Race film

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

For films called Race or The Race, see Race#Film.
Race film
The Homesteader (1919) by film pioneer Oscar Micheaux emphasized its black cast.
Years active1915–1950s
LocationUnited States
Major figuresZora Neale Hurston, Solomon Sir Jones, Oscar Micheaux, Paul Robeson, Tressie Souders, Lester Walton, Maria P. Williams, Spencer Williams
InfluencesBlack Vaudeville
InfluencedChitlin' Circuit, Independent Black cinema

The race film or race movie was a genre of film produced in the United States between about 1915 and the early 1950s, consisting of films produced for

BET cable network
. In their day, race films were very popular among African-American theatergoers. Their influence continues to be felt in cinema and television marketed to African-Americans.

The term "race film" is sometimes used to describe films of the period aimed at other minority audiences. For instance, the 1926 film Silk Bouquet (also known as The Dragon Horse) starred the Asian-American actress

Chinese-American audiences.[1]

Financing and production

The Green Eyed Monster, an all black romantic adventure by the Norman Film Manufacturing Company with an elaborate and expensive train wreck.

African Americans produced films for black audiences as early as 1905, but most race films were produced after 1915.

Alice Guy for the Solax Film Company.[4] The Ebony Film Company of Chicago, created specifically to produce black-cast films, was also headed by a white production team.[5]

Some black-owned studios existed, including Lincoln Motion Picture Company (1916–1921). The most notable was Oscar Micheaux's Chicago-based Micheaux Film Corporation, which operated from 1918–1940. On his posters, Micheaux advertised that his films were scripted and produced exclusively by African Americans. Astor Pictures also released several race films and produced Beware with Louis Jordan.[citation needed] In total, there were approximately 150 independent companies producing race movies during this period.[6]

The race films vanished during the early 1950s after African-American participation in

Pinky with Ethel Waters; Home of the Brave with James Edwards; and Intruder in the Dust, all in 1949; and No Way Out (1950), which was the debut of the notable actor Sidney Poitier. The last known race film appears to have been an obscure adventure film of 1954 called Carib Gold.[citation needed
]

Venues

In the South, to comply with laws on racial segregation, race movies were screened at designated black theaters. Though northern cities were not always formally segregated, race films were generally shown in theaters in black neighborhoods. Many large northern theaters segregated black audiences by requiring them to sit in the balconies or by attending later showtimes.

While it was rare for race films to be shown to white audiences, white theaters often reserved special time-slots for black moviegoers. This resulted in race films often being screened as matinées and midnight shows. During the height of their popularity, race films were shown in as many as 1,100 theaters around the country.[7]

Themes

Lobby card for The Gunsaulus Mystery (1921)

The films were produced primarily in northern cities, where the target audience consisted primarily of poor southern blacks and southerners who had

middle-class urban values, especially education and industriousness. Common themes included the "improvement" of the black race, the tension between educated and uneducated blacks, and the tragic consequences in store for blacks who resisted liberal capitalist values. The most famous race movie, The Scar of Shame
, incorporated all of these themes.

Race films typically avoided explicit depictions of poverty, ghettos, social decay, and crime. When such elements appeared, they often did so in the background or as plot devices. Race films rarely treated the subjects of social injustice and race relations, although blacks had been legally disenfranchised in the South since the turn of the century, and suffered discrimination in both the North and South.

According to film historian Donald Bogle, some of the earliest race films were "quite frankly, terrible".[6] Spying Like the Spy (1917) was an example of a film produced by a white-owned company that was "almost as stereotypical as any Hollywood product".[6]

Other race films avoided many of the popular black

stock characters found in contemporary mainstream films, or else relegated these stereotypes to supporting roles and villains. Micheaux depicted his protagonists as educated, prosperous, and genteel. Micheaux hoped to give his audience something to help them "further the race".[citation needed
]

Black

American television
.

Many black singers and bands appeared in lead or supporting roles in race films; Louis Jordan, for example, made three films.

Historical significance

Race films are of great interest to students of African-American cinema. They are historically significant due to their ability to showcase the talents of actors who otherwise were relegated to stereotypical supporting roles in mainstream studio films. Hattie McDaniel and Clarence Muse are two of the most striking examples of talented performers who generally were given minor roles in mainstream film. A few stars from race films were able to cross over to relative stardom in mainstream works – for example, Paul Robeson and Evelyn Preer. Hollywood studios often used race movies as a recruiting source of black talent.

Notable race films

See also

References

  1. ^ "She (Wong) also appeared in a Chinese 'race' film, The Silk Bouquet, released in June 1926 ...." © Anna May Wong - Silent and Sound Film Actress - goldensilents.com
  2. ^ Caddoo, Cara; Envisioning Freedom: Cinema and the Building of Modern Black Life: Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2014; 24
  3. ^ McMahan, Alison; Alice Guy Blache: Lost Visionary of the Cinema; New York: Continuum, 2002; 148
  4. ^ McMahan; 147
  5. ^ Leab, Daniel. From Sambo to Superspade: The Black Experience in Motion Pictures. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1975; 45
  6. ^ a b c Bogle, Donald (October 1985). "No Business Like Micheaux Business: 'B'...for Black". Film Comment.
  7. ^ MessyNessy (February 6, 2019). "Race Movies and the Black-Owned Studios that Thrived Next to Hollywood, February 6, 2020". Retrieved January 16, 2021.
Print references

External links

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