The race film or race movie was a genre of film produced in the United States between about 1915 and the early 1950s, consisting of films produced for

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

audiences, and featuring black casts. Approximately five hundred race films were produced. Of these, fewer than one hundred remain. Because race films were produced outside the Hollywood

studio system A studio system is a method of filmmaking wherein the production and distribution of films is dominated by a small number of large movie studios. It is most often used in reference to Hollywood motion picture studios during the Golden Age of Hol ...

, they were largely forgotten by mainstream film historians until they resurfaced in the 1980s on the 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 Wong Liu Tsong (January 3, 1905 – February 3, 1961), known professionally as Anna May Wong, was an American actress, considered the first Chinese-American movie star in Hollywood, as well as the first Chinese-American actress to gain intern ...

and was marketed to

Chinese-American Chinese Americans are Americans of Han Chinese ancestry. Chinese Americans constitute a subgroup of East Asian Americans which also constitute a subgroup of Asian Americans. Many Chinese Americans along with their ancestors trace lineage from m ...

audiences.

Financing and production

African Americans produced films for black audiences as early as 1905, but most race films were produced after 1915. As many as 500 race films were produced in the United States between 1915 and 1952. As happened later with the early

black sitcom A black sitcom is a sitcom that principally features black people in its cast. Prominent black sitcoms to date typically come from the United States with African American casts. Although sitcoms with primarily black characters have been present ...

s on television, race movies were most often financed by white-owned companies, such as Leo Popkin, and scripted and directed by whites. But one producer, Alfred N. Sack, made some films written and directed by black talent such as

Spencer Williams Spencer Williams (October 14, 1889 – July 14, 1965) was an American jazz and popular music composer, pianist, and singer. He is best known for his hit songs " Basin Street Blues", "I Ain't Got Nobody", " Royal Garden Blues", " I've Found a New ...

. Many race films were produced by white-owned film companies outside the Hollywood-centered American film industry, such as

Million Dollar Productions Million Dollar Productions was a movie studio in the United States active from 1937 until 1940. It was established to produce films with African American casts. It was a partnership between Harry M. Popkin, Leo C. Popkin and Ralph Cooper. Histo ...

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), directed by French emigree

Alice Guy Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...

for the Solax Film Company. The Ebony Film Company of Chicago, created specifically to produce black-cast films, was also headed by a white production team.Leab, Daniel. ''From Sambo to Superspade: The Black Experience in Motion Pictures''. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1975; 45 Some black-owned studios existed, including

Lincoln Motion Picture Company The Lincoln Motion Picture Company was an American film production company founded in 1916 by Noble Johnson and George Perry Johnson. Noble Johnson was president of the company, and the secretary was actor Clarence A. Brooks. Dr. James T. Smith ...

(1916–1921). The most notable was

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 ...

'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 Astor Pictures was a motion picture distribution company in the United States from 1930 to 1963. It was founded by Robert M. Savini (29 August 1886 – 29 April 1956). Astor specialized in film re-releases. It later released independently ma ...

also released several race films and produced ''Beware'' with Louis Jordan. In total, there were approximately 150 independent companies producing race movies during this period. The race films vanished during the early 1950s after African-American participation in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

contributed to the starring of black actors in lead roles in several Hollywood major productions. Many of these focused on the serious problems of integration and racism, such as '' Pinky'' with

Ethel Waters Ethel Waters (October 31, 1896 – September 1, 1977) was an American singer and actress. Waters frequently performed jazz, swing, and pop music on the Broadway stage and in concerts. She began her career in the 1920s singing blues. Her no ...

; '' Home of the Brave'' with James Edwards; and ''

Intruder in the Dust ''Intruder in the Dust '' is a 1948 crime novel written by American author William Faulkner. Taking place in Mississippi, it revolves around an African American farmer accused of murdering a Caucasian man. Overview The novel focuses on Lucas B ...

