Paradise in Harlem (1939) on Netflix

Plot summary

Lem Anderson is a Harlem comedian with an ambition the vaudeville stage will not satisfy: the parts he wants are dramatic, and the house gives him comedy. A serious role is nearly within reach when he witnesses a mob killing, and the mobster behind it, Rough Jackson, makes it plain that Lem should leave town. He becomes a wanderer, and then a drinker. Swing and blues numbers run through the picture between the scenes of his story. Harlem is where his ambitions began, and a chance to play Othello draws him there again, with Rough Jackson's men still looking for him.