Go Down Death

Go Down Death

1944 · 56 min · ★ 3.1 · Drama

The owner of a juke joint arranges to frame an innocent preacher with a scandalous photograph, but his scheme backfires when his own adoptive mother interferes.

Directed by Spencer Williams · Written by Sam Elljay

Your Rating

Cast

Make it a double feature

1h 53m together

Go Down Death

Harlem on the Prairie

Both from Spencer Williams.

More from Spencer WilliamsSee all →

Brother Martin: Servant of JesusBrother Martin: Servant of Jesus · 1942
Brother Martin: Servant of Jesus
9.01942
MovieDrama
An uncle discusses the life of Martin de Porres with his niece. de Porres was a late sixteenth-century Peruvian who was elevated to sainthood in 1962 by Pope John XXIII.
Beale Street MamaBeale Street Mama · 1946
Beale Street Mama
9.01946
MovieComedy
The film is set in Memphis, Tennessee and focuses on a street sweeper who comes upon a large parcel of money. He uses the newly acquired wealth to go on a spending spree, with the hope of getting back at an old girlfriend who dumped him for another man. However, complications arise when it is discovered the money is counterfeit.
Amos 'n' AndyAmos 'n' Andy · 1951
Amos 'n' Andy
7.61951
SeriesComedy
A pair of friends in Harlem find themselves caught up in a series of misadventures, business schemes, and everyday problems, often relying on their neighbors and community to help them out of trouble.
Harlem on the PrairieHarlem on the Prairie · 1937
Harlem on the Prairie
7.51937
MovieMusicWestern
A cowboy helps a pretty young woman find lost gold. Restored by the Academy Film Archive with additional funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Georgia RoseGeorgia Rose · 1930
Georgia Rose
7.01930
MovieMusic
Musical film with an all-black cast.
The Negro SailorThe Negro Sailor · 1945
The Negro Sailor
7.01945
MovieDocumentary
US Navy produced short stars Joel Fluellen as a draftee from his civilian job at a black newspaper through boot camp and an assignment in the Pacific. Completed after the surrender of Japan, the film celebrates the teamwork, diversity, and the actions of several distinguished African American sailors.
Girl in Room 20Girl in Room 20 · 1946
Girl in Room 20
7.01946
MovieDrama
Daisy Mae Walker is an aspiring singer from a small town in Texas, who comes to a Big City to pursue a show business career. A kindly cab driver and a troupe of down-and-out musicians staying at her hotel provide her advice and support; but she falls prey to a sleazy nightclub owner who promises her stardom and makes her his "kept woman". NB: There is no "The" in the title of this film.
The Framing of the ShrewThe Framing of the Shrew · 1929
The Framing of the Shrew
7.01929
MovieComedy
Privacy Robson is a downtrodden husband who takes advice from his friend Florian Slappey. He eventually gets the upper hand after starting divorce proceedings, pretending to have a new girlfriend and refusing to eat anything she cooks him.
Marching On!Marching On! · 1943
Marching On!
6.51943
MovieWar
During World War II, a young African American is forced to continue his family’s tradition of military service when he is drafted into the United States Army. Despite complications that arise during his basic training, including his jealousy following his girlfriend's flirtatious attention to his sergeant, the young soldier becomes a hero when he locates Japanese saboteurs operating a radio station outside of his military base.
Juke JointJuke Joint · 1947
Juke Joint
6.51947
MovieComedyDrama
Bad News Johnson, a con artist from Memphis, Tennessee, arrives in Dallas, Texas, accompanied by his dim sidekick July Jones with only twenty-five cents between them. The duo arrange to become boarders at the home of Louella "Mama Lou" Holiday, who is fooled into believing Johnson is an acting teacher from Hollywood. Mrs. Holiday agrees to give the men free room and board if they will provide poise lessons to her daughter, an aspiring beauty queen named Honey Dew.
Jivin' in BebopJivin' in Bebop · 1946
Jivin' in Bebop
6.51946
MovieMusic
A filmed variety show featuring the Dizzy Gillespie Orchestra with special guests.
Melancholy DameMelancholy Dame · 1929
Melancholy Dame
6.01929
MovieComedy
A nightclub owner's wife, jealous of his attentions to his star singer, schemes to get her fired.
Bourbon Street BeatBourbon Street Beat · 1959
Bourbon Street Beat
6.01959
SeriesDrama
"Bourbon Street Beat" is a private detective series produced by Warner Brothers Television which aired on the ABC network from October 5, 1959, to July 4, 1960. It featured Richard Long as Rex Randolph, Andrew Duggan as Cal Calhoun, Van Williams as Kenny Madison, and Arlene Howell as Melody Lee Mercer, the secretary at the New Orleans detective agency in which they worked. The show is set in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA and revolves around the lives of Rex Randolph (Long) and Cal Calhoun (Duggan), who run a detective agency called Randolph and Calhoun — Special Services. The agency is based in the Absinthe House, a French Quarter nightclub on Bourbon Street.
Of One BloodOf One Blood · 1944
Of One Blood
5.51944
MovieDramaCrime
After losing their parents in a flood at a young age, two brothers grow up to become a police officer and a lawyer, working with a local newspaper owner to help rid the city of bootlegging gangsters.
The Blood of JesusThe Blood of Jesus · 1941
The Blood of Jesus
5.01941
MovieMusicDrama
Razz accidentally shoots his wife Martha when his hunting rifle drops on the floor and discharges. The church congregation gathers at Martha’s bedside to pray for her recovery, and during this period an angel arrives to take Martha’s spirit from her body, but she is tempted by the slick Judas Green, who is an agent for Satan.
Hot BiskitsHot Biskits · 1931
Hot Biskits
5.01931
MovieComedy
Virtually unseen for more than eighty years, Spencer Williams’s first film is a one-reel comedy short in which a rivalry between two men is played out in a high-stakes game of mini golf.

