| Ten Nights in a Barroom | |
| Director: | Roy Calnek |
| Starring: | Charles Gilpin Lawrence Chenault Myra Burwell |
| Music: | Philip Carli |
| Color Process: | Black and White |
| Studio: | Colored Players Film Corporation |
| Distributors: | --> |
| Runtime: | 63 minutes |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | Silent |
Ten Nights in a Barroom is an American film released in 1926. Directed by Roy Calnek[1] and starring Charles Gilpin, the film had a temperance theme and an African American cast. It followed on Timothy Shay Arthur's 1854 novel Ten Nights in a Bar-Room and What I Saw There and William W. Pratt's play, as well as earlier film adaptations (listed at Ten Nights in a Barroom) albeit with white casts. A man's drinking causes him to lose money, his business, and his daughter.[2]
Released during the Prohibition era[3] the film was positively reviewed by critics.[4] It is the second of four films released by Colored Players Film Corporation and one of two, along with The Scar of Shame, that remain in existence. A copy of Ten Nights in a Barroom which came from 35mm film elements preserved by the George Eastman Museum was released on home video in 2016 by Kino Lorber as part of the five-disc Pioneers of African-American Cinema set.[5]
Oscar Micheaux's film company was a rival and released films that competed with the newer film company's releases, in this case The Spider's Web, which was released a week after it debuted. The newer film company also poached actors from Micheaux including Chenault, and both firms claimed they had the greatest star.[6]