'', all in 1949; and '' 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 ''Carib Gold'' is a maritime-themed 1956 B-movie, written and filmed almost entirely in Key West, Florida, with locally-cast musicians and extras. Its cast is largely African-American headlined by Ethel Waters and features the first known film r ...

''.

Venues

In the South, to comply with laws on

racial segregation Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into race (human classification), racial or other Ethnicity, ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crimes against hum ...

, 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 by 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

matinée In the performing arts, film exhibition, and other forms of entertainment, a matinée is a performance or exhibition in the afternoon (or occasionally earlier), as distinguished from the evening Evening is the period of a day that starts at t ...

s and midnight shows. During the height of their popularity, race films were shown in as many as 1,100 theaters around the country.

Themes

The films were produced primarily in northern cities, where the target audience consisted primarily of poor southern blacks and southerners who had 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 ''The Scar of Shame'' is a silent film shot in the winter of 1927 and released in April 1929. It is a silent film melodrama featuring black actors and was written for a predominantly black audience.Cripps, Thomas. Black Film as Genre. Indiana Un ...

'', incorporated all of these themes. Race films typically avoided explicit depictions of poverty,

ghetto A ghetto, often called ''the'' ghetto, is a part of a city in which members of a minority group live, especially as a result of political, social, legal, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished t ...

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 had been legally disenfranchised in the South since the turn of the century, and suffered discrimination in both the North and South. According to film historian Donald Bogle, some of the earliest race films were "quite frankly, terrible". ''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". Other race films avoided many of the popular black

stock characters A stock character, also known as a character archetype, is a fictional character in a work of art such as a novel, play, or a film whom audiences recognize from frequent recurrences in a particular literary tradition. There is a wide range of st ...

found in contemporary mainstream films, or else relegated these stereotypes to supporting roles and

villain A villain (also known as a " black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine form is villainess) is a stock character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. ''Random House Unabridged Dictionary'' defines such a character ...

s. Micheaux depicted his protagonists as educated, prosperous, and genteel. Micheaux hoped to give his audience something to help them "further the race". Black comedians such as

Mantan Moreland Mantan Moreland (September 3, 1902 – September 28, 1973) was an American actor and comedian most popular in the 1930s and 1940s. He starred in numerous films. His daughter Marcella Moreland appeared as a child actress in several films. E ...

, who had played supporting comedy roles in mainstream Hollywood films, reprised his character as the lead in such films as ''

Professor Creeps ''Professor Creeps'' is a 1942 American comedy film directed by William Beaudine and starring Mantan Moreland. Cast * Mantan Moreland as Washington * F. E. Miller as Jefferson * Arthur Ray as Professor Whackingham Creeps * Florence O'Brien a ...

'' and ''Mr Washington Goes To Town''. Some black entertainers, such as

Moms Mabley Loretta Mary Aiken (March 19, 1894 – May 23, 1975), known by her stage name Jackie "Moms" Mabley, was an American stand-up comedian and actress. Mabley began her career on the theater stage in the 1920s and became a veteran entertainer of the ...

Pigmeat Markham Dewey "Pigmeat" Markham (April 18, 1904 – December 13, 1981) was an American entertainer. Though best known as a comedian, Markham was also a singer, dancer, and actor. His nickname came from a stage routine, in which he declared himself to be ...

, starred in their own

vehicle A vehicle (from la, vehiculum) is a machine that transports people or cargo. Vehicles include wagons, bicycles, motor vehicles (motorcycles, cars, trucks, buses, mobility scooters for disabled people), railed vehicles (trains, trams), ...

s. Mabley and Markham did not appear in mainstream entertainment until the late 1960s, when both were featured on ''

Laugh-In ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' (often simply referred to as ''Laugh-In'') is an American sketch comedy television program that ran for 140 episodes from January 22, 1968, to March 12, 1973, on the NBC television network, hosted by comedians Dan ...

