Underworld

College graduate Sol Johnson moves to Chicago to seek opportunities. The one he finds is not what he hoped, when femme fatale Bee Freeman draws him into a plot to murder her lover, Oscar Polk.

It's far less concerned with social issues than most of Micheaux's movies, although there are the matters of domestic violence and crime in general. This can be attributed to the fact it is not based on one of Micheaux's stories, but Edna Mae Baker's Chicago After Midnight. The real weakness in this movie lies in its dialogue. While Miss Freeman speaks her lines well -- she was called "the Black Mae West" and her delivery is similar -- most of the cast speaks their lines mechanically. I have discussed this aspect of Micheaux's direction in the past, his lack of skilled actors to perform in his money-starved productions. Once again, I will insist that this explains the issue, but does not make it more palatable. Nonetheless, there are several nicely performed musical interludes, including a handsome chorus line for one of them. It's these specialty numbers that are the highlight of this and other Micheaux films.

After Paul Bronson graduates from a black college in the South, he accepts the invitation of Chicago gambler LeRoy Giles to vacation in Chicago. LeRoy, who has been having a secret affair for three years with singer Dinah Jackson, the wife of Sam Brown, owner of the Red Lily nightclub, has brought Paul to Chicago to fleece him, but Paul attracts Dinah's attention and they become involved during the next month. Paul wants to marry Dinah, but she refuses, saying she only wants their affair to continue as it is. After Paul refuses money offered by Dinah, he meets Evelyn Martin, who recognizes him from college and who is trying to run a beauty parlor. Evelyn and Paul have lunch together and are seen by LeRoy, whom Dinah has supported financially and who is upset about her affair with Paul. LeRoy tells Dinah about Evelyn, and she threatens to ruin Paul. After Paul tells Dinah that he has decided to go home, she arranges for LeRoy to drug and rob him. LeRoy doubles the dose and almost kills Paul. After Paul overhears LeRoy and Dinah discussing his money, he gets it back from LeRoy and, still groggy from the drug, goes to the Red Lily. Meanwhile, Sam's detectives tell him about Dinah's affair with LeRoy. When Sam catches them together, he orders her bank accounts closed and charge accounts canceled. LeRoy shoots Sam and puts the gun by his body. After Paul comes in dazed and picks up the gun, Dinah accuses him of killing Sam. She pays LeRoy to leave town and is able to keep Paul in town and away from Evelyn because of his confusion about the murder. However, Paul, now the manager of the Red Lily, meets Evelyn again, and after he tells Dinah he is through with her, she reports him to the police. After Dinah, on drugs and intoxicated, has a mental breakdown, her car is hit by a train and she is killed. Her affidavit seems certain to convict Paul when Ching Li, a Chinese man who worked and lived at the Red Lily, confesses to police that he witnessed the murder. Paul is freed and leaves the city with Evelyn.

I'm late in discovering the films of Oscar Micheaux, and in fact this is the first of any that I've watched. The filmmaker's reputation and prolific body of work would seem to speak for itself, and as such, right off the bat I assumed it's some combination of factors beyond Micheaux's control that result in the direly low fidelity of this picture. The audio and image quality is such as to suggest the movie is desperately in need of remastering, or a robust restoration - if such processes are possible in this instance. Visual detail in each scene is all but lost, and dialogue is too often characterized by static, or abrupt bursts in volume, and is likewise sometimes difficult to discern as a result. Moreover, very rough cuts between shots leads one to assume censorial edits after the fact, or perhaps simply lost footage in the years since; both may be just as likely, but the latter is certain, given several long seconds of a blank screen a little shy of the 40-minute mark. At length - suffice to say that assessing the technical craft of 'Underworld' is difficult, and whether it can be chalked up to shortcomings of the director and his crew, or outside influences, the inelegance inherently impacts our entertainment.

In fairness, solid writing and acting of are more immediate importance in straightforward dramas. As modern low-budget, indie features can often demonstrate, indelicacies in execution can handily be overlooked so long as the story is strong, or the performances capable. Here, I find myself in a hard position. I can't say that the assembled cast make any particular impression where their skills are concerned. At best they're adequate, based on what one can distinguish given the poor audio and visual presentation - but at worst, there's a distinct, glaring lack of authenticity at some points. Unfortunately, the narrative also struggles with the crude production values. A few broad strokes are evident enough, but I'll be honest - if I didn't have the benefit of a plot summary on hand, then I'm not sure 'that 'Underworld,' as it is, communicates its tale clearly enough for it to be ascertained. And at that, it's just not an issue of coarse light and sound: plot development feels unbothered, light and slow. The exhibitions of song and dance we see at the nightclub are fine, on paper, but the sheer frequency with which these are inserted seems forced, as though to pad out the length for lack of substance.

I began watching with somewhat high expectations; the premise is promising, and I gather that Micheaux had already curried no small amount of favor with his pictures preceding this one. It's also gratifying to see the cast of a drama filled with black actors, especially at a time when many white filmmakers were still employing blackface. Ultimately, however, the fact of the casting in and of itself may be the only noteworthy part of this feature, and it's not enough to save it. The longer the film ran on, the less generous I felt, and the more inclined to think ill of the contributions of cast and crew alike - it wasn't just outside factors weighing this down, was it? It's a strong concept, but a terribly rough realization makes it all but impossible to enjoy: 'Underworld' is a movie for only the most persevering and determined of viewers, and I wish you luck.

Underworld (1937)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Paul Bronson (Sol Johnson) graduates from a Southern college but instead of getting a great job, he's lured to Chicago by gambler LeRoy Giles (Slick Chester). Soon Paul strikes up a relationship with Dinah (Bee Freeman) who just happens to be with the gambler and not long after a murder occurs.

UNDERWORLD is another low-budget film from director Oscar Micheaux. The director had dozens of titles under his belt by this point in his career but the budgets were certainly getting smaller and smaller. For the most part this here is an entertaining picture, although like most race films from this era, it has to deal with a very low budget as well as some technical limitations, which prevent it from being better.

I was actually surprised at how good the performances were here. Usually these types of films had to deal with bad actors but that really wasn't the case here. Yes, there are a few times where lines are messed up but this here is more of an issue with the budget and the fact that they simply couldn't re-do the scene. I thought both Johnson and Chester were good enough in their roles and I thought Freeman made for a good love interest. Again, none of the three were Oscar-worthy but they were good enough to hold your attention and keep you into the picture.

At just 63-minutes the film goes by extremely quick. I'm not sure if the available prints are missing any footage or if the IMDb just has the wrong running time listed. It seemed pretty complete from what I could tell. Either way, this isn't a masterpiece or even a good film for that matter but if you're a fan of the director then it's certainly worth watching.

This adaptation of Edna Mae Baker's short story, 'Chicago After Midnight', is the equivalent of Hitchcock's adaptation of 'The Lady Vanishes', or DeMille's adaptation of 'Lafitte the Pirate' (better known as 'The Buccaneer'). They're not very good films, but at least 'Underworld' is presented from a black perspective.