Harlem Is Heaven is a 1932 American pre-Code crime drama and musical film directed by Irwin Franklyn and featuring a virtually all African-American cast. Bill "Bojangles" Robinson stars in his first leading role on screen, along with Putney Dandridge, John Mason, and some of the top entertainers of the period from Harlem's famous Cotton Club, including James Baskett, Anise Boyer, Henri Wessell, and Alma Smith. Eubie Blake and his orchestra perform most of the background music and instrumentals during the film's onstage song and dance numbers.
Title card in opening credits for Harlem Is Heaven
Anise Boyer as Jean Stratton, the film's leading female character
Variety in 1932 described James Baskett's portrayal of "Money" Johnson as "very impressive".
Bill Robinson (left) as himself and Henri Wessell as "Chummy" Walker
Bill Robinson, nicknamed Bojangles, was an American tap dancer, actor, and singer, the best known and the most highly paid black entertainer in the United States during the first half of the 20th century. His long career mirrored changes in American entertainment tastes and technology. His career began in the age of minstrel shows and moved to vaudeville, Broadway theatre, the recording industry, Hollywood films, radio, and television.
Robinson in 1937
Robinson in The Hot Mikado
Bill 'Bojangles' Robinson and Adelaide Hall in the musical comedy Brown Buddies on Broadway in 1930
Robinson and Shirley Temple in Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm