The Blood of Jesus

The jury that selects each year the National Film Registry is unpredictable: films as "The Blood of Jesus" merit to be rescued, for its anthropological value and for being a forerunner in the evolution of African-American cinema and filmmakers, but I have seen quite a few whose inclusion could only be justified by provincialism, as "Road to Morocco", "Lassie Come Home" and "Knute Rockne All American". In the religion fable "The Blood of Jesus", inspired by a poem by Langston Hughes and set within a black community in the South, a Baptist sister dies when she is accidentally shot by the shotgun of her atheist husband. She is then guided by an angel and tempted by the Devil in her post-mortem trip to Heaven, and goes off course into a couple of bars in the city, where she gets into trouble. It is true that the actors are amateurs, that the extras look directly to camera, and the dramaturgy is elementary. It is also true that the special effects and decors are poor, but it is clear that the film was chosen because it captured on film a few traits and manifestations of Americans of African descent, in which there is a way to do and say that is both spontaneous and naive, beyond the interference of camera, lights and technicians. The baptism in the river, the dance in the city bar, the gospel hymns sung by the choir in the dying woman's room, the costumes of the angel and the Devil (out of a costume party for children), and the Devil himself playing the piano with a band, compensate and amuse (sometimes unintentionally) for a pious tale, full of praises to the "All Mighty Lord", with an African-American sister that has to choose between the road to Heaven and the road to Zion (!), and even including the literal blood of Jesus to set her free.

Perhaps it's best to think about "The Blood of Jesus" as a great piece of "naïve" art. The technique is primitive, but its content reveals to us the deep spirituality of the people portrayed--a kind of ethnographic study against a background of two contrasting (but maybe not so contrasting) musical forms: Negro Spirituals and swinging jive and blues.

The story plays out like a children's fairy tale, with the forces of righteousness and sinfulness given human form--and I must confess that,as an atheist, I sure dug the pleasures to be found at the night club more than the baptismal dunking in the river. Nonetheless, the feelings of rapture conveyed by the choir were so powerful that it had me and my atonal wife singing along with them and saying to myself: "Sinner Repent!." Ultimately deeply moving and strongly recommended.

Blood of Jesus, The (1941)

* (out of 4)

Spencer Williams, future star of TV's Amos and Andy, wrote, produced, directed and stars in this historically important, all-black feature film. This low budget feature suffers from various problems but, due to the historical importance, it was selected to the National Film Registry in 1991. A young woman (Cathryn Caviness) is baptized and later that evening accidentally shot by her husband (Williams). Before dying, an angel takes the woman to the Crossroads where she can select Heaven or Hell. However, before she can choose the Devil shows up with his assistant (named Judas) to try and steer her the wrong way. This film was made on a budget lower than $5,000 and you can really tell because the film features some of the worst acting I've ever seen. We're talking an Ed Wood level here as there are several moments where the actors flub their lines, struggle to remember them and then finally deliver them. The film tells an interesting story but the actual "story" only lasts for about ten minutes and the rest of the time we just watch people standing around the woman praying. The religious overtones will beat you nearly to death but the Gospel music is terrific and is the only highlight of the film.

"The Blood of Jesus" is a 1941 "race film" produced, directed, and starring black people and designed to be shown in theatres that served black people during a time when segregation still ruled in many parts of the US. It was written and directed by Spencer Williams (1893-1969) who also is featured as the husband of a woman (Cathryn Caviness) undergoing a spiritual challenge.

Williams is best known for playing Andy in the wonderful "Amos and Andy" TV series (1951-3), but his work as a major star and director of race films has been largely forgotten. Williams appeared in dozens of films from 1928 through 1947 and directed 12 films, including this one.

The film was made with a $5000 budget, provided by Williams. The actors are non-professionals, many of them taken from a local church group, the Reverend Robinson's Heavenly Choir. The story is taken from Southern Baptist folk lore and centers on the struggle for the soul of Cathryn Caviness, who lies dying after being accidentally shot by Williams. Caviness' soul is tempted by an over-the-top Satan (Jas. B. Jones) while a sweet angel (Rogenia Goldthwaite) tries to keep her on the moral road.

There are a few special effects, but generally the acting and photography are what you'd expect with a $5,000 budget. What makes the film valuable is the anthropological value of watching life for Southern Blacks – their music, their dance joints, their belief systems, their language, etc. We even get to observe a baptism. In 1991 the film was selected as part of the Library of Congress National Film Registry.

An atheist accidentally shoots his Baptist wife. She dies and goes to a crossroads, where the devil tries to lead her astray.

"The Blood of Jesus" was produced in Texas on a budget of $5,000. To present the afterlife, Williams used scenes from a 1911 Italian film called "L'Inferno" that depicted souls entering Heaven. A wise way to save on the very limited budget.

For years, "The Blood of Jesus" was considered a lost film until prints were discovered in the mid-1980s in a warehouse in Tyler, Texas. Although not a great film (the Satan costume is silly), it does do a nice job capturing Southern gospel culture. Many, many hymns are sung, and although they may not have changed much in the past 70 or so years, this makes for a great set piece on African-American religion practices.