Based on the book by Edgar Wallace and produced by London Film Productions, the adventure drama Sanders of the River is an Imperialist propaganda film about British Colonial rule in Africa. Leslie Banks plays Commissioner "Lord Sandy" Sanders, who maintains British rule over the N'Gombi district of Nigeria. The fugitive Bosambo (Paul Robeson) ...
This second film version of the Edna Ferber/Jerome Kern/Oscar Hammerstein II musical Show Boat is considered by many film buffs to be the best of the three. Covering nearly four decades (was there ever an Edna Ferber novel that didn't?), the film stars Irene Dunne as Magnolia Hawks, a role she'd previously played on stage, though not in the ...
Adapted by DuBose Heyward from a Eugene O'Neill play, Emperor Jones is one of Paul Robeson's earliest and most powerful leading roles. Railroad porter Brutus Jones (Robeson) leaves his girlfriend Dolly (Ruby Elzy) in favor of Undine (Fredi Washington), but he soon leaves her too. Brutus is a master manipulator, liar, and swindler who murders his ...
In an effort to encourage children and leaders to work towards a more stable future for generations to come, filmmaker Owen Alik Shahadah explores the history of atrocities which resulted when, 500 years ago, countless Africans were forced to migrate from their continent. Interviews with such notable figures as cultural activist Dr. Maulana ...
African-American actor/singer Paul Robeson had to travel to England in the 1930s to seek out dignified film roles. In Big Fella, Robeson is a happy wanderer who chances upon a runaway child. The kid so enjoys the company of Robeson and his café-singer friend Elisabeth Welch that he threatens to claim that he's been kidnapped if Robeson tries to ...
Written and directed by independent auteur Oscar Micheaux, the low-budget silent film Body and Soul is significant as the film debut of actor Paul Robeson. He leads the largely African-American cast as the Reverend Isaiah T. Jenkins, a minister who lies, cheats, and steals. He's really an escaped convict and con artist posing as a Reverend. Even ...
Proud Valley was directed by Pen Tennyson, whose early death in WW2 robbed the British movie industry of one of its more talented contributors. African American singing star Paul Robeson heads the cast as David, a black stoker seeaking work in the coal mines of Wales. He finds an ally in the form of miner Dick Parry (Edward Chapman), who is less ...
In this drama, a black American corporal gets court-martialed for a murder and receives a death sentence. Unfortunately, he is innocent. A white captain believes him and gives him one last furlough so he can spend New Year's Eve with his friends. Naturally the corporal uses the opportunity to go AWOL. The captain is later thrown out of the ...
The first of three talkie versions of H. Rider Haggard's adventure novel King Solomon's Mine was produced by British Gaumont. While Cedric Hardwicke plays the nominal leading role of explorer Alan Quartermaine, top billing goes to African-American singing-star Paul Robeson, who plays dauntless native- guide Umbopa. The plot gets under way when ...
Along with The Emperor Jones, Song of Freedom is arguably the best of Paul Robeson's starring features. Robeson plays London dockworker John Zinga, obsessed with the urge to return to his African "roots" (this was nearly 40 years before Alex Haley!) Discovered by an operatic impresario, John achieves singing stardom on the concert stage -- only to ...
By staying true to both his talent and his political beliefs, Paul Robeson became one of the most respected figures of the twentieth century. This documentary combines his impassioned public speeches with clips of him performing his moving songs, and contains renditions of "John Brown's Body," "When I Get Home," and "Joe Hill." ~ Perry Seibert, ...
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