November 10, 2026
FILM: ONCE UPON A TIME IN HARLEM
DIRECTED BY: DAVID GREAVES, LIANI GREAVES, WILLIAM GREAVES
RATING: 3 ½ out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
I’m a fan of anyone who preserves old film footage which sheds light on people, places, or times. I’ve got plenty of my own family’s home movies and photos which keep the spirit of all those featured within them alive and I’m proud of that. The same can be said of the Greaves family who, a decade after editor and filmmaker Williams Greaves passed away, has released his truly interesting final film about a night in Harlem. Once Upon a Time in Harlem is a unique document as it presents one evening at a cocktail party in the home of Duke Ellington in August, 1972. Artistic luminaries and social/political figures gather to celebrate and discuss the Harlem Renaissance which had occurred some fifty years earlier. Here we are now, fifty+ years later, listening in on their conversations and keeping alive their spirits and those of all they discuss.
One thing I should point out is that I knew very, very few of the people in the film or the individuals they reference. Of course, I knew who Duke Ellington was as my mother played his music in the house when we were young. Other than photos though we don’t actually see him at the party. (He would pass away two years later.) I also knew Eubie Blake who, a few years later when well into his 90s, he would appear on Saturday Night Live as its musical guest. I sat amazed at the man’s talent and energy at such an advanced age. The images of him on that show never left my memory.
This is why Once Upon a Time in Harlem is such an important film. Today’s viewers might not know who many of the people at the party are but it keeps those historical, creative figures part of the conversation and hopefully encourage others to check out what they contributed to society.
The Harlem Renaissance happened in the Harlem section of New York City in the 1920s (although at least one person in the film believed it began earlier than that.) Harlem became the center of some of the great creative and intellectual minds within the Black community of the time. Some called it the “Mecca of the New Negro.” Discussed and recognized, are poets, photographers, filmmakers, writers, and musicians. Many of the names have been lost to general popular culture history. Even in 1972, it’s obvious that people needed to be reminded of some of the significant figures that had graced their world a half century earlier. Now, a hundred years after the renaissance, their worlds and creations have been opened up to the rest of us, thanks to the Greaves’ family film.
While cameras move around this party and capture a lot of talking heads, which might get tiresome for some viewers, what they talk about is very interesting. In addition to their cultural heroes they discuss minstrel and medicine shows, riots and lynchings, and memories that go back to the 19th Century. (One of the party guests was born in 1876.) While it is a cocktail party, little alcohol is actually seen during the film. Some of the guests smoke but most are very lucid, dressed in their finest sophisticated suits and dresses, expressing themselves very articulately and coherently. This is not a party with a lot of small talk rather it is one in which ideas and memories are expressed and debated.
So, while the names may not be familiar to average audience members today, the discussions are pertinent to a time and place that might make many of us eager for more exposure to their lives and work. Hopefully, on some level, future generations might be just as interested in us.
Once Upon a Time in Harlem screened at the Chicago International Film Festival. It is currently playing in limited theatrical release, including a run at the Gene Siskel Center beginning November 13th.
FILM: ONCE UPON A TIME IN HARLEM
DIRECTED BY: DAVID GREAVES, LIANI GREAVES, WILLIAM GREAVES
RATING: 3 ½ out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
I’m a fan of anyone who preserves old film footage which sheds light on people, places, or times. I’ve got plenty of my own family’s home movies and photos which keep the spirit of all those featured within them alive and I’m proud of that. The same can be said of the Greaves family who, a decade after editor and filmmaker Williams Greaves passed away, has released his truly interesting final film about a night in Harlem. Once Upon a Time in Harlem is a unique document as it presents one evening at a cocktail party in the home of Duke Ellington in August, 1972. Artistic luminaries and social/political figures gather to celebrate and discuss the Harlem Renaissance which had occurred some fifty years earlier. Here we are now, fifty+ years later, listening in on their conversations and keeping alive their spirits and those of all they discuss.
One thing I should point out is that I knew very, very few of the people in the film or the individuals they reference. Of course, I knew who Duke Ellington was as my mother played his music in the house when we were young. Other than photos though we don’t actually see him at the party. (He would pass away two years later.) I also knew Eubie Blake who, a few years later when well into his 90s, he would appear on Saturday Night Live as its musical guest. I sat amazed at the man’s talent and energy at such an advanced age. The images of him on that show never left my memory.
This is why Once Upon a Time in Harlem is such an important film. Today’s viewers might not know who many of the people at the party are but it keeps those historical, creative figures part of the conversation and hopefully encourage others to check out what they contributed to society.
The Harlem Renaissance happened in the Harlem section of New York City in the 1920s (although at least one person in the film believed it began earlier than that.) Harlem became the center of some of the great creative and intellectual minds within the Black community of the time. Some called it the “Mecca of the New Negro.” Discussed and recognized, are poets, photographers, filmmakers, writers, and musicians. Many of the names have been lost to general popular culture history. Even in 1972, it’s obvious that people needed to be reminded of some of the significant figures that had graced their world a half century earlier. Now, a hundred years after the renaissance, their worlds and creations have been opened up to the rest of us, thanks to the Greaves’ family film.
While cameras move around this party and capture a lot of talking heads, which might get tiresome for some viewers, what they talk about is very interesting. In addition to their cultural heroes they discuss minstrel and medicine shows, riots and lynchings, and memories that go back to the 19th Century. (One of the party guests was born in 1876.) While it is a cocktail party, little alcohol is actually seen during the film. Some of the guests smoke but most are very lucid, dressed in their finest sophisticated suits and dresses, expressing themselves very articulately and coherently. This is not a party with a lot of small talk rather it is one in which ideas and memories are expressed and debated.
So, while the names may not be familiar to average audience members today, the discussions are pertinent to a time and place that might make many of us eager for more exposure to their lives and work. Hopefully, on some level, future generations might be just as interested in us.
Once Upon a Time in Harlem screened at the Chicago International Film Festival. It is currently playing in limited theatrical release, including a run at the Gene Siskel Center beginning November 13th.