''Birthright'' is a 1938 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed, co-produced and co-written 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 ...

Carman Newsome Carman Newsome (June 21, 1912 - July 17, 1974) was an African-American actor, musician and band conductor in the United States. His work includes leading roles in five Oscar Micheaux films. Born in Kansas, he moved to Cleveland, Ohio when he was a ...

stars as a black Harvard graduate facing racism and discrimination after he returns to his small hometown in Tennessee, where he hoped to develop a school similar to

Tuskegee Institute Tuskegee University (Tuskegee or TU), formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute, is a private, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama. It was founded on Independence Day in 1881 by the state legislature. The campus was de ...

Hampton Institute Hampton University is a private, historically black, research university in Hampton, Virginia. Founded in 1868 as Hampton Agricultural and Industrial School, it was established by Black and White leaders of the American Missionary Association aft ...

, both historically black colleges.Larry Langman, David Ebner. ''Hollywood's Image of the South: A Century of Southern Films'' (2001), p. 95 . "Birthright (1939), Micheaux. Dir. Oscar Micheaux; Sc. Oscar Micheaux; Cast includes: Carman Newsome, Alec Lovejoy,

Ethel Moses Ethel Moses (April 29, 1904 – June 1982) was an American stage and film actress, and dancer. She was billed as "the black Jean Harlow". Moses is best known for working in films by Oscar Micheaux. Early life Ethel Moses was born on April 29, 190 ...

. Advertised as "A story of the Negro and the South," Oscar Micheaux's drama is based on the novel by T. S. Stribling." This is a talkie remake of Micheaux's 1924

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) ...

of the same name; both were adapted from white author

T. S. Stribling Thomas Sigismund Stribling (March 4, 1881 – July 8, 1965) was notable as an American writer who published under the name T. S. Stribling. Although he passed the bar and practiced law for a few years, he quickly began to focus on writing. First k ...

's eponymous 1922 novel. Starring J. Homer Tutt, Micheaux's 1924 film was highly controversial for its graphic depiction of racism. The film is now considered lost.

Production

The ''Birthright'' remake was first scheduled for release in 1937, but in January 1938 it was reported that filming was still taking place in Ridgefield, New Jersey. The crew was estimated to number 15 members.

Release

The exact date of the film's theatrical release is unclear, though it most likely occurred at some point in 1938. By mid-March 1939, the film was playing in theaters in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

. Black patrons of Oakland's Lincoln Theater threatened to boycott all black films (also known as

race films Race, RACE or "The Race" may refer to: * Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species * Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...

) after having seen ''Birthright'' and Micheaux's 1935 film ''

Temptation Temptation is a desire to engage in short-term urges for enjoyment that threatens long-term goals.Webb, J.R. (Sep 2014). Incorporating Spirituality into Psychology of temptation: Conceptualization, measurement, and clinical implications. Sp ...

,'' as they accused the films of stereotyping blacks in the same manner as did mainstream Hollywood productions.

Legacy

Although Micheaux's 1924 version of ''Birthright'' is considered a lost film, the portion of the 1939 version that survives was restored under

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

supervision and has been preserved in its AFI Collection.

References

External links

* 1939 films Films directed by Oscar Micheaux 1939 drama films Race films American black-and-white films American drama films Films based on American novels 1930s American films {{1930s-drama-film-stub