Oscar Micheaux: The Great and Only (57 page)

PHOTOGRAPHS AND ILLUSTRATIONS:

Photographs of Micheaux from the
Simms' Blue Book and National Negro Business and Professional Directory
and at the M.O.W.M. Bookstore in Harlem, courtesy of the General Research and Reference Division, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, the New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations; Micheaux's Pullman porter records courtesy of Pullman Archives, the Newberry Library, Chicago; re-creation of “Oscar's homestead in South Dakota” courtesy of Don Shorock and the website www.micheaux.org; group portrait of the Lafayette Players courtesy of Sister Francesca Thompson; newspaper photograph of Shingzie Howard, stills of
The Homesteader
and
Birthright
(sound version), frame enlargements from
Within Our Gates
and
Body and Soul,
and newspaper advertisement for
The Symbol of the Unconquered
courtesy of Pearl Bowser, Jane Gaines, and Charles Musser,
Oscar Micheaux & His Circle,
and the Oscar Micheaux Society; all photographs from Pearl Bowser's collection courtesy of African Diaspora Images; photograph of Lorenzo Tucker from
The Black Valentino
; frame enlargements (with Micheaux) from
Lem Hawkins' Confession,
courtesy of Matthew Bernstein; promotional material for
Murder in Harlem, Birthright,
and
God's Stepchildren
courtesy of the W. Ward Marsh Cinema Archives, Cleveland Public Library; advertisement for
The Betrayal
courtesy of Leroy Collins; special thanks to Allied Digital Photo, Mequon, Wisconsin.

CITATIONS:

Charles Waddell Chesnutt papers, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio; George P. Johnson Negro Film Collection, University of California, Los Angeles; George P. Johnson Oral History, Special Collections, University of California, Los Angeles; Richard E. Norman Collection, Lilly Library, Indiana University; Paul and Eslanda Goode Robeson Papers, Moorland-Spingarn Research Center, Howard University, Washington, D.C.; Oral Histories of Edna Mae Harris (interview by Richard Grupenhoff), Elcora “Shingzie” Howard McClane (interview by Pearl Bowser), Carl
ton Moss (interview by Bowser) and Frances Williams (interview by Bowser) are from the “From Harlem to Hollywood” collection of the American Museum of the Moving Image, Astoria, New York.

Portions of chapter 17 originally appeared in
Film Quarterly
and the
Los Angeles Times.

Note: Entries in this index, carried over verbatim from the print edition of this title, are unlikely to correspond to the pagination of any given e-book reader. However, entries in this index, and other terms, may be easily located by using the search feature of your e-book reader.

 

Abbott, Robert S., 130, 227, 329

Abdul Hamid, Sufi, 283–84

Abrams, Ed “Dick,” 167

Addams, Jane, 109

Anderson, Ida, 228–29

Anita Bush Stock Company, 124

Apollo Theater, 257

Armstrong, Louis, 226

Astor Pictures, 340, 343
n

Atlanta, Georgia, 100

Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man, The,
89–90

 

