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Private company

Colored Players Film Corporation

American silent film production company

The Colored Players Film Corporation, also known as The Colored Players Film Corporation of Philadelphia, was an independent silent film production company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Primarily founded by David Starkman and Sherman H. Dudley in 1926, the film company for the most part made silent melodramatic films that featured all African American casts.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

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The Colored Players Film Corporation, also known as The Colored Players Film Corporation of Philadelphia, was an independent silent film production company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Primarily founded by David Starkman and Sherman H. Dudley in 1926, the film company for the most part made silent melodramatic films that featured all African American casts. During its brief time operating, the production company released four films, including A Prince of His Race (1926), a remake of Timothy Shay Arthur’s Ten Nights in a Bar Room (1926) with an all black cast, Children of Fate (1927), and finally The Scar of Shame (1929). Of the four films the company produced only Ten Nights in a Bar Room and The Scar of Shame remain extant. Shingzie Howard was one of its stars.2

The story

Sherman H. "Uncle Dud" Dudley was born in Dallas, Texas, around 1872. Growing up Dudley was part of medicine and minstrel shows and by the 1890s had become a popular performer. He became interested and learned about films while working on the set of The Simp. Dudley, at the time, a veteran of vaudevillian and race movies had the idea for a black Hollywood free from black stereotypes. In 1926 Dudley met with David Starkman, an owner of a black theatre; Starkman shared Dudley's vision as well as hoped to aim his films to the African American population in Philadelphia. Dudley and Starkman organized the Colored Players Film Corporation placing Dudley as the President of the Corporation and Starkman in charge of the operation, management, and finances of the film production company.

From Wikipedia’s article on Colored Players Film Corporation, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Sources

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