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Madame Sul-Te-Wan

Madame Sul-Te-Wan

Actor · Died February 1, 1959, aged 85 · Louisville, Kentucky, USA

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Madame Sul-Te-Wan (born Nellie Crawford; March 7, 1873 – February 1, 1959) was the first African-American actress to sign a film contract and be a featured performer. She was an American stage, film and television actress for over 50 years. The daughter of former slaves, she began her career in entertainment touring the East Coast with various theatrical companies and moved to California to become a member of the fledgling film community. She became known as a character actress, appeared in high-profile films such as The Birth of a Nation (1915) and Intolerance (1916), and easily navigated the transition to the sound films. In 1986, she was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
March 7, 1873
Died
February 1, 1959 (aged 85)
From
Louisville, Kentucky, USA
Works as
Actor
Titles
24 on MovieCove · 58 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 39 days to Oct 28Down 19% in 30 days

What are Madame Sul-Te-Wan's films like?

Across a limited sample of 3 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Survival and Power.

Themes

share of theme weight
Survival
28%
Power
25%
Bonds
21%
Self
19%
Morality
8%

What they feel like to watch

their average across 3 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 2 · Serious 0 · Dark 1

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

A split, not a type: Grounded 2 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 0

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

A split, not a type: Gentle 2 · Charged 0 · Intense 1

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 0 · Shifting 3 · Whiplash 0

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 1 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 1

Slow burn: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their slow burn movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 3 · Even-paced 0 · Relentless 0

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 2 · Engaged 1 · Full focus 0

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 3 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings shown from 5 titles

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
2
Melancholic
2
Absurd
2
Dread
1
Warm
1

How their films linger

Fun2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Madame Sul-Te-Wan's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 8 of their 24 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (5).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Madame Sul-Te-Wan's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

58 credits, 24 with a MovieCove page.

  • Tarzan and the Trappers(1960)

    as Witch Woman

    Midcredits score: 12th percentile of all films

  • The Buccaneer(1958)

    as Good Luck Charm Vendor

    Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all films

  • Band of Angels(1957)

    as Flower Vendor (Uncredited)

    Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all films

  • Something of Value(1957)

    as Midwife (Uncredited)

    Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all films

  • Carmen Jones(1954)

    as Hagar – Carmen's Grandmother (Uncredited)

    Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all films

  • The Story of Seabiscuit(1949)

    as Libby

    Midcredits score: 45th percentile of all films

  • Mighty Joe Young(1949)

    as Young Family Servant (Uncredited)

    Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films

  • Thank Your Lucky Stars(1943)

    as Bit in "Ice Cold Katie" Number (uncredited)

    Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all films

  • Revenge of the Zombies(1943)

    as Beulah

    Midcredits score: 11th percentile of all films

  • Mokey (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1942)

    as Miss Cully (uncredited)

  • Sullivan's Travels(1941)

    as Church Harmonium Player (Uncredited)

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films

  • King of the Zombies(1941)

    as Tahama

    Midcredits score: 17th percentile of all films

  • Love Thy Neighbor (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1940)

    as Lady McBeth

  • Maryland (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1940)

    as Naomi

  • Safari (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1940)

    as Native Woman

  • Torchy Blane.. Playing with Dynamite(1939)

    as Ruby (uncredited)

    Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all films

  • Tell No Tales (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1939)

    as Jim Alley's Mother (uncredited)

  • Kentucky(1938)

    as Lily

    Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films

  • The Affairs of Annabel (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1938)

    as Benzedrina (uncredited)

  • The Toy Wife (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1938)

    as Eve, a Black Servant (Uncredited)

  • In Old Chicago(1938)

    as Hattie

    Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films

  • Island in the Sky (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1938)

    as Scrubwoman (Uncredited)

  • Maid of Salem (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1937)

    as Tituba

  • San Francisco(1936)

    as Earthquake Survivor (Uncredited)

    Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films

  • So Red the Rose(1935)

    as Slave (Uncredited)

    Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all films

  • Imitation of Life(1934)

    as Cook (uncredited)

    Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films

  • Black Moon(1934)

    as Ruva

    Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all films

  • Operator 13 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1934)

    as Slave at Medicine Show ( Uncredited)