'' on

American television Television is one of the major mass media outlets in the United States. , household ownership of television sets in the country is 96.7%, with approximately 114,200,000 American households owning at least one television set as of August 2013. ...

. Many black singers and bands appeared in lead or supporting roles in race films; Louis Jordan, for example, made three films.

Historical significance

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 Hattie McDaniel (June 10, 1893October 26, 1952) was an American actress, singer-songwriter, and comedian. For her role as Mammy in ''Gone with the Wind (film), Gone with the Wind'' (1939), she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, ...

and

Clarence Muse Clarence Muse (October 14, 1889 – October 13, 1979) was an American actor, screenwriter, director, singer, and composer. He was the first African American to appear in a starring role in a film, 1929's ''Hearts in Dixie''. He acted for ...

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 – for example,

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 ...

and

Evelyn Preer Evelyn Preer (née Jarvis; July 26, 1896 – November 17, 1932), was a pioneering American stage and screen actress and jazz and blues singer of the 1910s through the early 1930s. Preer was known within the black community as "The First Lady of ...

. Hollywood studios often used race movies as a recruiting source of black talent.

Notable race films

* '' The Colored American Winning His Suit'' (1916), first five-reel drama race film, according to ''

The New York Age ''The New York Age'' was a weekly newspaper established in 1887. It was widely considered one of the most prominent African-American newspapers of its time.

'', lost * ''

The Homesteader ''The Homesteader'' (1919) is a lost black-and-white silent film by African-American author and filmmaker Oscar Micheaux. The film is based on his novel inspired by his experiences. Plot ''The Homesteader'' involves six principal characters, the ...

'' (1919), lost * '' The Green Eyed Monster'' (1919), lost * ''

Within Our Gates ''Within Our Gates'' is a 1920 American silent film by the director Oscar Micheaux that portrays the contemporary racial situation in the United States during the early twentieth century, the years of Jim Crow, the revival of the Ku Klux Kla ...

'' (1920), first surviving race film * ''

The Symbol of the Unconquered ''The Symbol of the Unconquered'' (also known as ''The Wilderness Trail'') is a 1920 silent "race film" drama produced, written and directed by Oscar Micheaux. It is Micheaux's fourth feature-length film and along with ''Within Our Gates'' is amo ...

'' (1920) * '' Body and Soul'' (1925),

's cinematic debut * ''

The Flying Ace ''The Flying Ace'' is a 1926 black-and-white silent drama film directed by Richard E. Norman with an all-African-American cast. This six-reel film, made by Norman Studios in Jacksonville, Florida, utilized a mix of professionals such as leads L ...

'' (1926) * ''

The Exile ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' (1931) * ''

The Emperor Jones ''The Emperor Jones'' is a 1920 tragic play by American dramatist Eugene O'Neill that tells the tale of Brutus Jones, a resourceful, self-assured African American and a former Pullman porter, who kills another black man in a dice game, is jailed, ...

'' (1933) * ''

The Green Pastures ''The Green Pastures'' is a play written in 1930 by Marc Connelly adapted from ''Ol' Man Adam an' His Chillun'' (1928), a collection of stories written by Roark Bradford. The play was the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1930. It had th ...

'' (1936) * '' Harlem on the Prairie'' (1937),

Herb Jeffries Herb Jeffries (born Umberto Alexander Valentino; September 24, 1913 – May 25, 2014) was an American actor of film and television and popular music and jazz singer-songwriter, known for his baritone voice. He starred in several low-budget "ra ...

in the first singing cowboy Western race movie * ''

Harlem Rides the Range ''Harlem Rides the Range'' is a 1939 American Western race film directed by Richard C. Kahn. It followed the groundbreaking 1937 Western musical film '' Harlem on the Prairie''. Plot Bob Blake (Herb Jeffries) and his sidekick Dusty ( Lucius Br ...

