After working as early as the 1910s as a band vocalist, Hattie McDaniel debuted as a maid in The Golden West (1932). Her maid-mammy characters became steadily more assertive, showing up first in Judge Priest (1934) and becoming pronounced in Alice Adams (1935). In this one, directed by George Stevens and aided and abetted by star Katharine Hepburn, she makes it clear she has little use for her employers' pretentious status seeking. By The Mad Miss Manton (1938) she actually tells off her socialite employer Barbara Stanwyck and her snooty friends. This path extends into the greatest role of her career, Mammy in Gone with the Wind (1939). Here she is, in a number of ways, superior to most of the white folk surrounding her. From that point here roles unfortunately descended, with her characters becoming more and more menial. She played on the "Amos and Andy" and Eddie Cantor radio shows in the 1930s and 1940s; the title in her own radio show "Beulah" (1947-51), and the same part on TV (Beulah (1950)). Her part in Gone with the Wind (1939) won her the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, the first black to win an Academy Award.
Movie | And the Oscar Goes To... | Self (archive footage) | 2014-02-01 |
Movie | 1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year | Self (archive footage) | 2009-07-02 |
Movie | The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind | (archive footage) | 1988-10-01 |
Movie | George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey | 1985-03-03 | |
Movie | Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage | Self (archive footage) (uncredited) | 1983-02-25 |
Movie | Black History: Lost, Stolen or Strayed | 1968-08-31 | |
Movie | Hollywood: The Selznick Years | 'Gone with the Wind' screen test (archive footage) (uncredited) | 1961-12-31 |
Series | The Oscars | Unknown | 1953-03-19 |
Series | The Beulah Show | 1950-10-03 | |
Movie | The Big Wheel | Minnie | 1949-11-04 |
Movie | Mickey | Bertha | 1948-06-23 |
Movie | Family Honeymoon | Phyllis | 1948-12-06 |
Movie | The Flame | Celia | 1947-11-24 |
Movie | Margie | Cynthia | 1946-10-15 |
Movie | Janie Gets Married | April | 1946-06-22 |
Movie | Never Say Goodbye | Cozy | 1946-11-09 |
Movie | Song of the South | Aunt Tempy | 1946-11-12 |
Movie | Since You Went Away | Fidelia | 1944-06-30 |
Movie | Janie | April, Conway's Maid | 1944-09-02 |
Movie | Hi, Beautiful | Millie | 1944-12-18 |
Movie | 3 Is a Family | Maid | 1944-11-23 |
Movie | Johnny Come Lately | Aida | 1943-09-03 |
Movie | Thank Your Lucky Stars | Gossip in 'Ice Cold Katie' Number | 1943-09-25 |
Movie | The Male Animal | Cleota | 1942-03-12 |
Movie | In This Our Life | Minerva Clay | 1942-05-08 |
Movie | George Washington Slept Here | Hester | 1942-10-30 |
Movie | The Great Lie | Violet | 1941-04-05 |
Movie | They Died with Their Boots On | Callie | 1941-11-20 |
Movie | Affectionately Yours | Cynthia, Sue's Cook | 1941-05-10 |
Movie | Maryland | Aunt Carrie | 1940-07-19 |
Movie | Cavalcade of the Academy Awards | Self | 1940-07-31 |
Movie | Zenobia | Dehlia | 1939-04-21 |
Movie | Everybody's Baby | Hattie | 1939-03-24 |
Movie | Gone with the Wind | Mammy | 1939-12-15 |
