Bert Williams Lime Kiln Club Field Day Program

Includes the following films:

Lime Kiln Club Field Day

1913/2014. USA. Directed by Edwin Middleton, T. Hayes Hunter. Directed by Edwin Middleton, T. Hayes Hunter. Assistant direction by Sam Corker Jr. With Odessa Warren Grey, John Wesley Jenkins, Walker Thompson, Henry Troy. Proving his prowess on the fairground and the dance floor, Bert Williams outwits his rivals and wins the affection of the local beauty. MoMA’s “archival assembly” of footage from this unrealized feature—a selection of multiple takes organized in a semblance of narrative order—was created without access to the film’s original script or cutting continuity. 63 min.

Lime Kiln Club Field Day Outtakes

1913/2014. USA. Edited by Joshua Young. This compilation consists of still images and production footage offering a rare glimpse of the interaction between the film’s white crew and black cast on the set. 7 min.

A Natural Born Gambler

1916. USA. Directed by Edwin Middleton, T. Hayes Hunter. With John Wesley Jenkins, Henry Troy, Julius Glenn, Billy Harper, Sam Lucas. This short, in which scheming club member Bert Williams runs afoul of the law, was released three years after it was shot. The film preserves Williams’s signature pantomimed poker game, somewhat redeeming its reliance on dated racial stereotypes. 22 min.