The Blood of Jesus
Celebrate Black History
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56m
Directed by Spencer Williams • 1941 • United States
Starring Cathryn Caviness, Spencer Williams, Juanita Riley
The first feature by director/actor Spencer Williams (commonly remembered today as Andy on TV’s “Amos ’n’ Andy”), THE BLOOD OF JESUS is a rural religious parable in which a woman (Cathryn Caviness), accidentally shot by her husband (Williams), travels to the crossroads of the hereafter and faces the temptations of the devil himself. Williams appropriated footage from Roman Freulich’s 1936 inspirational short BROKEN EARTH to add stylish production value to this low-budget drama—but he proves to be quite the stylist himself with the images of the leering Satan and the stunning finale, in which the protagonist falls to the foot of a cross and is bathed in the literal blood of Jesus.
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