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{{Use American English|date=August 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{short description|Film genre}}
{{For|films called ''Race'' or ''The Race''|Race (disambiguation)#Film{{!}}Race#Film}}{{Infobox art movement|name=Race film|image=The Homesteader 1919 newspaperad.jpg|caption=[[The Homesteader]] (1919) by film pioneer Oscar Micheaux emphasized its black cast.|country=United States|yearsactive=1915–1950s|majorfigures=[[Zora Neale Hurston]], [[Solomon Sir Jones]], [[Oscar Micheaux]], [[Paul Robeson]], [[Tressie Souders]], [[Lester Walton]], [[Maria P. Williams]], [[Spencer Williams]]|influenced=[[Chitlin' Circuit]], Independent Black cinema|influences=[[Black Vaudeville]]}}
[[File: Green Eyed Monster 1919.JPG|right|thumb|''[[The Green Eyed Monster (1919 film)|The Green Eyed Monster]]'', an all black romantic adventure by the [[Norman Studios|Norman Film Manufacturing Company]] with an elaborate and expensive train wreck.]]▼
▲In all, approximately five hundred race films were produced. Of these, fewer than one hundred remain. Because race films were produced outside the [[Hollywood]] [[studio system]], they were largely forgotten by mainstream film historians until they resurfaced in the 1980s on the [[Black Entertainment Television|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 [[Anna May Wong]] and was marketed to [[Chinese-American]] audiences.<ref>"She (Wong) also appeared in a Chinese 'race' film, ''The Silk Bouquet'', released in June 1926 ...." [http://www.goldensilents.com/stars/annamaywong.html © Anna May Wong - Silent and Sound Film Actress - goldensilents.com<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
== Financing and production ==
▲[[File: Green Eyed Monster 1919.JPG
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
Some black-owned studios existed, including [[Lincoln Motion Picture Company]] (
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
== Venues ==
<!-- Image with inadequate rationale removed: [[Image:Movie scar of shame.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Title card of ''[[The Scar of Shame]]'' (1927), the archetypal race movie.]] -->
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
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>
== Themes ==
[[File:GunsaulusMystery1921-film.jpg|thumb|
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
According to film historian Donald Bogle, some of the earliest race films were "quite frankly, terrible".<ref name=":0" /> ''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".<ref name=":0" />
Race films avoided many of the popular black [[stock characters]] found in contemporary mainstream films, or else relegated these stereotypes to supporting roles and [[villain]]s. Micheaux depicted his protagonists as educated, prosperous, and genteel. Micheaux hoped to give his audience something to help them "further the race".▼
▲
Black [[comedian]]s such as [[Mantan Moreland]], who had played supporting comedy roles in mainstream [[Hollywood]] films, reprised his character as the lead in such films as ''[[Professor Creeps]]'' and ''[[Mr Washington Goes To Town]]''. Some black entertainers, such as [[Moms Mabley]] or [[Pigmeat Markham]], starred in their own [[Star vehicle|vehicle]]s. Mabley and Markham did not appear in mainstream entertainment until the late 1960s, when both were featured on ''[[Laugh-In]]'' on [[American television]].▼
▲Black [[comedian]]s such as [[Mantan Moreland]], who had played supporting comedy roles in mainstream [[Hollywood (film industry)|Hollywood]] films, reprised his character as the lead in such films as ''[[Professor Creeps]]'' and ''
Many black singers and bands appeared in lead or supporting roles in race films; [[Louis Jordan]], for example, made three films.
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== Historical significance ==
<!-- Image with inadequate rationale removed: [[Image:Bodyandsoul.jpg|right|thumb|''[[Body and Soul (1924 film)|Body and Soul]]'' (1924), [[Paul Robeson]]'s film debut]] -->
Race films are of great interest to students of African
== Notable race films ==
* ''[[The Colored American Winning His Suit]]'' (1916), first five-reel drama race film, according to ''[[The New York Age]]'', lost
* ''[[The Homesteader]]'' (1919), lost
* ''[[The Green Eyed Monster (1919 film)|The Green Eyed Monster]]'' (1919), lost * ''[[Within Our Gates]]'' (
* ''[[The Symbol of the Unconquered]]'' (1920)
* ''[[Body and Soul (
* ''[[The
* ''[[The
* ''[[The
* ''[[The Green Pastures (film)|The Green Pastures]]'' (1936)
* ''[[Harlem on the Prairie (film)|Harlem on the Prairie]]'' ( * ''[[Harlem Rides the Range]]'' (
* ''[[Lying Lips]]'' (
* ''[[The Blood of Jesus]]'' (
* ''[[Brother Martin: Servant of Jesus]]'' (
* ''[[Cabin in the Sky (film)|Cabin in the Sky]]'' (
* ''[[Stormy Weather (1943 film)
* ''[[Go Down, Death!]]'' (
* ''[[Dirty Gertie from Harlem U.S.A.]]'' (
* ''[[Boy! What a Girl!]]'' (
* ''[[Hi-De-Ho (1947 film)|Hi-De-Ho]]'' (
* ''[[Sepia Cinderella]]'' (
* ''[[The Betrayal (1948 film)|The Betrayal]]'' (
* ''[[Bright Road]]'' (
* ''[[Carmen Jones (film)|Carmen Jones]]'' (
* ''[[Carib Gold]]'' (
== See also ==
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* [[Black film]]
==
{{reflist}}
* Caddoo, Cara. ''Envisioning Freedom: Cinema and the Building of Modern Black Life.'' Harvard University Press, 2014. {{ISBN|0674368053}}
* Diawara, Manthia. ''Black American Cinema''. Routledge, 1993. {{ISBN|0-415-90397-1}}
* Gaines, Jane M. ''Fire and Desire: Mixed-Race Movies in the Silent Era''. University Of Chicago Press, 2001. {{ISBN|0-226-27875-1}}
▲<references />
== External links ==
{{commons category
{{wikisource portal|Race films}}
* [https://www.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060622070409/http://www.montana.edu/metz/website/filmamer/racefilm.htm General information]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060213120029/http://www.yaaams.org/powerfulblackman.shtml Oscar Micheaux and the Micheaux Film Corporation]
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{{Film genres}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Film genres]]
[[Category:
[[Category:Race films| ]]
[[Category:African-American cinema]]
[[Category:Film genres particular to the United States]]
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