'' (1939) * ''

Lying Lips ''Lying Lips'' is a 1939 American melodrama race film written and directed by Oscar Micheaux who co-produced the film with aviator Hubert Fauntlenroy Julian, starring Edna Mae Harris, and Robert Earl Jones (the father of James Earl Jones). ''Lyi ...

'' (1939) * ''

The Blood of Jesus ''The Blood of Jesus'' (also known as ''The Glory Road'') is a 1941 American fantasy drama race film written, directed by and starring Spencer Williams. The plot concerns a Baptist woman who, after being accidentally shot by her atheist husband ...

'' (1941), first race film added to the U.S.

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 ...

, in 1991 * '' Brother Martin: Servant of Jesus'' (1942), lost * '' Cabin in the Sky'' (1943),

Vincente Minnelli Vincente Minnelli (born Lester Anthony Minnelli; February 28, 1903 – July 25, 1986) was an American stage director and film director. He directed the classic movie musicals '' Meet Me in St. Louis'' (1944), '' An American in Paris'' (1951), ' ...

's first film * '' Stormy Weather'' (1943) * ''

Go Down, Death! ''Go Down, Death!'' is a 1944 race film directed by and starring Spencer Williams. The film's title derives from a poem by the African-American writer James Weldon Johnson.

'' (1944) * ''

Dirty Gertie from Harlem U.S.A. ''Dirty Gertie from Harlem U.S.A.'' is a 1946 race film directed by Spencer Williams and produced and distributed by Sack Amusement Enterprises. This film is in the public domain. Plot Gertie LaRue ( Francine Everett) is a nightclub entertainer ...

'' (1946) * ''

Boy! What a Girl! ''Boy! What a Girl!'' is a 1947 race film directed by Arthur H. Leonard and starring Tim Moore, with guest appearances by the Brown Dots, Slam Stewart, Sid Catlett and Gene Krupa. Plot Would-be theatrical producer Jim Walton (Elwood Smith) is ...

'' (1947) * '' Hi-De-Ho'' (1947) * ''

Sepia Cinderella ''Sepia Cinderella'' is a 1947 American musical race film directed by Arthur H. Leonard. The film is notable for musical numbers by vocalists Billy Daniels and Sheila Guyse, and for a brief guest appearance by former child star Freddie Bartholo ...

'' (1947) * ''

The Betrayal "The Betrayal" is the 164th episode of the NBC sitcom '' Seinfeld''. This was the eighth episode for the ninth and final season. It aired on November 20, 1997. In this episode, Jerry betrays George by having sex with his girlfriend Nina, right be ...

'' (1948), lost * ''

Bright Road ''Bright Road'' is a 1953 low-budget film adapted from the Christopher Award-winning short story "See How They Run" by Mary Elizabeth Vroman. Directed by Gerald Mayer and featuring a nearly all-black cast, the film stars Dorothy Dandridge as an ...

'' (1953), first feature-film appearance by

Harry Belafonte Harry Belafonte (born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr.; March 1, 1927) is an American singer, activist, and actor. As arguably the most successful Jamaican-American pop star, he popularized the Trinbagonian Caribbean musical style with an interna ...

* ''

Carmen Jones ''Carmen Jones'' is a 1943 Broadway musical with music by Georges Bizet (orchestrated for Broadway by Robert Russell Bennett) and lyrics and book by Oscar Hammerstein II which was performed at The Broadway Theatre. Conceptually, it is Bizet's o ...

'' (1954) * ''

'' (1956), final race film

Print references

* Caddoo, Cara. ''Envisioning Freedom: Cinema and the Building of Modern Black Life.'' Harvard University Press, 2014. * Diawara, Manthia. ''Black American Cinema''. Routledge, 1993. * Gaines, Jane M. ''Fire and Desire: Mixed-Race Movies in the Silent Era''. University Of Chicago Press, 2001.

Footnotes

External links

95 Race Films on DVD

Oscar Micheaux and the Micheaux Film Corporation

{{Authority control Film genres 20th century in American cinema African-American cinema Film genres particular to the United States