Music Hath Harms

Music Hath Harms is an American film released in 1929. A two-reel short it was produced by Al Christie.[1] The film stars Spencer Williams and Roberta Hyson with musical performances by Curtis Mosby and the Blues Blowers. It was part of the Florian Slappey series.[2] The story features a con man promising to wow an audience with a musical performance.[3] The film remains in existence and is available online.

The film series, based on Octavus Roy Cohen's Darktown Birmingham stories published in the Saturday Evening Post include racial caricatures and exaggerated dialect.[4] The film is one of three that survive from the series produced by Al Christie and is among the early "talkie" (with sound) films featuring African American casts.[4] The other surviving films from the series are Framing of the Shrew and Oft in the Silly Night.[4] Williams also served as the assistant director on the film although he received no credits.[5]