Memphis débutante daughter of a plantation owner with a distaste for narrow-minded people and a penchant for shocking and insulting those around her. After returning from studies overseas, Fisher falls in love with Jimmy, the down-and-out son of an alcoholic father and an insane mother who works at a store on her family's plantation.
FitzcarraldoFitzcarraldo · 1982
Fitzcarraldo
★ 7.61982
MovieDramaAdventure
Fitzcarraldo is a dreamer who plans to build an opera house in Iquitos, in the Peruvian Amazon, so, in order to finance his project, he embarks on an epic adventure to collect rubber, a very profitable product, in a remote and unexplored region of the rainforest.
Out of AfricaOut of Africa · 1985
Out of Africa
★ 7.21985
MovieHistoryRomance
Tells the life story of Danish author Karen Blixen, who at the beginning of the 20th century moved to Africa to build a new life for herself. The film is based on her 1937 autobiographical novel.
Gone with the WindGone with the Wind · 1939
Gone with the Wind
★ 7.91939
MovieDramaWar
The spoiled daughter of a Georgia plantation owner conducts a tumultuous romance with a cynical profiteer during the American Civil War and Reconstruction Era.
Interview with the VampireInterview with the Vampire · 1994
Interview with the Vampire
★ 7.41994
MovieHorrorDrama
A vampire relates his epic life story of love, betrayal, loneliness, and dark hunger to an over-curious reporter.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter