"The Emperor Jones" was first a play by Eugene O'Neill. While Paul Robeson was not the first stage actor to play the lead, he did this a decade before ultimately making this movie. While it's a very good movie, viewers will easily notice the stagy quality of the film. Too often, Jones (Robeson) talks as if he's giving a speech or talking to the audience--especially at the end of the movie. The net result is a fine display of his acting but this takes a hit on the realism of the film as NO ONE talks like this in real life! The film begins with Brutus Jones going to church and bidding the congregation goodbye. It seems he's got a new job on the Pullman train, but his friends don't realize what sort of a base character he really is. Once there, he connives and tricks his way to fast riches--and he hangs with a low crowd. It's not surprise, then, that when gambling with other riff-raff that he gets into trouble and is sent to prison. Once in prison, for the first time you feel sorry for him as he and the other prisoners are terribly mistreated. Seeing an overseer beating a fellow prisoner (possibly to death), Brutus rises up and kills the guard--and makes an escape. Soon he ends up on a steamer and then jumps overboard--and finds himself on a Caribbean island.
The island is very primitive and the black locals are a superstitious lot. After sizing up the situation, Jones takes advantage of this and makes it appear as if he has magic--and makes himself the emperor of the island. While this is dishonest, what happens next is much worse as the Emperor Jones is a cruel despot--who bleeds his people dry. And, in an ironic twist, he's pretty become much like the guard Jones killed! Finally, after back-breaking oppression by Jones, his people are sick and tired and ready to revolt. What comes next is the low-point of the film--Jones going off on an extended soliloquy and the film ends on a bit of a low note.
The first 90% of the film is great--with a fine performance by Robeson and an interesting plot. While some might object to the frequent use of the dreaded 'N' word (!!!!!) and the fact that the Jones character is not particularly noble or nice, it is very compelling viewing. The last 10% I mentioned above. It's stagy and overdone. I think if this portion had less scenery chewing, the film might have earned a 10. As is, it's still well worth seeing but merits a still above average score of 8.
Finally, this is not a criticism of this film alone, but it is quite sad that this and his other performances were of uneducated guys. As a result, he had to talk like a rather illiterate man--despite graduating at the top of his class at Rutgers, graduating from Columbia Law and knowing and speaking many languages! I guess audiences of the day weren't ready for a man like Robeson!
The island is very primitive and the black locals are a superstitious lot. After sizing up the situation, Jones takes advantage of this and makes it appear as if he has magic--and makes himself the emperor of the island. While this is dishonest, what happens next is much worse as the Emperor Jones is a cruel despot--who bleeds his people dry. And, in an ironic twist, he's pretty become much like the guard Jones killed! Finally, after back-breaking oppression by Jones, his people are sick and tired and ready to revolt. What comes next is the low-point of the film--Jones going off on an extended soliloquy and the film ends on a bit of a low note.
The first 90% of the film is great--with a fine performance by Robeson and an interesting plot. While some might object to the frequent use of the dreaded 'N' word (!!!!!) and the fact that the Jones character is not particularly noble or nice, it is very compelling viewing. The last 10% I mentioned above. It's stagy and overdone. I think if this portion had less scenery chewing, the film might have earned a 10. As is, it's still well worth seeing but merits a still above average score of 8.
Finally, this is not a criticism of this film alone, but it is quite sad that this and his other performances were of uneducated guys. As a result, he had to talk like a rather illiterate man--despite graduating at the top of his class at Rutgers, graduating from Columbia Law and knowing and speaking many languages! I guess audiences of the day weren't ready for a man like Robeson!