More Like This

Everything Is IlluminatedEverything Is Illuminated · 2005
Everything Is Illuminated
7.32005
MovieComedyDrama
A young Jewish American man endeavors—with the help of eccentric, distant relatives—to find the woman who saved his grandfather during World War II—in a Ukrainian village which was ultimately razed by the Nazis.
HolesHoles · 2003
Holes
6.92003
MovieAdventureFamily
After being wrongfully convicted for stealing a pair of shoes, Stanley Yelnats is sent away to Camp Green Lake, a boys detention facility where inmates are forced to dig holes all day in the hot desert sun as a form of character building. As he endures the brutal routine, Stanley begins to uncover a hidden truth behind the camp—one that connects to a dangerous secret and his family’s history.
PlatoonPlatoon · 1986
Platoon
7.71986
MovieDramaWar
As a young and naive recruit in Vietnam, Chris Taylor faces a moral crisis when confronted with the horrors of war and the duality of man.
In the Heat of the NightIn the Heat of the Night · 1967
In the Heat of the Night
7.71967
MovieCrimeDrama
African-American Philadelphia police detective Virgil Tibbs is arrested on suspicion of murder by Bill Gillespie, the racist police chief of tiny Sparta, Mississippi. After Tibbs proves not only his own innocence but that of another man, he joins forces with Gillespie to track down the real killer. Their investigation takes them through every social level of the town, with Tibbs making enemies as well as unlikely friends as he hunts for the truth.
The KeyThe Key · 1983
The Key
6.01983
MovieDramaRomance
In 1940s Venice, after twenty years' marriage, retired art critic Nino Rolfe and his younger wife Teresa feel their passion waning. To help her shed her inhibitions and rekindle their relationship, the professor records his sexual fantasies in a diary.
A Snake of JuneA Snake of June · 2003
A Snake of June
6.82003
MovieRomanceDrama
Rinko, a woman in a sexless marriage, is blackmailed by a stalker with intimate photos, forcing her into a series of erotic acts that disrupt her mundane life.
Eyes Without a FaceEyes Without a Face · 1960
Eyes Without a Face
7.61960
MovieDramaHorror
Dr. Génessier is riddled with guilt after an accident that he caused disfigures the face of his daughter, the once beautiful Christiane, who outsiders believe is dead. Dr. Génessier, along with accomplice and laboratory assistant Louise, kidnaps young women and brings them to the Génessier mansion. After rendering his victims unconscious, Dr. Génessier removes their faces and attempts to graft them on to Christiane's.
Witchfinder GeneralWitchfinder General · 1968
Witchfinder General
6.51968
MovieDramaHistory
England, 1645. The cruel civil war between Royalists and Parliamentarians that is ravaging the country causes an era of chaos and legal arbitrariness that allows unscrupulous men to profit by exploiting the absurd superstitions of the peasants; like Matthew Hopkins, a monster disguised as a man who wanders from town to town offering his services as a witch hunter.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter