February 1, 2021
Within Our Gates.
Cast:
Evelyn Preer (Sylvia Landry), Floy Clements (Alma Prichard), James D. Ruffin (Conrad Drebert, Sylvia's Fiancé), Jack Chenault (Larry Prichard, Alma's Stepbrother), William Smith (Philip Gentry, a detective), Charles D. Lucas (Dr. V. Vivian), Bernice Ladd (Mrs. Geraldine Stratton), Mrs. Evelyn (Mrs. Elena Warwick), William Starks (Jasper Landry), Ralph Johnson (Philip Gridlestone), and E.G. Tatum (Efrem) Written, Directed, and Produced by Oscar Micheaux.
Review:
“I have always tried to make my photoplays present the truth, to lay before the Race a cross-section of its own life, to view the Colored heart from close range. It is only by presenting those portions of the Race portrayed in my pictures, in the light and background of their true state, that we can raise our people to greater heights.”
There have been numerous ambitious filmmakers featured throughout the annals of Movie Night but one that cannot be forgotten in terms of importance with generating movies for generations is Oscar Micheaux. He was 35 upon the completion of his first film, but he already had lived a life of hard work and enterprise. Born to a family of thirteen, he had lived a life on a farm alongside the city, and he would hone social skills from his first line of work in marketing to future use. In his adult life, he would do a variety of jobs that ranged from the stockyards to Pullman porter before eventually making enough to buy and operate his own land as a homesteader. It was the experiences spent with his own land in Gregory County, South Dakota that helped shape him into writing, for he wrote the first of seven novels beginning in 1913. His novel The Homesteader (1918) attracted interest into filmmaking, with initial negotiations being done with George P. Johnson's Lincoln Motion Picture Company, although Micheaux's disagreements about wanting to direct led him to pursue the idea himself, for which he would produce for himself by having people he knew buy stock into his company. The Homesteader (1919) was not the first ever film directed by an African American director, as there had been race films for nearly a decade (with companies such as The Foster Photoplay Company with The Railroad Porter in 1913), but the film was a pioneer for feature-length film done with a primarily African American cast and crew. Unfortunately, it is now considered lost, but his second film does still survive, albeit under lucky circumstances, as it was believed to have been lost for decades before one print was found within the national film archive of Spain, which had its own edits (as is the case with having to deal with censors; of his three silent films to survive, only one [Body and Soul] has its original intertitles all survive).
The film was made on a budget of $15,000, and it was shot with the help of friends to borrow homes for shooting alongside moments spent on the street of Chicago while having little time for re-takes. Remember, one is watching a film that only exists in the closest way imaginable to how it would have been in 1920, with reconstructed intertitles and restoration from the Library of Congress to try and fill the gaps (which sometimes involves slang, as was the style for Micheaux in his novels and his silents). Micheaux wanted to make a film that would appeal to promoting hard work and respect over the dangers of ignorance that could (and had) led to prejudice, regardless of if one had lived in the Northern or Southern United States (riots that occurred in Chicago the previous year proved a hinderance with getting the film past the censors for a time), which still strikes a chord today with its focus upon combatting racism and the horror of lynching. It does all this within a melodrama that will leave plenty to discuss and engage with if one is in the mood for a curiosity within a silent film for 80 minutes, whether involving abandoned finances, schools in trouble, or secrets revealed. It addresses the problems of the time that its target audience of the time would recognize within a story that jumps over rural and urban lines while giving them a story that will shock them with how blunt Micheaux dares to go in provocation, and it only seems fitting that Micheaux would later be referred to as "The Czar of Black Hollywood", for which he would make over forty films in three decades of work. Not to be forgotten in all of this is the star that Micheaux would use for numerous films in Preer - sadly, this is the one and only performance one can judge of Peer, since it is the only feature film with her in a feature role that has been preserved. The Mississippi native had a career of thirteen years in acting that was cut prematurely from her death in 1932 (dying of double pneumonia), but she did her part in a variety of acting opportunities, which ranged from Micheaux's featuring of her in nine movies to bit roles to shorts to work in the theater. She clearly seems to the task for handling drama, one that doesn't seem to fall prey to a middling take because she is playing right to the stage for drama without needing overacting to make it count. In short, she can handle the balance of flashbacks and swings between romance and betrayal. The only other person of significance in the acting field is an interesting one with Clements, who had her appearances in this and another Micheaux film, but she eventually moved on to work involving work within ward committees and she ran and won a term as a representative of the House for the state of Illinois - Clements may have done just okay with this film (one that just involves jealousy), but at least she did find a place for herself besides acting. The others do okay, mostly trying to avoid the mish-mash of one-take shooting and sudden swings of narrative that can feature moments involving philanthropic opportunity through being hit by a car to horrific vigilantism to the sudden happy ending. Ruffin plays bombast for about five minutes, while Chenault does the conniving okay to go with a useful Lucas. Ladd and Evelyn provide the other side of the coin involving the clash of philanthropy and the eyes of people who think differently about who deserves it most for a certain reason that make for an interesting episode in a film full of moments like that (one such scene involves a sell-out preacher telling about white folks having all their vices help them go to hell, while another involves the story of Alma near the end). While the film creaks at times when it comes to holding water in its plot construction, it still makes a worthwhile effort from a director that yearned to teach a worthy lesson of endurance overcoming prejudice that still holds true then as was now. It will prove curious alongside painful at times for what it wants to say without becoming odiously obvious about it. Micheaux may not have as many films that are as easily available to view as other creators in the silent era, but he still endures today for the curious viewer who desire to branch out their perspectives into the silent era beyond the usual name.
Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.
Today is the first day of February and Black History Month. After spending nearly a year doing themed months based on certain decades, it only seems natural to retain the idea of using a month to cover films revolving around a certain interest or topic, for which this month will be used to honor Black History Month. There will be quite a few interesting films that will be covered through this month, with a primary interest in African American directors that will go from Oscar Micheaux all the way to the modern era with plenty of new faces to show, which I hope one enjoys.
Next Time: Symbiopsychotaxiplasm.
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