The Scar of Shame

Since it's once again Black History Month, I thought I'd once again review various movies made by people of color for the occasion. This production of the Colored Players Film Corporation (which was co-founded by one African-American, Sherman H. Dudley, a former stage performer) was quite compelling as a cautionary drama though the melodramatic trappings do permeate. Still, there were quite some good performances by the cast of which one of them, a Lucia Lynn Moses, was quite alluring in going from a victimized girl to one trying to be more seductive. It's interesting finding out on this site she filmed this in Philadelphia while also commuting to New York as a chorus girl at the Cotton Club. I don't feel like revealing much else so on that note, I recommend The Scar of Shame.

Monday February 6, 7:00pm The Paramount Theater

In a contemporary study of film history The Scar of Shame (1927) has great value as an early surviving example of the "Race Movie" genre. These were motion pictures produced from the silent era through the nineteen-forties using black actors for a black audience in a racially segregated market. Race movies were screened in the schools and churches of small towns as well as theaters in larger cities. The films of Oscar Micheaux were of particular significance in the early days of the genre. "The Scar of Shame" was one of four films produced by The Colored Film Players Corporation of Philadelphia. Harry Henderson (Alvin Hillyard) is a well-educated musician with high aspirations. In an act of altruism he marries Louise Howard (Lucia Lynn Moses) to save her from her abusive Stepfather but is ashamed to take her home to his Mother because she not "in our set". Essentially a well executed melodrama, "The Scar of Shame " is noteworthy for its high production values which indicate a larger than typical budget, as well as elements of colorism and classism.

I enjoyed this race movie intended for black audiences, even though I am not African-American or any racial minority. The forward states its point of view that a poor environment for a child will inevitably bring on a sense of shame, and then proceeds to unfold its story of an educated man in the field of music marrying a lower class woman to protect her from her stepfather, who beats her. Problems arise, however, when he won't take her to see his mother, who doesn't know he got married, and who he knows will be disappointed he did not marry a girl from his own class. My only problem with the movie was in the casting of the very refined Lucia Lynn Moses as the woman, so I could not fathom why her husband, well played by Harry Henderson, would not want his mother to meet her. It's an old-fashioned movie with some old-fashioned ideas, but has a few twists and wound up producing a few tears in my eyes. Watch it with some hankies close by if you are a softy for such movies, like me.

Despite having an all African-American cast, this film doesn't deal explicitly with race, as its script could have been applied to white people, which is a nice thing for 1927. The film is in part about the dynamic between social classes, and has some good early scenes that deal with that. In one, we see the intertitle "One half the world doesn't know how the other half lives" while a poor woman is scrubbing the laundry over a washboard. Eventually it gets a little bit pushy in its message, which is for people to choose higher aspirations in life (education, the arts, steady jobs) vs. lower (gambling, drinking, violence), making it a simplistic morality tale, and one that is of course directed at the African-American community.

In that sense, it has everything to do with race, and says (1) look, we're people too, not the stereotypes Hollywood and white supremacist culture ordinarily portrays us to be (2) we can do better, that "Our people have much to learn." The plot and the love triangle which develops in the second half is more than a little melodramatic, but the screen presence of all three leads is undeniable (Harry Henderson, Lucia Lynn Moses, and Pearl McCormack), and had these actors been white they all might have been stars of the era. The film is pretty well made as well, making it a silent worth checking out.

THE SCAR OF SHAME (1927) is one of the few surviving movies from the silent era to feature an all black cast. It tells the story of Alvin Hillyard, an educated musician from the black upper class, and Louise Howard, a woman from "the other side of the tracks". When her drunken father starts to beat her, Alvin, who is staying at a nearby boarding house, intervenes and brings her to the house so that she may escape from her father's clutches. The two eventually fall in love and marry, but their differences in station complicate their lives in a way that neither would have imagined….

SCRIPT: THE SCAR OF SHAME has a premise worthy of exploration – the differences in social classes among blacks – that would never have been attempted in mainstream Hollywood movies at the time. It also proposes that the environment in which one is raised unalterably shapes one's future, an idea that was explored in the naturalistic novels of authors such as Stephen Crane and Frank Norris. Unfortunately, the narrative starts to sag in the middle of the movie, and relies on melodramatic plot turns at times. Louise in particular does things that seem to have no motivation either emotionally or rationally. This causes the film to lose its way somewhat and stops the movie from exploring the its theme more successfully. The assertion is that Louise's strange behavior is due to her inability to overcome her environment, but it's not made entirely clear in the exposition. Still, the movie's screenplay does have considerable virtues. Instead of completely villainizing Louise's father, the writers attempt to balance his character out with regret over his treatment of her, and you can see his struggle to overcome his weakness. Alvin Hillyard is presented as a sympathetic character that wants to do what is right. The movie also scores points for not portraying any characters as buffoons, an all-too-common tendency at that time. SCORE: 7/10

ACTING: The acting is generally quite restrained and believable. The two leads, Harry Henderson and Lucia Lynn Moses, show ease before the camera and contribute solid performances that are scaled for the intimacy of the camera. The ensemble cast plays effectively in an understated manner, generally avoiding the mugging and melodramatics that could occur frequently during the silent era. Pearl McCormack is particularly effective as Alice Hathaway, a young woman with whom Hillyard falls in love years after the breakup of his marriage to Louise. William Pettus also does fine work in his portrayal of Louise's father, with a finely balanced performance that shows his character as a flawed human being instead of a mere monster. SCORE: 9/10

CINEMATOGRAPHY/PRODUCTION: The camera-work is solid and the editing is well done (there was one slight repetition of frames early on). The director, Frank Perugini, and the cameraman, Al Liguori, show a good command of the use of silent film as a visual storytelling medium. There are some interesting touches here and there that contribute to the narrative – specifically the use of a baby doll to show the couple's hopes and aspirations at first, and then the way their relationship deteriorates later. There is also some interesting cross cutting during a climactic scene. Some scenes are a bit static but not too lengthy. SCORE: 8/10

SUMMARY: THE SCAR OF SHAME tackles an issue that mainstream films would never have touched at the time of its release. In spite of the flaws of its narrative and characterizations, the actors do uniformly fine work in their portrayals. The movie is competently filmed and produced with occasional outstanding moments of visual interest. The film does deserve commendation for its portrayal of the complexities of life within the black community of the early 20th century. SCORE: 8/10