''Body and Soul'' is a 1925 race film produced, written, directed, 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 ...

and starring

Paul Robeson Paul Leroy Robeson ( ; April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an American bass-baritone concert artist, stage and film actor, professional American football, football player, and activist who became famous both for his cultural accomplish ...

in his motion picture debut. In 2019, the film was selected by the

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 ...

for inclusion in the

National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation, each selected for its historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions since the NFPB’s inception ...

for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Plot

An escaped prisoner seeks refuge in the predominantly

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

town of Tatesville, Georgia, by passing himself off as the Rt. Reverend Isaiah T. Jenkins. He is joined in town by a fellow criminal, and the pair scheme to swindle the phony reverend's congregation of their offerings. Jenkins falls in love with a young member of his congregation, Isabelle Perkins, even though she is in love with a poor young man named Sylvester, who happens to be Jenkins’ long-estranged identical twin brother. Jenkins steals money from Martha Jane, Isabelle's mother, and convinces the young woman to take the blame for his crime. She flees to

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

and dies just as her mother locates her. Before dying, Isabelle reveals to her mother that Jenkins raped her and that he is the one who took her mother's money. She explains that she did not speak up before because she knew her mother would not believe her. Returning to Tatesville, Martha Jane confronts Jenkins in front of the congregation. Jenkins flees and during a twilight struggle he kills a man who tries to bring him to justice. The following morning, Martha Jane awakens and realizes the episode with Jenkins was only a dream. She provides Isabelle (who is not dead) and Sylvester with the funds to start a married life together.

Cast

as Reverend Isaiah T. Jenkins / His brother Sylvester *

Mercedes Gilbert Mercedes Gilbert ( – ) was an African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term " ...

as Sister Martha Jane - Isabelle's Mother *Julia Theresa Russell as Isabelle - the Girl * Lawrence Chenault as Yello-Curley' Hinds - the Phony Reverend's Former Jailmate *Marshall Rogers as Speakeasy proprietor *Lillian Johnson as "Sis" Caline, a Pious Lady *Madame Robinson as "Sis" Lucy, a Pious Lady *Chester A. Alexander as Deacon Simpkins, a Church Elder *Walter Cornick as Brother Amos, a Church Elder

Production

Paul Robeson made his film debut at the age of 27 in ''Body and Soul'', playing the dual role of Jenkins and Sylvester. As part of the agreement to star in the film, Robeson received a $100 per week salary plus three percent of the gross after the first $40,000 in receipts.

Release

The original version of ''Body and Soul'' was a nine-reel production. When the filmmaker applied for an exhibition license from the Motion Picture Commission of the State of New York, it was denied approval on the grounds it would "tend to incite to crime" and was "immoral" and "sacrilegious". Micheaux was forced to re-edit the film twice before the commission approved the film, which was reduced from nine to five reels. The surviving copy of ''Body and Soul'' is based on this edited version; Micheaux's director cut is considered 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 ...

. ''Body and Soul'' is one of three surviving silent films created by Micheaux, who is credited with making 26 silent productions. ''Body and Soul'' holds an 80% approval rating on aggregate film site

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

. ''Body and Soul'' was originally released to cinemas catering to an exclusive African-American audience, and for many years the film was unknown to white moviegoers. In 2000, ''Body and Soul'' was presented at the

New York Film Festival The New York Film Festival (NYFF) is a film festival held every fall in New York City, presented by Film at Lincoln Center (FLC). Founded in 1963 by Richard Roud and Amos Vogel with the support of Lincoln Center president William Schuman, i ...

with a new musical score composed by trombonist

Wycliffe Gordon Wycliffe A. Gordon (born May 29, 1967) is an American jazz trombonist, arranger, composer, band leader, and music educator at the collegiate-conservatory level. Gordon also sings and plays didgeridoo, trumpet, soprano trombone, tuba, and piano ...

and performed live by the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. ''Body and Soul'' was released on home video in 2016 by

Kino Lorber Kino Lorber is an international film distribution company based in New York City. Founded in 1977, it was originally known as Kino International until it was acquired by and merged into Lorber HT Digital in 2009. It specializes in art house films, ...

as part of the five-disc

Pioneers of African-American Cinema ''Pioneers of African-American Cinema'' (2015) is a digitally restored anthology collection of independent Black cinema from the first half of the 20th century. About Known as " race films," this category of film was made outside of the Hollywo ...

set.

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Body And Soul (1925 Film) 1925 films 1925 drama films American black-and-white films Films directed by Oscar Micheaux American silent feature films Race films Films about rape Films about dreams Films set in Atlanta Silent American drama films United States National Film Registry films 1920s American films 1920s English-language films