Movie | Battle Of Broadway | Agatha | 1938-04-22 |
Movie | The Shopworn Angel | Martha | 1938-07-15 |
Movie | Vivacious Lady | Hattie - Maid at Prom Dance (uncredited) | 1938-05-13 |
Movie | Carefree | Hattie (uncredited) | 1938-09-02 |
Movie | The Mad Miss Manton | Hilda | 1938-10-21 |
Movie | The Shining Hour | Belvedere | 1938-11-18 |
Movie | Saratoga | Rosetta | 1937-07-23 |
Movie | The Crime Nobody Saw | Ambrosia | 1937-03-12 |
Movie | Racing Lady | Abby | 1937-01-12 |
Movie | Sky Racket | Jenny | 1937-10-01 |
Movie | Don't Tell the Wife | Mamie (uncredited) | 1937-03-05 |
Movie | Merry Go Round of 1938 | Maid | 1937-11-14 |
Movie | Over the Goal | Hannah | 1937-10-16 |
Movie | True Confession | Ella | 1937-12-24 |
Movie | Quick Money | Hattie (uncredited) | 1937-12-10 |
Movie | Nothing Sacred | Mrs. Walker (uncredited) | 1937-11-25 |
Movie | 45 Fathers | Beulah | 1937-11-26 |
Movie | Show Boat | Queenie | 1936-05-17 |
Movie | The Bride Walks Out | Mamie | 1936-07-10 |
Movie | Next Time We Love | Hanna | 1936-01-30 |
Movie | High Tension | Hattie | 1936-07-10 |
Movie | The Singing Kid | Maid (uncredited) | 1936-04-10 |
Movie | Arbor Day | la mère de Buckwheat | 1936-05-02 |
Movie | Star for a Night | Hattie | 1936-08-28 |
Movie | Reunion | Sadie | 1936-11-20 |
Movie | Postal Inspector | Deborah | 1936-08-16 |
Movie | Can This Be Dixie? | Lizzie | 1936-11-13 |
Movie | Libeled Lady | Scrubwoman in Grand Plaza Hall (uncredited) | 1936-10-09 |
Movie | Valiant Is the Word for Carrie | Ellen Belle | 1936-10-06 |
Movie | China Seas | Isabel McCarthy, Dolly's Maid (uncredited) | 1935-08-09 |
Movie | The Little Colonel | Becky "Mom Beck" Porter | 1935-02-22 |
Movie | Traveling Saleslady | Martha Smith (uncredited) | 1935-03-28 |
Movie | Alice Adams | Malena Burns - Maid Serving Dinner | 1935-08-23 |
Movie | Murder by Television | Isabella | 1935-10-01 |
Movie | We're Only Human | Molly | 1935-12-27 |
Movie | Another Face | Nellie (uncredited) | 1935-12-20 |
Movie | Music Is Magic | Hattie (Amanda in credits) | 1935-11-01 |
Movie | Judge Priest | Aunt Dilsey | 1934-09-15 |
Movie | City Park | Tessie | 1934-05-01 |
Movie | Mickey's Rescue | Maid | 1934-03-22 |
Movie | King Kelly of the U.S.A. | Mop Buyer | 1934-09-15 |
Movie | Merry Wives of Reno | Bunny's Maid (uncredited) | 1934-04-18 |
Movie | Operator 13 | Annie (uncredited) | 1934-06-08 |
Movie | Babbitt | Rosalie (uncredited) | 1934-12-08 |
Movie | Imitation of Life | Woman at Funeral (uncredited) | 1934-11-23 |
Movie | Fate's Fathead | Mandy - the Maid | 1934-11-17 |
Movie | Flirtation | Abigail (uncredited) | 1934-11-09 |
Movie | Lost in the Stratosphere | Ida Johnson | 1934-11-14 |
Movie | Hello, Sister! | Woman in Apartment House | 1933-04-14 |
Movie | I'm No Angel | Manicurist (uncredited) | 1933-10-06 |
Movie | Good-bye Love | Edna the Maid | 1933-11-09 |
Movie | The Impatient Maiden | Injured Patient (uncredited) | 1932-03-01 |
Movie | Are You Listening? | Performer entering radio station | 1932-03-21 |
Movie | Blonde Venus | Cora, Helen's Maid in New Orleans (uncredited) | 1932-09-23 |
Movie | Hypnotized | Powder Room Attendant | 1932-12-25 |
Movie | The Washington Masquerade | Maid (uncredited) | 1932-07-09 |