''A Son of Satan'' is a 1924 silent

race film 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 audiences, and featuring black casts. Approximately five hundred race films were produce ...

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, and Roanoke, Virginia."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 New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

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 The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...

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 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 or short film that no longer exists in any studio archive, private collection, public archive or the U.S. Library of Congress. Conditions During most of the 20th century, U.S. copyright law required at least one copy o ...

. 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 company ...

Lawrence Chenault Lawrence Chenault (November 23, 1877 – December 27, 1943)Wintz, Cary D. and Paul Finkelman. Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance. Ebook, Taylor & Francis group. 2004 was an American vaudeville performer and silent film actor. He appeared in ...

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 p ...

(1889–1931) *Edna Morton * Monte Hawley * Shingzie Howard *

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 tech ...

* 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-America ...

'' 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 Adelaide Louise Hall (20 October 1901 – 7 November 1993) was an American-born UK-based jazz singer and entertainer. Her long career spanned more than 70 years from 1921 until her death and she was a major figure in the Harlem Renaissance. Hal ...

, 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