Race film: Difference between revisions

African Americans produced films for black audiences as early as 1905, but most race films were produced after 1915.<ref>Caddoo, Cara; ''Envisioning Freedom: Cinema and the Building of Modern Black Life'': Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2014; 24</ref> As many as 500 race films were produced in the United States between 1915 and 1952.<ref>McMahan, Alison; ''Alice Guy Blache: Lost Visionary of the Cinema''; New York: Continuum, 2002; 148</ref> As happened later with the early [[black sitcom]]s on television, race movies were most often financed by white-owned companies, such as [[Leo Popkin]], and scripted and directed by whites,. althoughBut one producer, Alfred N. Sack, made some films written and directed by black talent such as [[Spencer Williams (actor)|Spencer Williams]]. Many race films were produced by white-owned film companies outside the [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]]-centered American film industry, such as [[Million Dollar Productions]] in the 1930s and Toddy Pictures in the 1940s. One of the earliest surviving examples of a black cast film aimed at a black audience is [[A Fool and His Money (1912 film)|''A Fool and His Money'' (1912)]], directed by French emigree [[Alice Guy]] for the Solax Film Company.<ref>McMahan; 147</ref> The Ebony Film Company of Chicago, created specifically to produce black-cast films, was also headed by a white production team.<ref>Leab, Daniel. ''From Sambo to [[Superspade]]: The Black Experience in Motion Pictures''. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1975; 45</ref>

Some black-owned studios existed, including [[Lincoln Motion Picture Company]] (1916–1921),. andThe most notablynotable 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|date=May 2020}} In total, there were approximately 150 independent companies producing race movies during this period.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Bogle |first=Donald |date=October 1985 |title=No Business Like Micheaux Business: 'B'...for Black |work=Film Comment}}</ref>

The race films vanished during the early 1950s after African-American participation in [[World War II]] contributed to the starring of black actors in lead roles in several [[Cinema of the United States|Hollywood]] major productions,. manyMany of whichthese focused on the serious problems of integration and racism, such as ''[[Pinky (1949 film)|Pinky]]'' with [[Ethel Waters]]; ''[[Home of the Brave (1949 film)|Home of the Brave]]'' with [[James Edwards (actor)|James Edwards]]; and ''[[Intruder in the Dust]]'', all in 1949; and ''[[No Way Out (1950 film)|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|date=May 2020}}

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 intoby 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 [[wikt:matinée|matinée]]s and [[midnight movie|midnight]] shows. During the height of their popularity, race films were shown in as many as 1,100 theaters around the country.<ref name="Black-Owned Studios">{{cite web |last= MessyNessy |url=https://www.messynessychic.com/2020/02/06/race-movies-and-the-black-owned-studios-that-ran-parallel-to-mainstream-hollywood/|title=Race Movies and the Black-Owned Studios that Thrived Next to Hollywood, February 6, 2020 |date=February 6, 2019 |access-date=January 16, 2021}}</ref>

[[File:GunsaulusMystery1921-film.jpg|thumb|225px|right|Lobby card for ''[[The Gunsaulus Mystery]]'' (1921)|left]]{{More footnotes|date=April 2021}}

ProducedThe films were produced primarily in northern cities, where the target audience consisted primarily of poor southern blacks and southerners who had [[Great Migration (African American)|migrated northward]]. Many race films, particularly those produced by white studios, expressed [[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, [[ghetto]]s, 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 werehad been legally disenfranchised in the South since the turn of the century, and suffered discrimination in both the North and South.

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 &ndash; for example, [[Paul Robeson]] and [[Evelyn Preer]]. Hollywood studios often used race movies as a recruiting source of black talent.

* ''[[The Colored American Winning His Suit]]'' (1916), first five-reel drama race film, according to ''[[The New York Age]]'', lost

* ''[[The Homesteader]]'' (1919), lost

== Print referencesReferences ==

{{commons category|Race films}}

* [https://www.etsyebay.com/listingitm/475653577/race-films-dvd-set261922637596 7595 Race Films on DVD]

[[Category:Cinema20th ofcentury thein UnitedAmerican Statescinema]]