Bachin, Robin F., 18

Baker, Edna Mae, 288

Beaumont, Texas, OM establishes branch in, 171

Beavers, Louise, 284, 296

Becker, Agnes, 14

Belasco, David, 228

Bernstein, Matthew, 101, 102, 158, 168, 276

Betrayal, The,
335, 337

reviews of, 340–43

Binga, Jesse, 266

Birth of a Nation, The
(film), 109, 137

Birthright
(film), 191–93, 196

casting for, 193–95

censors and, 198–202

reviews of, 196–98

sound version of, 292, 297–98

Birthright
(Stribling) (novel), 191–92

Bishop, Andrew, 186, 191, 207, 241, 278, 279–80, 287

black actors, Hollywood and, 228–29

black-audience theaters, 183–84, 290–91

booking in, 116

in Harlem, 219

talkies and, 246–47

black films, 108.
See also
race pictures black show business, 107–8

Blake, Eubie, 190, 262

Body and Soul
(film), 181, 203–5, 215–18, 220

censors and, 215–17

discovery of copy of, 347

Bogle, Donald, 108, 241, 246, 274

Bontemps, Arna, 248

Bowman, Laura, 228, 229, 259, 280

Bowser, Pearl, 138
n,
143–44, 347

Boyle, Martha, 122

Brascher, Nahum David, 156, 329

Brecher, Leo, 219, 249, 257–58

Broken Violin, The
(film), 233–34, 264

Brooks, A. F., 174

Brooks, Clarence, 113, 159, 273–74, 277, 279, 281

Brooks, Eunice, 268

Brooks, Phillips, 36

Brown, John Mack, 244

Brown, Ralph, 264

Brown, William Wells Brown, 110–11

Brute, The
(film), 146–50, 180–81, 306, 307

reviews of, 149–59

Burley, 302

 

Calloway, Cab, 264, 278

Calloway, Starr, 225, 268, 278

Caruso, Enrico, 36

Case of Mrs. Wingate, The
(Micheaux) (novel), 280, 308, 311–13, 315–18

censors, 117, 134

Birthright
and, 198–202

Body and Soul
and, 215–17

Homesteader, The
and, 130–31, 134–35

OM and, 238

Within Our Gates
and, 140–41

Symbol of the Unconquered, The
and, 155–56

Chenault, Lawrence, 147, 154, 159, 167, 181, 186, 191, 194, 205, 212–13, 229, 249, 259, 263, 264

Chesnutt, Charles W., 111, 152, 160, 168, 174, 180, 185–87, 209, 212, 248, 248
n,
262, 322–26

Chicago, Illinois, 16–18

OM leaving, for New York, 220–21

race riot of July 1919

in, 137

South Side neighborhood of, 17–18

Christie Film Company, 229

cinephiles, 163

Clark, W. E., 255

Clayton, William A., Jr., 237, 239, 242, 264

Clements, Flo, 147

Cohen, Octavus Roy, 229

Collins, Leroy, Jr., 330–31, 332, 334, 335, 336, 337, 341

Colored Players Film Corporation, 159, 247

Communism, OM and, 299–301

Conjure Woman, The
(Chesnutt) (novel), 160, 176, 212–14

Conjure Woman, The
(film), 212–13, 214

Connie's Inn, Harlem, 158

Conquest, The
(Micheaux) (novel), 13, 23, 45

attempts to publish, 92–94

as autobiography, 15

OM's promotion of, 94–95, 98–99

republishing of, 348

writing of, 90–92

Cook, Louise, 253

Cooper, Ralph, 284

Corliss, Richard, 301–2

Cotton Club, Harlem, 158, 257

Cowan, Verlie, 330, 336

Creekmur, Corey K., 139, 142, 204–5

Criner, J. Lawrence, 226, 228

Cripps, Thomas, 123, 347

Crowe, Vera, 349

Crowell, William B. F., 174, 178, 180

Cullen, Countee, 248, 344

Cutler, Marty, 146–47

 

Dabney, Ardelle, 234

Dailey, Ulysses Grant, 81–82

Daughter of the Congo, A
(film), 242, 243–46

Dean, Louis, 154

DeBulger, Louis, 167, 172, 222

Deceit
(film), 171–73, 195–96

DeComathiere, A. B., 147–48, 172, 252, 263, 264

DeMille, Cecil B., 306

Depression, the, Harlem and, 283–84

DePriest, Oscar, 130

Desmond, Cleo, 172–73, 226, 228

Devil's Disciple, The
(film), 213–15

Dougherty, Romeo L., 219

Downing, Henry Francis, 233, 234
n,
243, 248, 248
n

Dreamland Gardens, 226

Dreams, Micheaux and, 142

Du Bois, Alfred, 172

DuBois, W. E. B., 99, 221, 234, 299, 316, 344

Dunbar, Louis, 248

Dunbar Film corporation, 234

Dunbar-Nelson, Alice, 248

Duncan, Ina, 228

Duncan, Vernon B., 332

Duncan, Vernon S., 126

Dungeon, The,
179–82, 182–83

 

