''A Son of Satan'' is a 1924 silent race film directed, written, produced and distributed by

Oscar Micheaux Oscar Devereaux Micheaux (; January 2, 1884 – March 25, 1951) was an author, film director and independent producer of more than 44 films. Although the short-lived Lincoln Motion Picture Company was the first movie company owned and controlled ...

. The film follows the misadventures of a man who accepted a bet to spend a night in a haunted house. Micheaux shot the film in

The Bronx, New York The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New York ...

, and

Roanoke, Virginia Roanoke ( ) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 100,011, making it the 8th most populous city in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the largest city in Virginia west of Richmond. It is ...

."Progressive Silent Film List: Son of Satan"
SilentEra.com. ''A Son of Satan'' ran into distribution problems when state censorship boards rejected the film based on its contents. New York censors objected to the film’s depiction of violence, particularly against women and animals (a cat is killed onscreen in one scene, a Ku Klux Klan leader is slain, and a man chokes his wife to death), while

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

censors complained the film’s references to

miscegenation Miscegenation ( ) is the interbreeding of people who are considered to be members of different races. The word, now usually considered pejorative, is derived from a combination of the Latin terms ''miscere'' ("to mix") and ''genus'' ("race") ...

would "prove offensive to Southern ladies". In at least one state the film was banned for its title alonePippa Holloway
''Sexuality, Politics, and Social Control in Virginia, 1920-1945''
UNC Press, 2006, . No print of the film is known to exist and it is presumed to be a

lost film A lost film is a feature Feature may refer to: Computing * Feature (CAD), could be a hole, pocket, or notch * Feature (computer vision), could be an edge, corner or blob * Feature (software design) is an intentional distinguishing char ...

. Micheaux Film Corporation production; distributed by Micheaux Film Corporation. / Produced by Oscar Micheaux. Scenario by Oscar Micheaux. / Standard 35mm spherical 1.37:1 format. / Working title: ''The Ghost of Tolston’s Manor''. The production began shooting on March 26, 1923, in the Bronx, New York. Some location photography was taken in Roanoke, Virginia, and in Clason’s Point, New York. Approximately 20,000 feet of film was shot during production. The film was granted a New York State exhibition license on September 18, 1924.

Cast

Andrew S. Bishop Andrew S. Bishop (1894–1959) was an actor on stage and screen. He and Cleo Desmond drew adoring fans to their theatrical performances. He starred in several of Oscar Michaux's African American films. He was part of the Anita Bush stock compan ...

* Lawrence Chenault *

Emmett Anthony Emmett Anthony was a vaudeville comedian who appeared on stage in various revues and shows. In December 1915 he arrived in New Orleans on the ''S.S. Brunswick'' to perform at the Iroquis Theater. He was also in the film ''Son of Satan'' and was pa ...

(1889–1931) *Edna Morton *

Monte Hawley Monte Hawley (? - November 30, 1950) was an American actor from Chicago, Illinois. Biography He began his entertainment career as one of the original Lafayette Players. He studied under Richard B. Harrison and, after moving to New York City, acte ...

Shingzie Howard Elcors "Shingzie" Howard was an actress in the U.S. She appeared in several Oscar Michaux films. She also worked for the Colored Players Film Corporation. After she married she became known as Shingzie Howard McClane. She retired from filmmakin ...

Ida Anderson Ida or IDA may refer to: Astronomy *Ida Facula, a mountain on Amalthea, a moon of Jupiter *243 Ida, an asteroid *International Docking Adapter, a docking adapter for the International Space Station Computing * Intel Dynamic Acceleration, a techn ...

* E. G. Tatum *Dink Stewart *W. B. F. Crowell *Olivia Sewall *Mildred Smallwood * Blanche Thompson *Margaret Brown * Professor Hosay Some of the original cast from the hit Broadway musicals ''

Shuffle Along ''Shuffle Along'' is a musical composed by Eubie Blake, with lyrics by Noble Sissle, and a book written by the comedy duo Flournoy Miller and Aubrey Lyles. One of the most notable all-Black hit Broadway shows, it was a landmark in African-Americ ...

'' and '' Runnin' Wild'' appear in the movie, including

Aubrey Lyles Aubrey Lee Lyles (8 January 1884 – 28 July 1932), sometimes credited as A. L. Lyles, was an American vaudeville performer, playwright, songwriter, and lyricist. He appeared with Flournoy E. Miller as Miller and Lyles as a popular African-A ...

and

F. E. Miller Flournoy Eakin Miller (14 April 1885 – 6 June 1971), sometimes credited as F. E. Miller, was an American entertainer, actor, lyricist, producer and playwright. Between about 1905 and 1932 he formed a popular comic duo, Miller and Lyles, with ...

, Adelaide Hall, Arthur Cooper, Mildred Baker, Ina Duncan, and Arthur Porter.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Son of Satan Lost horror films Films directed by Oscar Micheaux American black-and-white films American silent feature films Race films American haunted house films American comedy horror films African-American films 1920s comedy horror films Lost American films 1924 lost films 1924 comedy films 1924 films 1920s American films Silent comedy-drama films Silent horror films Silent American drama films Silent American comedy films