6 Best Madame Sul-Te-Wan Movies

By Vlad Zakh · August 29, 2026

Madame Sul-Te-Wan, widely regarded as the first African American actress to sign a studio contract, built a screen career from the silent era into the 1950s. Carmen Jones leads a factory worker’s reckless affair with a soldier to tragedy, Something of Value splits two childhood friends over the Mau Mau uprising, Band of Angels sells an aristocratic Southern woman into slavery, and The Buccaneer asks Jean Lafitte to choose between crime and America. Black Moon and Tarzan of the Apes round out the list.

Carmen Jones (1954)

TMDB ★ 6.5

Madame Sul-Te-Wan features in this all-Black musical about a factory worker whose reckless love affair with a soldier leads them both toward tragedy.

Directed by Otto Preminger · 1h 45m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Stream: YouTube TV · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Buccaneer (1958)

TMDB ★ 6.2

Madame Sul-Te-Wan appears in this remake where pirate Jean Lafitte must choose between his criminal empire and aiding America in the War of 1812.

Directed by Anthony Quinn · 1h 59m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Band of Angels (1957)

TMDB ★ 5.9

Madame Sul-Te-Wan features in this drama about a Southern woman raised as an aristocrat who is sold into slavery after her father's death.

Directed by Raoul Walsh · 2h 05m

Where to watch

Stream: Philo · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Something of Value (1957)

TMDB ★ 6.7

Madame Sul-Te-Wan features in this drama about two childhood friends, one Black and one white, who find themselves on opposite sides of the Mau Mau uprising.

Directed by Richard Brooks · 1h 53m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Stream: Philo · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Black Moon (1934)

TMDB ★ 5.7

Madame Sul-Te-Wan features in this horror drama where a woman's childhood obsession with a Caribbean island's voodoo cult resurfaces to endanger her family.

Directed by Roy William Neill · 1h 08m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Stream: Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Tarzan of the Apes (1918)

TMDB ★ 5.9

Madame Sul-Te-Wan is in this silent adventure about a British lord's son raised by apes in the African jungle who grows into a legendary wild man.

Directed by Scott Sidney · 1h 00m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Stream: MGM+ Amazon Channel, MGM Plus Roku Premium Channel, MGM Plus · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Streaming availability data from JustWatch, via TMDB. Availability changes often, so check the service before you plan a movie night.

Vlad Zakh

Founder, Movieix

Founder of Movieix. He started the site because most recommendation pages felt like noise. Here, lists are sorted by who's in the film, where it's from and what mood you're in tonight.

6 Best Madame Sul-Te-Wan Movies

Carmen Jones (1954)

The Buccaneer (1958)

Band of Angels (1957)

Something of Value (1957)

Black Moon (1934)

Tarzan of the Apes (1918)

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