  • A Modern Hero (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1934)

    as Mme. Azais' Neighbor ( Uncredited)

  • King Kong(1933)

    as Native Handmaiden (uncredited)

    Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films

  • Ladies They Talk About(1933)

    as Mustard (uncredited)

    Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all films

  • Jungle Mystery (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1932)

    as Native Woman in Stockade (Uncredited)

  • Heaven on Earth (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1931)

    as Voodoo Sue

  • The Pagan Lady (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1931)

    as Carla the Servant

  • The Thoroughbred (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1930)

    as Sacharine

  • Sarah and Son (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1930)

    as Belloc's Maid (Uncredited)

  • Queen Kelly (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1929)

    as Kali Sana - Aunt's Cook (uncredited)

  • Thunderbolt (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1929)

    as Bit Role

  • The Carnation Kid (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1929)

    as The Maid (Uncredited)

  • Uncle Tom's Cabin (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1927)

    as Slave at Wedding (uncredited)

  • College(1927)

    as Cook (uncredited)

    Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all films

  • The Golden Bed (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1925)

    as Boarding House Maid (Uncredited)

  • The Narrow Street (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1925)

    as Easter

  • The Lightning Rider (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1924)

    as Mammy

  • Manslaughter (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1922)

    as Prison Inmate (uncredited)

  • The Show (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1922)

    as Maid (uncredited)

  • Why Change Your Wife? (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1920)

    as Sally's Maid (Uncredited)

  • His Musical Sneeze (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1919)

    as Maid (uncredited)

  • Who's Your Father? (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1918)

    as Black Mother (uncredited)

  • Old Wives for New (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1918)

    as Viola's Maid (uncredited)

  • Tarzan of the Apes(1918)

    as Esmeralda - Jane's Maid (uncredited)

    Midcredits score: 29th percentile of all films

  • Stage Struck (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1917)

    as Uncredited

  • The Children Pay (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1916)

    as Uncredited

  • Intolerance(1916)

    as Girl at the Marriage Market (uncredited)

    Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films

  • Hoodoo Ann (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1916)

    as Black Cindy

  • The Birth of a Nation(1915)

    as Black Woman (uncredited)

    Midcredits score: 40th percentile of all films

  • The Cause of It All (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1915)

    as Mary - The Hotel Cook

  • Squirrel Food (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    as Flirt

Career shape

Star power in the 85th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 58 titles, 57 of them dated from 1915 to 1960.

Highest rated

Black Moon (1934)

Midcredits 33rd

Most popular right now

King of the Zombies (1941)

Film career

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting58 of 58: 58 only acting, 0 with another role · typical Midcredits score63rd

By decade

1910s10 · acting1920s11 · acting1930s21 · acting1940s10 · acting1950s4 · acting1960s1 · acting

Billing

usually 15th · top billed in 0% of 11 roles
1535

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored. Billing is TMDB cast order for roles with 25+ votes, billed in the top 30; the columns are the share of top-billed roles in each era, 5-year spans from the year on the label, merged until each holds at least 5 roles.

How do Madame Sul-Te-Wan's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 63rd percentile, the median of all 24; across a limited sample of 3 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 23rd percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

23rdpercentile
Typical film, the median of 3

Approval · how many liked their films

15thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 3

Reach · how many have seen their films

46thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 3

Midcredits score across 24 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up7
  • 50th to 74th8
  • 25th to 49th6
  • Below 25th3

Shape of the crowd

11 of their 24 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved4
  • Cult Classic1
  • Crowd Pleaser11
  • Broadly Agreed3
  • Mixed5

Most divisive · actor

The Birth of a Nation (1915)

82nd percentile spread · 24% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · actor

Sullivan's Travels (1941)

Midcredits 97th · 85% liked

Reviewers score the acting 62/100 in their films, across 3 reviewed titles; fans 72, detractors 40. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Who does Madame Sul-Te-Wan work with?

People who share at least 2 of Madame Sul-Te-Wan's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Edmond Kelso shares the most, 2.

Writers

Actors

Cinematographers and editors

Producers