Wild Women Don't Have the Blues shows how the blues were born out of the economic and social transformation of African American life early in this century. It recaptures the lives and times of Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, Ida Cox, Alberta Hunter, Ethel Waters and the other legendary women who made the blues a vital part of American culture. The film brings together for the first time dozens of rare, classic renditions of the early blues.

Directed by Christine Dall, U.S.A., 1989, BetaSP, 58 mins. In English.


"A superb hour-long examination not only of the idiom itself, but also of its social origins, evolution and impact on black America... a priceless piece of genuine Americana"
-Los Angeles Times

"Enjoyable, enlightening"
-TV Guide