Directed by Oscar Micheaux • 1932 • United States
Starring Lawrence Chenault, Willor Lee Guilford, Lorenzo Tucker
Resisting the stagebound atmosphere of THE EXILE, Oscar Micheaux found ways to shoot a talking picture on location, without cumbersome and expensive audio recording equipment. He did this by making one of his characters deaf (rendering speech unnecessary) and having much of the dialogue spoken off-camera (so it could be dubbed later). These devices are clumsily executed at times, but they prove that Micheaux had a more canny understanding of the medium than he is often given credit for.
Up Next in Part 1: Feature Films
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Veiled Aristocrats
Directed by Oscar Micheaux • 1932 • United States
Starring Lucille Lewis, Lawrence Chenault, Walter FlemingA remake of director Oscar Micheaux’s (now lost) 1925 film THE HOUSE BEHIND THE CEDARS, VEILED ARISTOCRATS exists in incomplete form, but the missing footage does not impair one’s enjoymen...
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Birthright
Directed by Oscar Micheaux • 1938 • United States
Starring Carman Newsome, Ethel Moses, Alec LovejoyAn idealistic young man attempts to establish a school in a rural location, but encounters opposition from both the black and white communities. Director Oscar Micheaux himself was a former homes...
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The Bronze Buckaroo
Directed by Richard C. Kahn • 1939 • United States
Starring Herb Jeffries, Lucius Brooks, Artie YoungA Hollywood-style western with a black cast, THE BRONZE BUCKAROO stars Herb Jeffries as singing cowboy Bob Blake, a smooth, brave, and honorable hero who is assisted by his comic sidekick Dusty,...