Easy Street
(film), 242–43

Eckert, Peter, 231

Edmondson, William, 226, 234

Edwards, Mattie, 147

Empire Laboratories, 273

Essanay Studios, 328, 329

Everett, John, 268

Exile, The
(film), 250–56, 258

cameramen for, 254–55

cast for, 252

highlights of, 252–54

premiere of, 256

previews of, 255–56

 

Fallows, Samuel T., 130

Fax, Elton, 209, 211, 290, 318, 321–22

Fayette Pictures, 249–50

Fellini, Federico, 349

film industry, American, 108

black actors in, 108–9

Fisher, Rudolph, 248

“Fool's Errand, A,” 189–90, 190

Forged Note, The: A Romance of the Darker Races
(Micheaux) (novel), 8, 25, 99, 104, 165–67

Foster, William, 123, 218

Fountaine, William E., 178, 181, 182, 189, 241, 246
n
, 249

Fox, Ted, 258

Frank, Leo, trial of, 100–103, 165–68, 275

Freeman, Bee, 182, 262, 263, 278–79, 289–90

 

Gaines, Harris, 330, 334

Ganines, Jane, 348

Gant, Harry, 221, 247

Gardner, Chappy, 239, 241

Garner, George R., Jr., 129, 133

Garvey, Marcus, 158, 221, 299, 314

Gates, Henry Louis, Jr., 349

George, William, 127

“Ghost of Tolston Manor, The.”
See Son of Satan, A
(film)
Ghost of Yesterday, The
(Micheaux), 136

Gilbert, Mercedes, 205, 252

Girl from Chicago, The,
269–70

God's Stepchildren
(film), 292, 294–97, 298, 345

Harlem Communists and, 299–301

as OM's most accomplished sound-era film, 301

Gomery, Douglas, 116

Goodloe, Beatrice, 300

Gordon, Wycliffe, 347

Gough, Bell.
See
Michaux, Bell Gough (mother)

Green, J. Ronald, 15, 92, 99, 109, 167, 263, 265, 327

Green-Eyed Monster, The
(film), 159–60

Griffith, D. W., 2, 109

Groves, Junius, 57, 63

Grupenhoff, Richard, 236, 242

Guilford, Willor Lee, 265

Gunsaulus Mystery, The
(film), 167–68

Guy, Barrington, 259

 

Hall, Iris, 126, 154

Hallelujah!
(film), 246, 246
n,
250

Hammond, John, 258

Hammond, O. C., 183

Harding, Daisy, 244

Harlem, 151, 157–58

black theaters in, 219

during the Depression, 283–84

Harlem After Midnight
(film), 263, 345

Harlem Renaissance, 247–49

Harper, Leonard, 253, 254

Harris, Arvelle “Snoopie,” 278

Harris, Edna Mae, 303, 308

Harrison, Richard B., 242, 252

Harrop, Roy M., 93, 93
n

Hearts in Dixie
(film), 250

Herndon, Alonzo, 266

Herndon, Angelo, 299–300

Heywood, Donald, 253, 264, 279

Hinshaw, Daisy, 46, 57–58

Hoberman, J., 301

Holder, Roland, 253

Hollister, John Hamilcar, 93

Hollywood black actors and, 228–29

black audiences and, during

Depression, 284

Civil Rights movement and, 350

recognition of OM by, 349–50

Homesteader, The
(film), 250

cast for, 124–27

censors and, 130–31, 134–35

debut of, 129–31

filming of, 127–28

finding investors for, 121–23

as material for movie, 113–18

organized religion and, 134

partnership with Lincoln Motion

Pictures and OM for, 118–21

promotion of, 132–33, 136

Reverend McCracken as villain in, 130

scriptwork for, 123–24

Homesteader, The
(Micheaux) (novel), 90–91

republishing of, 348

writing of, 105–6

Horne, Lena, 278

House Behind the Cedars, The
(Chestnutt) (novel), 111, 160–61

House Behind the Cedars, The
(film), 203

contract problems with Chesnutt for, 168–69

filming of, 185–87

Micheaux's interest in filming, 161–65

production problems for, 174–76

reviews of, 208–9

Howard, Elcora “Shingzie,” 170–71, 173–74, 178, 180, 182, 186, 189, 191, 194, 225, 259

