Paul Robeson Movies
His father was a Presbyterian minister who had escaped from slavery in his youth; his mother was a schoolteacher. An outstanding athlete, Robeson attended Rutgers on a scholarship and lettered in baseball, basketball, track, and football; later he played pro football while attending law school. Meanwhile, he performed in an amateur stage production at the Harlem YMCA. His acting was very successful and well received; playwright Eugene O'Neill requested that he star in his plays All God's Chillun Got Wings and The Emperor Jones. Thus he gave up law for the theater, and soon gained much critical praise. Robeson began singing in recitals and appearing in films, soon becoming known as one of the most talented performers of his generation; his fame spread to Europe, where he frequently performed onstage and in concerts. He became especially identified with the song Ole Man River, made famous by his vibrant baritone rendition. In 1934 he visited the Soviet Union, returning several times in subsequent years. Seeking remedies to American civil rights abuses and racism, he became an exponent of leftist politics. In the early '40s he performed on Broadway and in a national tour in Othello. Robeson quit making movies after appearing in Tales of Manhattan (1942), in which ridiculous portrayal of rural blacks made him disgusted with Hollywood stereotypes; he denounced the film and never acted onscreen again. He became increasingly controversial for his political views. In 1946 he denied under oath that he had been a member of the Communist party, but refused to repeat his denial in a later inquiry. In 1950 his passport was revoked by the State Department. In 1952 he was awarded the Stalin Peace Prize, but not until 1958 was he permitted to leave the country to receive it. Although publicity about his political views led to a great reduction in his income, he continued touring Europe until the early '60s, when illness obliged him to return to the U.S. He was the subject of a documentary, Paul Robeson: Portrait of an Artist (1979). ~ Rovi
- 2000
Scandalize My Name provides a searing examination of how "Red Scare" politics were used to hinder America's civil rights movement. This powerful film documents the first-hand experiences of African-American performers faced with blacklists, loyalty oaths and other discrimination. It explores the impact these tactics had on the performers' careers and on civil rights as a whole. Paul Robeson, Jackie Robinson, Harry Belafonte, Ossie Davis, and Dick Campbell are just a few of the notable personalities featured. ~ Scott Albright, Rovi
Paul Robeson was a distinguished and widely acclaimed figure in music, theater and film; as a singer, actor and educator, Robeson was one of the best known and best respected African Americans of the 1930's. However, Robeson was also politically outspoken as few performers were in his day, and his brave support of a variety of progressive causes gained him a reputation as a committed leftist at a time when that was career suicide in the entertainment industry. Paul Robeson: Here I Stand explores his life as an artist, an activist and a human being, featuring rare film of Robeson in concert (including his classic version of "Ol' Man River"), clips from his movies, newsreel footage and interviews with his friends and associates, including Harry Belafonte, Pete Seeger and Uta Hagen. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- 1942
The exigencies of the first Hollywood "Red Scare", fomented by the Martin Dies committee, prompted the US Senate Civil Liberties Committee to produce Native Land, a 1942 paean to the Four Freedoms. Narrated by Paul Robeson, the film employs a cast of familiar if not stellar character actors in a story of how certain enemies within the US have done their best to suppress their fellow citizens' rights to freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly and freedom from want. The villains are the usual run of fat-cat capitalists, bigoted "patriots" and strikebreakers, while the heroes and heroines are farmers, sharecroppers, union leaders, minorities and the like. The screenplay leans towards the dogmatic at times, but the actors are sincere and the rousing musical score by Marc Blitztein (and old hand at this sort of agit-prop entertainment) is first-rate. Not suprisingly, many of the contributors to Native Land--Art Smith, Howard Da Silva et. al.-ended up being blacklisted during the Communist "Witch Hunt" of the 1950s. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Fred Johnson, Mary George, (more)
- 1942
Tales of Manhattan is a sumptuous multipart film centered around a formal tailcoat. The coat is specially designed for stage actor Charles Boyer, who wears it during a rendezvous with his lady friend (Rita Hayworth). The lady's husband (Thomas Mitchell) shoots Boyer, thus the tailcoat is damaged merchandise and sold at a discount to a bridegroom (Cesar Romero). When the groom's peccadillos catch up to him, the bride (Ginger Rogers) chooses to marry the best man (Henry Fonda) instead, and the coat is shipped off to a second hand store. It is purchased by a would-be composer (Charles Laughton), who wears it the night that he is to conduct his first symphony; alas, the coat is too tight and tears apart, nearly ruining the conductor's debut. Stitched back together, the coat is donated to a skid row mission, wherein the kindly proprietor gives the coat to a down and out drunkard (Edward G. Robinson) so that the shabby gentleman can attend his 25th college reunion. Later on, the coat is stolen by a crook (J. Carroll Naish) in order to gain entrance to a fancy charity ball. The crook holds up the ball and stuffs the loot in the pockets of the coat, but while escaping in an airplane he loses the outer garment. The coat floats down to an impoverished African American shanty community; a farmer (Paul Robeson) decides to distribute the "money from heaven" amongst his needy neighbors. At the end, the tattered coat adorns the shoulders of a scarecrow. Tales of Manhattan is one of the best "portmanteau" dramas turned out by Hollywood; it was directed by French expatriate Julien Duvivier, a past master of the multi-story technique. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Charles Boyer, Rita Hayworth, (more)
