# Policy Man

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{{Short description|American film (1938)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2026}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Infobox film
| director       = [Irwin Franklyn](/source/Irwin_Franklyn)
| producer       = Irwin Franklyn,<br/>
Hazel Franklyn
| starring       = [Ethel Moses](/source/Ethel_Moses),<br/> [Jimmie Baskett](/source/Jimmie_Baskett),<br/> [Count Bassie](/source/Count_Bassie),<br/> Ann Harleman,<br/> Henry Wessels
| color_process  = black and white<ref name="RichardsL" />
| studio         = Creative Films Corporation<ref name="RichardsL" />
| distributor    = [Sack Amusement Entertainment](/source/Alfred_N._Sack)<ref name="RichardsL" />
| released       = {{Film date|1938|07|01|ref1=<ref name="Schlabach" />}}
| country        = [United States](/source/United_States)
| language       = English
}}
'''''Policy Man''''', is a 1938 American feature film in [black and white](/source/Black_and_white_film), and is now a [lost film](/source/lost_film).<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Koszarski |first=Richard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1NzOhgPs80MC&pg=PA376 |title=Hollywood on the Hudson: Film and Television in New York from Griffith to Sarnoff |date=2008 |publisher=[Rutgers University Press](/source/Rutgers_University_Press) |isbn=978-0-8135-4293-5 |pages=376 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=3 July 2019 |title=The Policy Man (1938) |url=https://www.frankiemanningfoundation.org/the-policy-man/ |website=Frankie Manning Foundation}}</ref> It was advertised as having an "all colored cast",<ref>{{Cite news |date=1938-07-11 |title=Roosevelt |pages=10 |work=[The Pittsburgh Press](/source/The_Pittsburgh_Press) |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121726268/roosevelt/ |access-date=2023-03-27}}</ref> featuring [Ethel Moses](/source/Ethel_Moses), [Jimmie Baskett](/source/Jimmie_Baskett), and [Count Bassie](/source/Count_Bassie).<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=July 30, 1938 |title=Negro films |work=The Palmetto Leader (newspaper) |url=https://historicnewspapers.sc.edu/lccn/sn93067919/1938-07-30/ed-1/seq-1/ocr/ |oclc=28640893}}</ref> It was directed by [Irwin Franklyn](/source/Irwin_Franklyn), and produced by Irwin Franklyn and Hazel Franklyn.<ref name="RichardsL">{{Cite book |last=Richards |first=Larry |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sTGSCgAAQBAJ |title=African American Films Through 1959: A Comprehensive, Illustrated Filmography |date=2015-09-17 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1-4766-1052-8 |pages=133 |language=en}}</ref>''<ref>{{Cite news |last= |first= |date=July 30, 1938 |title=Hallejua Star Receives Long Time Contract (Image 1) |pages=1 |work=Twin-City Herald (newspaper) |url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn90060227/1938-07-30/ed-1/seq-1/ |access-date=2023-03-27 |via=[Chronicling America](/source/Chronicling_America), [National Endowment for the Humanities](/source/National_Endowment_for_the_Humanities)}}</ref>''

== About ==
''Policy Man'' was an urban crime film that portrayed sophisticated African Americans in Harlem.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last1=White |first1=Shane |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F1ytSoMM8qAC&dq=policy.man+1938&pg=PA22 |title=Playing the Numbers: Gambling in Harlem Between the Wars |last2=Garton |first2=Stephen |last3=Robertson |first3=Stephen |last4=White |first4=Graham |date=May 15, 2010 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=9780674051072 |via=Google Books}}</ref> It included in its plot a person involved in a numbers game lotteries (or a gambler), and the [numbers racket](/source/Numbers_game) (or illegal gambling).<ref name="Schlabach">{{Cite book |last=Schlabach |first=Elizabeth Schroeder |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VW8PBAAAQBAJ&dq=policy.man+1938&pg=PA73 |title=Along the Streets of Bronzeville: Black Chicago's Literary Landscape |date=September 15, 2012 |publisher=University of Illinois Press |isbn=9780252095108 |pages=73– |chapter=Policy, Creativity, and Bronzeville’s Dreams |volume=1 |doi=10.5406/illinois/9780252037825.003.0003 |via=Google Books}}</ref> It was a popular film in northern cities in the United States.<ref name=":1" />

The cast included Ann Harleman, Henry, Wessels, Ethel Moses, Jimmie Baskett, and Count Bassie.<ref name="RichardsL" /> The film features musical groups The Plantation Club Chorus (or N.Y. Plantation Club Chorus), The Al Taylor Orchestra, The Savoy Lindy Hoppers, and The Big Apples.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Film, Video: Policy Man |url=https://www.loc.gov/item/jots.200018539/ |website=Library of Congress}}</ref>

It was one of a series of Creative Films Corporation produced urban crime films, all directed by [Irwin Franklyn](/source/Irwin_Franklyn).<ref name=":0" /> Advertising materials for the film are extant.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Policy Man (1938) [Lost Film] |url=https://www.daaracarchive.org/2017/11/policy-man-1938-lost-film.html |website=Department of Afro-American Research, Arts, and Culture (DAARAC)}}</ref>
 
==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Policy Man}}
Category:1938 films
Category:1938 American films
Category:1938 crime drama films
Category:1938 lost films
Category:1938 musical films
Category:1930s musical drama films
Category:African-American musical drama films
Category:American black-and-white films
Category:American films about gambling
Category:English-language crime drama films
Category:English-language musical drama films
Category:Films set in Harlem
Category:Lost American crime drama films
Category:Lost American musical drama films

{{1930s-US-film-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Policy Man](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Policy_Man) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Policy_Man?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.