6:30 p.m.	Beware Bud Pollard (U.S., 1946)

Beware is a swingin’ vehicle for the great alto saxophonist and R&B singer Louis Jordan. Ware College, a prestigious black university, is on the threshold of financial collapse. It’s clear that Ware’s coffers are full, but shenanigans on the part of Benjie Ware III, the founder’s greedy grandson, threaten the institution. An appeal is made to alumni to help bail out the college. Overlooked is once-timid Lucius Brokenshire Jordan, a dropout who is now, unbeknownst to the uptight faculty, the leader of the jumpin’ Tympany Band. Lucius-turned-Louis Jordan arrives in town to the delight of the hep student body; Jordan lays down ten boogie-woogie blazers and saves the college in the process. Of special note is the dance number “Long-Legged Lizzie,” featuring the mile-long legs of Dimples Daniel. Made to fill a niche for black audiences, this jazzy film shows that if you’re tuned up and turned on, you can drop out.

—Steve Seid

• Written by John E. Gordon. Photographed by Don Malkames. Musical arrangements by Louis Jordan. With Frank Wilson, Emory Richardson, Valerie Black, Louis Jordan and His Tympany Band. (51 mins, B&W, 35mm, From Library of Congress)

Preceded by classic jazz shorts:
Jammin’ the Blues (Gjon Mili, U.S., 1944). Starring Lester Young, Red Callendar, Barney Kessel, Jo Jones, Illinois Jacquet, and others. (10 mins, B&W, 35mm, From Library of Congress, permission Warner Bros.)

Black and Tan (Dudley Murphy, U.S., 1929). Duke Ellington and his Orchestra in their first film performance. (17 mins, B&W, 16mm, PFA Collection)

• (Total running time: 78 mins)