- 1940
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 interested in David's capacity for work than he is in the newcomer's robust baritone. It seems that Parry is in charge of the local miner's choir, and he hopes to win the national singing meet on the strength of David's vocal chords. An unexpected disaster not only puts an end to this dream, but also threatens to financially wipe out Parry, his family and all his friends. It is David who comes to everyone's rescue with a spectacular, near-messianic act of self-sacrifice. Though it seems somewhat flat when seen today, Proud Valley is enervated by the commanding presence of Paul Robeson. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Paul Robeson, Edward Chapman, (more)
- 1939
Originally designed for exhibition at the 1939 World's Fair, Land of Liberty is a 137-minute compendium of filmclips from past American historical epics. The project was sponsored by the Motion Picture Producers & Distributors of America, Inc. and supervised by Cecil B. DeMille, who also edited the film with the assistance of his crack Paramount production staff. The narration was written by old DeMille hands Jeannie MacPherson and Jesse Lasky Jr. and spoken by a talented team of uncredited announcers (one of whom sounded suspiciously like old C. B. himself). Clips from such Hollywood productions as America (1924), Abraham Lincoln (1930), Alexander Hamilton (1931), Show Boat (1936), Man of Conquest (1939) and DeMille's own The Plainsman (1936), The Buccaneer (1938) and Union Pacific (1939) are woven together into a chronological continuity, tracing American history from the Revolutionary War to the "present," which is largely represented by newsreel footage of President Roosevelt, the TVA project, and other current personalities and events. In later years, Land of Liberty was redistributed on the classroom circuit, with new footage added from historical dramas of the 1940s and 1950s. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1937
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 return the boy to his parents. Interestingly, Robeson's character name is Joe, just as it had been in the actor's 1936 Hollywood triumph Show Boat. Big Fella was based on a novel by Claude McKay. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Paul Robeson, Elisabeth Welch, (more)
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 Anna Lee organizes an expedition to locate her father, who has disappeared in the wilds of Africa while searching for King Solomon's Mines, a legendary diamond repository. Umbopa's motivation for guiding the expedition is to reclaim the tribal throne wrested from him by treacherous witch-doctor Gagool (Sidney Fairbrother). At first treated as white gods by the natives, the explorers soon find their lives imperiled. Thanks to Umbopa's know-how, the whites are saved from a horrible death and the evil tribesmen are overthrown. As for King Solomon's Mines, Quartermaine and his party finally locate the fabled diamond cache--and then fate deals an ironic hand, as fate has a habit of doing. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Paul Robeson, Cedric Hardwicke, (more)
- 1937
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 military and imprisoned for letting the colonel go. The colonel had no idea that the captain suffered so much on his behalf. The former captain, feels betrayed by the colonel and vows to get his revenge. After he is finally freed from prison, the ex-captain goes on a world-wide search for the former colonel. He finds him living in the African desert, leading a large tribe, and raising a family. The captain is just about to kill the colonel, and then has a change of heart. He decides to return to the States. The ex-colonel agrees to go with him, but the captain fights him because he wants him to stay. Unfortunately, the rest of the tribe misconstrues the captain's reasons for fighting with their leader. They shoot him in cold blood. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Paul Robeson
- 1936
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 Broadway version. The daughter of showboat impresario Captain Andy (Charles Winninger, who was in the Broadway original), Magnolia is swept off her feet by dashing gambler Gaylord Ravenal (Allan Jones). Yearning to appear on the showboat stage, Magnolia gets her chance when Captain Andy's leading lady, the tragic Julie (Helen Morgan, likewise a holdover from Broadway), is ordered not to perform by a small-town sheriff because she is Mulatto. Julie's husband Steve (Donald Cook) loyally walks out with his wife, thereby leaving the leading-man position open--but not for long, since Gaylord Ravenal agrees to take over for Steve, the better to stay close to Magnolia. Despite the disapproval of Magnolia's mother Parthy Hawks (Helen Westley), Magnolia and Ravenal are married. Later on, the couple has a baby girl named Kim. At first, the young family is blissfully happy, but as Ravenal's gambling debts begin to mount, things turn sour. Unable to support Magnolia and Kim, Ravenal walks out on them both. Desperately, Magnolia tries to get a job as a singer in Chicago. She auditions at a night spot where, fortuitously, Julie is the featured attraction. Hoping to give Magnolia a break, Julie gets drunk, forcing the manager