The Emperor Jones

The Emperor Jones

Directed by Dudley Murphy • 1933 • United States
Starring Paul Robeson, Dudley Digges, Frank Wilson

Of all Paul Robeson’s eleven starring film performances, by far his most iconic was his breakthrough in the big-screen adaptation of Eugene O’Neill’s THE EMPEROR JONES (1933). He was already a legend for his stage incarnation of Brutus Jones, a Pullman porter who powers his way to the rule of a Caribbean island, but with this, his first sound-era film role, his regal image was married to his booming voice for eternity. With THE EMPEROR JONES, Robeson became the first African-American leading man in mainstream movies and, he said, gained a deeper understanding of cinema's potential to change racial misconceptions. Previously censored, THE EMPEROR JONES is presented here in its most complete form.

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The Emperor Jones
  • The Emperor Jones

    Directed by Dudley Murphy • 1933 • United States
    Starring Paul Robeson, Dudley Digges, Frank Wilson

    Of all Paul Robeson’s eleven starring film performances, by far his most iconic was his breakthrough in the big-screen adaptation of Eugene O’Neill’s THE EMPEROR JONES (1933). He was already a leg...

Extras

  • THE EMPEROR JONES Commentary

    Cultural historian Jeffrey C. Stewart, professor of history at George Mason University and the editor of Paul Robeson: Artist and Citizen, recorded this commentary in 2006.