Cast:
Iris Hall (Eve Mason), Walker Thompson (Hugh Van Allen), Lawrence Chenault (Jefferson Driscoll), Mattie Wilkes (Mother Driscoll), Louis Dean (August Barr), Leigh Whipper (Tugi, Indian Fakir), with James Burroughs, Jim Burris, G. Tatum (Abraham), George Catlin (Dick Mason), and Edward Fraction (Peter Kaden) Directed by Oscar Micheaux (#1633 - Within Our Gates and #1795 - Body and Soul)
Review:
This film was made in Fort Lee, New Jersey by the "Czar of Black Hollywood" in Oscar Micheaux. He was a promoter through and through: an advertisement that survives for public viewing describes the film as a "story of the Negro (without the "Uncle Tom stuff") with a Northwestern setting, all the while saying that the story, players, director, cameraman, and even the art titles were all by black people. As the most successful African American filmmaker of the first half of the 20th century, his films may not have had the best history in enduring on a consistent basis (three silent films out of a handful survive) or with the greatest material, but he is fundamentally important to understanding film beyond the usual expectations set out in its early days. He was a man who made his way across the country in work in various jobs that had included homesteading, as he believed that hard work and enterprise above all was the way to make one rise to respect and prominence for any color. So, yes, it should make sense that Micheaux wanted to make a film that saw Black folk take on the Ku Klux Klan along with seeing how race could affect relationships (in this case, folks with light-skinned African Americans); hell, if D. W. Griffith could make blatant propaganda with The Birth of a Nation involving the Klan, why couldn't Micheaux? He made movies for an audience that he felt wanted to see their stories on screen by going around the country and getting deals with theaters to help show his films.
The version that survived is one that had French intertitles, oddly enough. A restoration (as restored by The Museum of Modern Art Department of Film and Video and Turner Classic Movies in cooperation with The Oscar Micheaux Society) was done, so one can watch it, but not all of the material survived, most notably with the climax that apparently had action within the sequence of blacks defending against a Klan attack. For a film that lasts 54 minutes, one can say it moves pretty quickly for what is basically a take on the Western with its attempts to show rugged individualism shine through despite the odds (read: hustlers) against them. It is the story of trying to make advancements for oneself without pandering to fantasy (so yes, hard work and enterprise) in order to try and not be boxed in. If you've seen one Micheaux film, you know what you are getting into with something such as this, which is something that is raw and mildly interesting to those with the patience to sit through something where the actors try their hardest to not be stifled by fast shooting and a considerable sprinkling of title cards. It speaks to something that is timeless however: seeing just how people treat themselves, as is the case with mixed-race folks (whether involving scorn or not). Hall and Thompson at least balance things out as decent leads for easy presentability when contrasted with the self-hating Chenault. I have to admit that it is probably the lesser of the three Micheaux surviving silents, since it doesn't have as much to offer in diverting acting or with its story (when it comes to the Klan clash, a scene of a brick toss was seen by audiences of the time, but that scene was lost later); the resolution is as lowkey as it gets as well. As a whole, it is a movie of vignettes that is clearly meant to please with its edges of bluntness that is mildly entertaining and generally useful for those clearly invested into silent films. Micheaux may have made them fast and quick, but he made them with worthwhile determination that has made him an enduring face of black cinema.
Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.
Well, well, well, here is another Black History Month. We just had to start off with Oscar Micheaux just like what happened in 2021 and 2022, and the pattern of going in chronological order will continue as well, which will see familiar and new faces being covered from directors to actors that I hope makes for a suitable tribute within black cinema. Next up is Souls of Sin.
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