One afternoon I was Channel surfing (using my clicker,channel changer), looking for something to watch. I came across a scene from a movie showing Matthew "Stymie" Beard taking a violin lesson. Stymie a few years older with some hair on his scalp minus the bowler hat which was his signature accessory in the Our Gang, Lil' Rascals comedies a decade earlier. Our story begin with a Violin virtuoso an accomplished artist of the strings Arthur Williams (Clarence Muse),who at the height of his fame gets into an automobile accident and injures his hand. Nerve damage to his hand ends his career as a violinist. To salvage some of his income Mr. Williams gives violin lessons to Dickey Morley played by "Stymie" Beard. In addition Mr. Williams has a son Johnny (William Washington) who also is exceptional at the violin but the difference here is that Johnny at times crosses over to swing music which at that time is all the rage as the new form of contemporary music. Johnny is adept at playing classical violin with the best of his competitors. To the disdain of Johnny's Father, Johnny promised his Dad not to play that swing jazzy sound on his violin . Mr. Williams is a staunch believer in respecting tradition. Another words the violin should only be used for classical music and not swing style which in Mr. Williams despises. Johnny does showcase his musical talents and his violin is quite pleasing to the ear. Our second front in this tale is Mr. Williams other child, his daughter Grace (Sybil Lewis) who is romantically interested in her boyfriend Gus (Pete Webster) who work together in a hair products company, The owner's son Sam Stilson (Edward Thompson) has his eyes for Grace but Grace's affections are Gus. Grace asks her boss for a cash advance so her Father can have his injured hand examined by a neurologist. A frame up ensues which was initiated by Sam having Grace's boyfriend Gus blamed for something he didn't do. Meanwhile Johnny gets caught playing swing music by his Father and the result is an unusual punishment of endurance. Despite the punishment, Johnny still wants to try to win the local talent contest so the prize money can go towards fixing his Dad's hand. Dickey also wants to win that contest and to make sure he wins he tampers with Johnny's violin so the strings will break during the competition. The movie is only an hour in length but flows nicely. I enjoyed the music throughout and the serious role by Stymie Beard who shows a future in the business as an actor. My first film featuring an ALL BLACK CAST and an enjoyable story about life's obstacles, misunderstandings, broken traditions, culture, love, jealousy and accountability. Can swing music fix Arthur Williams Hand?
Review of Broken Strings
