Song of Freedom – 1936

A Hammer production distributed throughout the United Kingdom and Irish Free State by British Lion Film Corp. Ltd., 76-78 Wardour Street, London W1 – S.W. Smith, Managing Director

Recorded on High Fidelity RCA Photophone

Black & White 80 minutes

Storyline

The film is a musical star vehicle for Paul Robeson. It opens with the on-screen information “Africa – the island of Casanga, off the West Coast – in the year 1700 A.D. The island had not yet attracted the attention of the slave traders on the mainland, but its people suffered as fierce an oppression under their hereditary queen Zinga – tyrant, despot, mistress of cruelty”.
After a short prologue, in which the wicked queen’s son and his wife make their escape from the island and are taken into slavery, the action transfers to modern day London. There, John Zinga (Paul Robeson) works as a docker. A gentle giant with a magnificent singing voice, his talent comes to the notice of operatic impresario Donezetti (Esme Percy). Soon, John becomes a world-famous singer, but, tortured by thoughts of his roots, he eventually gives up his new career and determines to use his fortune on finding his real home and helping his own people.

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Crew


Function	Credited	Age at Release	Birth	Death	Age	Hammer Productions
						Credited	Uncredited	Total
Art Director	Norman Arnold	43	19 Sep 1892	7 Dec 1963	71	2		2
Ast. Director	Arthur Allcott	42	20 Jul 1894	4 Jan 1986	91	1		1
Director	J. Elder Wills	36	26 Apr 1900	1970	69	22		22
Editor	Arthur Tavares	52	10 Jan 1884	27 May 1954	70	1		1
Lyrics	Henrik Ege	42	30 Dec 1893	28 Jul 1962	68	1		1
Music	Eric Ansell	35	21 Aug 1900	1981	80	2		2
Photog. 1	Eric Cross	34	31 May 1902	1 Mar 2004	101	4		4
Photog. 2	Harry Rose	34	1 Jan 1902	14 Jan 1955	53	1		1
Photog. 3	Thos Glover					1		1
Production Supervisor	Henry Passmore	31	1905	Aug 1987	82	4		4
Sound Engineer	Harold King	28	3 Nov 1907	22 May 1959	51	2		2

Cast


Character	Actor	Age at Release	Birth	Death	Age	Hammer Productions
						Credited	Uncredited	Total
Alf	Alf Goddard	39	28 Nov 1896	23 Feb 1981	84	1		1
Bert Puddick	George Mozart	72	15 Feb 1864	10 Dec 1947	83	4		4
Blane	Ronald Simpson	39	27 Sep 1896	23 Sep 1957	60	1		1
Donezetti	Esme Percy	49	8 Aug 1887	16 Jun 1957	69	1		1
Endobo - The Witch Doctor	Arthur Williams					1		1
Gatekeeper	Sydney Benson					1		1
John Zinga	Paul Robeson	38	9 Apr 1898	23 Jan 1976	77	1		1
Mandingo	Ecce Homo-Toto					1		1
Marian	Jenny Dean	33	22 Nov 1902	16 Jan 1968	65	1		1
Monty	Robert Adams	30	1906	1965	59	1		1
Native Leader	James Soloman					1		1
Nell Puddick	Joan Fred Emney	34	4 Sep 1901	Dec 1983	82	1		1
Potman	Will Hammer	48	21 Nov 1887	1 Jun 1957	69	1	3	4
Queen Zinga	Cornelia Smith	42	30 Dec 1893	28 Jul 1962	68	1		1
Ruth Zinga	Elisabeth Welch	32	27 Feb 1904	15 Jul 2003	99	1		1
Sir James Pyrie	Bernard Ansell	54	16 Sep 1881	25 Jul 1958	76	1		1
Trader	Ambrose Manning	78	14 Aug 1858	22 Mar 1940	81	1		1
With	Johnnie Schofield	47	10 Mar 1889	9 Sep 1955	66	2		2
With	Arthur Elliott					1		1
Uncredited
Man at Sing Song	Jack Sharp						4	4
Woman	Cathleen Cavanagh						1	1

Production



UK RELEASE	17 August 1936
STUDIO	British Lion Studios, Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire

Footnotes

Will Hammer (Anthony Hinds’ father) and George Mozart, who both appear in this film, were among the original founders of Hammer Films.

Production supervisor H. Fraser Passmore was also on the board at this time.

The Director, J. Elder Willis, worked on later Hammer films as Art Director.

Details were complied viewing the actual film.
Source of viewing copy – The Hammer Graveyard Collection