''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' was a 1918 American silent

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 by

J. Searle Dawley James Searle Dawley (October 4, 1877 – March 30, 1949) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, stage actor, and playwright. Between 1907 and the mid-1920s, while working for Edison, Rex Motion Picture Company, Famous Player ...

, produced by

Famous Players–Lasky Corporation Famous Players-Lasky Corporation was an American motion picture and distribution company formed on June 28, 1916, from the merger of Adolph Zukor's Famous Players Film Company—originally formed by Zukor as Famous Players in Famous Plays—and t ...

and distributed by Paramount Pictures under the Famous Players–Lasky name. The film is based on Harriet Beecher Stowe's 1852 novel ''

Uncle Tom's Cabin ''Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly'' is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in two volumes in 1852, the novel had a profound effect on attitudes toward African Americans and slavery in the U ...

'' and

George Aiken George David Aiken (August 20, 1892November 19, 1984) was an American politician and horticulturist. A member of the Republican Party, he was the 64th governor of Vermont (1937–1941) before serving in the United States Senate for 34 years, ...

's eponymous play. ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' starred

Marguerite Clark Helen Marguerite Clark (February 22, 1883 – September 25, 1940) was an American theatre, stage and silent film actress. As a movie actress, at one time, Clark was second only to Mary Pickford in popularity. All but five of her films are co ...

, who portrayed both Topsy and Little Eva. It is now considered 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 ...

Plot

As described in a

film magazine Film periodicals combine discussion of individual films, genres and directors with in-depth considerations of the medium and the conditions of its production and reception. Their articles contrast with film reviewing in newspapers and magazines whi ...

, Uncle Tom is an old slave living on George Shelby's plantation in Kentucky. Along with Uncle Tom, are Eliza and her son Jim Crow. Shelby is in great debt, and although he doesn't want to, he must sell Uncle Tom and Jim to a slave trader. Eliza hears that this is happening and decides to run away. She manages to escape by crossing an icy river despite being chased by bloodhounds. While this is happening, a farmer named St. Clair and his daughter Eva have decided to visit their old southern family home. It just happens that Uncle Tom is placed on the same steam boat as St. Clair. Eva is not in the best state of health, and during the boat ride she falls off. However, Uncle Tom saves her, and by Eva's request, Uncle Tom is bought by the St. Clair's. At the St. Clair home Uncle Tom is treated very well and is even brought gifts by Eva. At one point St. Clair saves a slave named Topsy from a terrible master. Eva continues to grow more ill, and in a dying wish asks for Uncle Tom to be freed. St. Clair agrees but shortly after he also dies, so Uncle Tom and a slave named Emelin are sold at auction to Simon Legree. Legree is a ruthless slave owner, and because of this Emelin and a slave named Cassy decide to run away. They tell Uncle Tom to come with them but he refuses. Legree commands Tom to tell him where they have gone but Uncle Tom refuses to tell. Uncle Tom is beaten nearly to death, but Cassy has actually not yet run away. She witnesses this brutality and kills Legree as he goes to his room. Just as Tom is dying, Shelby comes to buy back him, but he is too late and Uncle Tom dies.

Cast

(in blackface) as Little Eva St. Clair / Topsy * Sam Hardy as Simon Legree * Jack W. Johnston as Haley * Florence Carpenter as Eliza Harris * Frank Losee as Uncle Tom * Phil Ryley as Marks * Harry Lee as Jeff * Walter P. Lewis as Simon Legree (credited as Walter Lewis) * Augusta Anderson as Mrs. St. Clair *

Ruby Hoffman Ruby Hoffman (July 28, 1886 – September 22, 1973) was an American silent film and stage actress. Background Ruby Hoffman was born on July 28, 1886, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. She was an actress, known for '' The Lightnin ...

as Cassy * Susanne Willis as Aunt Chloe * Mrs. Priestly Morrison as Ophelia (credited as Mrs. Priestley Morrison) * Thomas Carnahan, Jr. as George Shelby Jr. *

Jere Austin Jere Austin (1876–1927) was an American silent film actor from Minnesota. He was born John Van Akin Austin and he began in films in 1914 and made his last appearance in Cecil B. DeMille's '' King of Kings'' (1927). Austin had entered films w ...

as George Harris * Henry Stanford as Mr. St. Clair

Production notes

The film's star, Marguerite Clark, portrayed both Little Eva and Topsy in the film. In order to present both characters on the screen at the same time, the filmmakers used the process of

double exposure In photography and cinematography, a multiple exposure is the superimposition of two or more exposures to create a single image, and double exposure has a corresponding meaning in respect of two images. The exposure values may or may not be ide ...

. One important aspect of this movie is the use of blackface and its perception by the actors. Based on archival records the use of blackface was looked at as an impressive use of makeup. For instance, Frank Losee at one point had his makeup done while in a hotel and a passerby did not realize he was in fact white. He commented on this saying, “... one of most cherished memories, because it pays an unconscious tribute to my make-up”. Likewise, film magazines describe Clark as having impeccable makeup, even saying “Marguerite Clark will fool you with her make-up”. The early scenes involving Eliza's escape are filmed in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

and

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...

. This is notably due to the cold climate, as the scenes involved an Eliza being chased by dogs across a frozen river. One magazine made particular note of the use of real

Bloodhound The bloodhound is a large scent hound, originally bred for hunting deer, wild boar and, since the Middle Ages, for tracking people. Believed to be descended from hounds once kept at the Abbey of Saint-Hubert, Belgium, in French it is called, ...

s and

Great Dane The Great Dane is a large sized dog breed originating from Germany. The Great Dane descends from hunting dogs from the Middle Ages used to hunt wild boar and deer, and as guardians of German nobility. It is one of the largest breeds in the worl ...

s for this scene. The boat scene of the movie was filmed in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

. Famous Players Lasky chartered their own steam boat for these scenes. It is said that during production, director Dawley had worries of Clark, the star actress, being able to swim properly in the river. Later, to depict the St. Clairs mansion, filming took place at Jackson Barracks in the Colonel's quarters. Finally, the slave market was filmed outside of the St. Louis hotel. In an interview with Losee, he details some notable events about the production. He noted that working alongside star Marguerite Clark was especially enjoyable. He also made mention of Clark's swim scene and worried that he may not be able to properly save her from the river as he was supposed to. He noted that one scene was filmed outside the home of some very old men. Once the men recognized that they were filming ''Uncle Tom’s Cabin'' they began to get angry. Losee notes that the general reception of the south was very positive, but they just happened to run across a few men that were against the message of the movie.

Reception

Like many American films of the time, ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' was subject to cuts by city and state film censorship boards. For example, the Chicago Board of Censors required cuts of two offensive intertitles, in Reel 1, "A

nigger In the English language, the word ''nigger'' is an ethnic slur used against black people, especially African Americans. Starting in the late 1990s, references to ''nigger'' have been progressively replaced by the euphemism , notably in cases ...

is only a nigger" and, Reel 2, "Do you allow her to embrace niggers that way?" Despite reviews being polarized, there is an overwhelming consensus towards positive reception. One critic says, “ drawing power astounded me, it proved a real record breaker." Another noted that the steamboat and river scenes, some of the most famous moments of the novel, could not have been portrayed more realistically. Many say that the film's double feature was very well done. Along those lines, a lot of the praise is pointed towards Marguerite Clark.

References

External links