I wanted to like "The Emperor Jones." Let me take that back. I wanted to LOVE "The Emperor Jones." This was a movie with a primarily Black cast in 1933 and the leading man, even if a little crooked and morally askew, was clever, bold, and commanding. I didn't even know such a movie existed back then, or such roles. If only he and Dudley Digges could've dispensed with the copious usage of the racial pejorative that begins with the letter N. The main character, Brutus Jones (Paul Robeson), was the main offender. He made some rappers look tame by comparison. It was wholly unnecessary and only succeeded in being a distraction.
Brutus was a southerner who got a job as a Pullman Porter. That was one of the most respectable jobs back then for Black men. Quickly, we are apprised that Brutus is no good. He was a gambler who cheated on his wife--a far cry from the seemingly good Baptist we saw singing in the church at the very beginning.
His cheating and gambling got him in hot water with a slickster named Jeff (Frank H. Wilson). The two tussled over a knife in a gambling house and Jeff was killed. Brutus went to the chain gang as a result but didn't stay long. He killed a particularly brutal guard with a shovel and made a break. He boarded a ship for an anonymous Caribbean island where he became their self-proclaimed emperor.
Brutus Jones wasn't exactly the type of main character I wanted to see, but he was still a welcome break from the maids, butlers, and servants that Black people played back then.
***Sidebar***
Why did they go out of their way to make most African-American female maids overweight? I'm sure that's why Louise Beavers had so many roles, because she fit that stereotype. It's a patently false narrative. It was as if they wanted to depict Black women as unattractively as possible. It was such a popular trope that Mae West had FOUR overweight maids at one time in "I'm No Angel." I sure would've loved to see more Theresa Harris. She was thin, beautiful, and could sing.
***End sidebar***
"The Emperor Jones" should've been much better. Even though it was written by the acclaimed Eugene O'Neill (winner of four Pulitzer Prizes for Drama), I think he was out of his element. The only other Eugene O'Neill project I'd seen was "Strange Interlude" (1932) starring Clark Gable and Norma Shearer, and I thought that movie was abysmal. I'll give him another try though.
Watched on Max.
Brutus was a southerner who got a job as a Pullman Porter. That was one of the most respectable jobs back then for Black men. Quickly, we are apprised that Brutus is no good. He was a gambler who cheated on his wife--a far cry from the seemingly good Baptist we saw singing in the church at the very beginning.
His cheating and gambling got him in hot water with a slickster named Jeff (Frank H. Wilson). The two tussled over a knife in a gambling house and Jeff was killed. Brutus went to the chain gang as a result but didn't stay long. He killed a particularly brutal guard with a shovel and made a break. He boarded a ship for an anonymous Caribbean island where he became their self-proclaimed emperor.
Brutus Jones wasn't exactly the type of main character I wanted to see, but he was still a welcome break from the maids, butlers, and servants that Black people played back then.
***Sidebar***
Why did they go out of their way to make most African-American female maids overweight? I'm sure that's why Louise Beavers had so many roles, because she fit that stereotype. It's a patently false narrative. It was as if they wanted to depict Black women as unattractively as possible. It was such a popular trope that Mae West had FOUR overweight maids at one time in "I'm No Angel." I sure would've loved to see more Theresa Harris. She was thin, beautiful, and could sing.
***End sidebar***
"The Emperor Jones" should've been much better. Even though it was written by the acclaimed Eugene O'Neill (winner of four Pulitzer Prizes for Drama), I think he was out of his element. The only other Eugene O'Neill project I'd seen was "Strange Interlude" (1932) starring Clark Gable and Norma Shearer, and I thought that movie was abysmal. I'll give him another try though.
Watched on Max.