to hire Magnolia as a replacement. During her New Years' Eve debut, Magnolia "chokes up" in front of the raucous audience--and then, who should emerge from the crowd but lovable Captain Andy, who gives Magnolia the encouragement she needs. Magnolia goes on to become a famous musical comedy star, as does her grown-up daughter Kim (played as an adult by Sunnie O'Dea). On the eve of Magnolia's retirement from the theater, she is reunited with her now-contrite husband Gaylord Ravenal. While the second half of Show Boat departs radically from both the novel (in which Ravenal never returns ) and the Broadway show, the film manages to capture the spirit of its literary and theatrical ancestors. Of the original score, "Cotton Blossom," "Ol' Man River," "Where's the Mate for Me?" "Make Believe," "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man," You are Love" and "Bill" are retained, while most of the other songs are heard as background accompaniment. Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II penned three new tunes for the film version: "Ah Still Suits Me," "Gallavantin' Around" and "I Have the Room Above." As in all stage and screen versions of Show Boat, the Charles K. Harris standard "After the Ball" is heard in the New Year sequence. In addition to the aforementioned Dunne, Jones, Winninger, Westley, Morgan, and O'Dea, the Show Boat cast includes the magnificent Paul Robeson as Joe (his rendition of "Ol' Man River" can still induce goosebumps), Hattie McDaniel as Queenie and Sammy White and Queenie Smith as the engagingly second-rate vaudeville team of Frank and Ellie Schultz. Though James Whale of Frankenstein fame seems an odd choice for director, he brings a vibrant theatricality to the proceedings that is lacking in other versions. Show Boat literally saved the financially strapped Universal Pictures from receivership--but not soon enough to prevent the ousters of Carl Laemmle Sr. and Jr. in favor of a new administration. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Irene Dunne, Allan Jones, (more)
- 1936
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 throw it all away to make a pilgrimage to Africa, there to assume leadership of his ancestral tribe, the Casangas. His efforts to free the natives of their superstitions and bring the advantages of civilization to the region are opposed by the local witch doctors, who do their best to kill John and his young wife (Elizabeth Welch). Zinga is saved when he suddenly and instinctively offers a rendition of the tribal "song of freedom," proving beyond all doubt that he is the rightful ruler of the Casangas. Advertised as a "$500,000 epic" (a not inconsiderable sum for a British film in the mid-1930s), Song of Freedom did quite well at the box-office -- except, of course, in the white-bread American South. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Paul Robeson, Elisabeth Welch, (more)
- 1935
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) helps out Sanders by humiliating the evil Chief Mofolaba (Tony Wane). Sanders then recognizes Bosambo as chief of the Ochuri people and peace is maintained for five years. When Sanders leaves for London, word gets out that he is dead and white men come in to sell guns and liquor to the natives. Chief Mofolaba kills Sanders' replacement, Ferguson (Martin Walker), and captures Bosambo's wife Lilongo (Nina Mae McKinney). Father O'Leary (Allan Jeayes) gets Sanders to come back and stop Mofolaba, and eventually Bosambo is crowned king. Robeson and McKinney sing several songs in this film. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi
- Starring:
- Paul Robeson, Leslie Banks, (more)
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 friend Jeff (Frank Wilson) over a crap game. He ends up on a chain gang, but escapes to Haiti where the white trader Smithers (Dudley Digges) buys his freedom. He then scams his way into a business partnership with Smithers and becomes rich. He plays tricks on the natives with a gun, proclaiming that only a silver bullet can kill him. The natives believe he is immortal and he declares himself emperor, holding a tyrannical rule over the people. They naturally revolt, and he is forced to escape into the jungle. Brutus disappears into the woods where he hears voices and sees visions, eventually leading up to his suicide. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi
- Starring:
- Paul Robeson, Dudley Digges, (more)
- 1930
Starring Paul Robeson (one of the first black movie actor/singers to achieve mainstream popularity) in a rare silent role, this experimental drama was thought lost until the 1990s when it was rediscovered by the British Film Institute. The Switzerland-set melodrama takes place in a resort and chronicles the reaction of patrons when an interracial couple shows up for a stay. Some critics claim that careful, sensitive viewers may be able to pick out gay subtext running throughout the story. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1925
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 though he takes his flask with him to church, his followers believe in him. An upstanding member of the congregation, Martha Jane (Julia Theresa Russell), encourages her daughter, Isabelle (Mercedes Gilbert), to accept him as a suitor. Meanwhile, Jenkins' poor but honest twin brother Sylvester (also Robeson) also courts Isabelle as well. Inevitably, the bad twin Jenkins steals Isabelle's life savings and she flees to Atlanta. The National Board of Review disapproved of a clergyman as an evil character and Micheaux was running out of money, so the conclusion is a tacked-on "it was all just a dream" ending. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi
- Starring:
- Paul Robeson, Mercedes Gilbert, (more)
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