Hughes, Langston, 18, 248

Hughitt, Marvin, 37, 45

Hunter, Alberta, 226

Hunter, Martha Stewart, 122

Hurston, Zora Neale, 222, 248, 321, 344

 

Imitation of Life
(film), 284, 293–94

Ingram, Rex, 263

intermarriage, racial, 54

 

Jacks, S. T., 226

Jackson, Ernest A., 37–38, 44, 45, 47, 93, 312

Jackson, Frank D., 37–38, 95

Jackson, Graydon, 38, 93

Jackson, Harry “Pee Wee,” 291

Jackson, J. A., 198

“Jasper Landry's Will,” 189, 190

Jazz Singer, The,
227

Jessie, 16–17, 34, 35–36, 44, 58

Jews

Micheaux's attitude toward, 167–68

in Micheaux's works, 100–103

as race-picture producers, 159–60

Jim Crow, 3, 10

Johnson, George P., 14, 112–14, 131–32, 141, 145, 181, 220, 247, 290

filming of
The Homesteader,
118–20

Johnson, James Weldon, 137, 248

Johnson, Jesse, 333–34, 336

Johnson, Noble, 112–17, 119, 221, 247

Johnson, Norman, 172

Johnson Publishing Company, 330

Jolson, Al, 227

Jones, Alice Beatrice, 206–7

Jones, G. William, 347

Jones, James Earl (son), 303, 303
n

Jones, Quincy, 349

Jones, Robert Earl (father), 303, 304, 308

Julian, Hubert Fantleroy, 305–6, 308–9

 

Kadison, Harry, 308

Keenan, Martin, 348

Kirkpatrick, Sidney, 228, 229

Krigwa Little Theatre movement, 234

Kurosawa, Akira, 349

 

Lafayette Players, 124–25, 159

Lang, Lester, 254

Langford, Sam, 147

Langston, Tony, 117, 125, 130, 211

Lem Hawkins' Confession
(film), 275–82

casting for, 277–79

critics and, 281–82

discovery of copy of, 347–48

Levering, David, 157

Levy, Robert, 159, 228, 247

Lewis, David Levering, 99

Lewis, Lucille, 259, 270, 278

Lewis, Theophilus, 244–45, 246, 250

Lincoln Motion Picture Company, 113, 159, 181, 221

Lincoln Theatre, Harlem, 158

Lovejoy, Alex, 278, 279, 281

Lucas, Charles D., 127

Lunceford, Jimmy, 291

Lying Lips
(film), 302–5

Lyles, Aubrey, 190, 191

 

Machen, Yvonne, 330, 334

Mahon, Carl, 225, 252, 259, 265, 269

Marshall, John R., 130

Martin Eden,
89, 90

Masquerade, The
(Micheaux) (novel), 322–27

Matthews, Ralph, 271–72

Maurice Film Company, 159, 247

McCollum, Obie, 234

McCracken, Orlean.
See
Micheaux,

Orlean McCracken (first wife) McCracken, Rev. Newton J., 9, 62–63, 66–67, 70–71, 79–80

lawsuit with OM, 95–98

trip to South Dakota, 74–77

as villain of
The Homesteader,
130

McGowan, Ira, 158, 172, 220, 247

McGuire, Hugh E., 122

McKay, Claude, 158

Melba, Nelli, 36

Metropolis, Illinois, 9, 10

Michaux, Andrew Jackson (uncle), 5

Michaux, Bell Gough (mother), 6, 7, 8, 10

death of, 112

Michaux, Calvin Swan (father), 5, 6–7, 9, 10

death of, 270

Michaux, David and Melvina (grandparents), 5

Michaux, Edward (uncle), 5–6

Michaux, Finis (brother), 7, 14

Michaux, Ida (sister), 7, 16

Michaux, Lawrence (brother), 7, 14