Birthright

"An educated Negro is a dangerous thing to have around."

Subtitled "A Story of the Negro and the South," this is Oscar Micheaux's take on systemic racism in the Jim Crow south, and a remake of a silent film that was lost. A Harvard graduate (Carman Newsome) attempts to start a school for blacks, but is swindled by an unscrupulous white banker, a ruse his buddy (Alec Lovejoy) uncovers in the "stopper clause" of his deed, one that forbids blacks from doing anything on the property. It's notable that his buddy is a WWI war hero and yet faces life as a second class citizen, something that would resonate even harder in America seven years later after WWII, though not enough was done with this in the film.

There are several white characters in positions of power who want to keep black people down, spewing among other things the quote I started this review with. Even the "good" white guy, the benefactor, cautions the young black man against marrying the "Negress" (which he uses synonymously with "Thief") and having children, in what seems like a eugenics inspired speech. How I wish the black man had responded to that in some way. In general, there is too much filler in the dialogue, and not enough bite. One of the intertitles from the silent film that was cut by New York and Chicago censors at the time read "Legal - hell - anything a white man wants to pull over on a nigger is legal" and I wish there had been more of this kind of thing here. Also, the ease with which the Harvard graduate is duped undercut the message of the film, at least to some extent. As for the rest, it's marred by many of the problems Micheaux's other sound films have - weak dialogue, poor acting, and a stumbling manner in telling the story.

However, I must confess, when that dancer burst out into the nightclub at the 14:10 point, swaying her hips sinuously in essentially a modern bikini, I thought to myself, well, regardless of what happens from here on out, this film has guaranteed itself a certain minimum rating. I mean, god damn, Josephine Baker had nothing on this woman, and I only wish I could identify her (anyone who knows, I'm all ears). Did this little interlude have anything to do with the plot? Not really, but it was a five-star couple of minutes for sure. There is another number performed by Hazel Diaz (playing the sister, Ida May) and eight chorus dancers at the 58:21 point that also had a lot of life to it as well. Micheaux really allowed his performers to let loose here, and I only wish that freedom and naturalness was felt everywhere else.

I had wanted to see this film-- and many others by Micheaux-- for decades, and was relieved to see that TCM presented it as part of a restoration project (DVDs are also being released).

There's no doubt that Micheaux occupies a significant and often mercurial place in American film history. He directed films from the silent era well beyond the conversion to sound, confronting concerns about African Americans' experiences through a wide range of stories, and yet many of his works have been lost forever.

In this case of this film, the first two reels are missing, but the restoration has preserved that part of the story with script notes and stills that introduce the action. Thereafter, the tale of a Harvard-educated black man, who returns to his southern town to face racist attitudes and family strife, conveys sincere and articulate statements about relevant political issues of that period that still resonate today.

You will quickly recognize hallmarks of low-budget conditions, such as insert shots that often break continuity, but the film remains a vital testament to racial conditions in the 1930s as the culture was overcoming the Depression and about to head into another major war. Micheaux also has a prescient sense for the civil rights movement that would energize the next generation.

I hope that further work is done to locate and preserve these historical artifacts, which help us to understand our past beyond the dominant Hollywood tradition that has otherwise absorbed all the attention.

This film, from what I know and have seen of it, really is exceptional, quite well filmed and cast for its time. It recounts the uphill struggle that even a well educated black man faced (the handsome protagonist educated at Harvard University, at that!). Alas, its availability is quite limited. Even if there were earlier versions and remakes, silent as well as sound movies, this one deserves wider rediscovery.

For some fairly extended scenes sampled from the film, there are bits of it included on the 2008 DVD anthology, "Jammin', Jumpin', and Jivin': All Black Cast Classics. vol. 2" (Something Weird Video. available on its own WWW site).

This adaptation of Thomas Edmund Stribling's novel was akin to Hitchcock's adaptation of Daphne Du Maurier's novel, 'Jamaica Inn'. I enjoyed reading Stribling's novel simply because it was written from a black perspective.

I don't think I should be too harsh on Micheaux because his contemporaries, Hitchcock and DeMille, weren't at their best either at this stage.

Birthright (1939)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Peter Siner (Carman Newsome) returns to the South after graduating from Harvard and he soon realizes that an educated black man isn't going to sit well with many folks. Peter plans to open some education centers for black youths but quickly comes up against opposition and dirty business practices.

Oscar Micheaux's BIRTHRIGHT is a remake of a film he made in 1924 and sadly that version is lost. The first two reels of this 1939 version are also lost but the print I watched had some dialogue and story lines to help you understand what was going on. From here we get another very low-budget film from the director but this one here is certainly among the most interesting that he made.

If you've'e seen enough of Micheaux's work then you already know that many of his films had to deal with low-budgets as well as technical issues that prevented them from being of a high quality. Those same issues are here but for the most part the story is good enough to overcome this and you're left with a pretty entertaining film that manages to give you a great idea of what it must have been like being black, educated and trying to function in the South.

As is also the case with much of the director's work, the performances are a mixed bag but on the whole I thought they were a lot better here than what we typically see. Newsome wasn't brilliant here but he was certainly good enough to keep you glued to the material and he was certainly a sympathetic character and one that you could feel for. As I said, the majority of the cast are hit and miss but none of them are bad enough to ruin the picture.

Hopefully one day the complete film will turn up as well as the original version. Still, this is an interesting movie and certainly one that is worth watching.