The original production of "Body and Soul" was a nine reel extravaganza but when Oscar Micheaux applied for an exhibition license, the New York Motion Picture Commission denied approval on the grounds that it would "tend to incite crime" and was immoral and sacrilegious. Micheaux had to edit it down from 9 to 6 reels. Paul Robeson, the star, was billed as "the greatest of all coloured actors". He received $100 per week salary plus 3% of the gross after the first $40,000 in receipts. Robeson, by 1925, was already a theatrical star who had been given roles in "All God's Chillun Got Wings" and "The Emperor Jones" by playwright Eugene O'Neil and George Jean Nathan had dubbed him "one of the most eloquent, impressive and convincing of actors".
Yes, there are a few problems and the ending is a real let down but Robeson's performance as the charlatan preacher is just so powerful. One astonishing scene shows him calmly preaching, then, with the help of a hidden liquor bottle, whipping himself and the crowd into a frenzy. I know it was a silent film but his performance was so vivid, strutting up and down the pulpit, chanting, singing - completely unforgettable. Robeson plays an escapee who is passing himself off as Reverend Jenkins - his past is about to catch up with him though when his former cellmate "Yellow" Curly Hinds tracks him down and wants him to help recruit local girls for a burlesque show. Jenkins has a nice racket going on in Tateville, the women of the town being mesmerized by his preaching technique - with the result he is never short of cash!! Isabelle, who is engaged to Sylvester who just happens to be Jenkin's estranged twin brother, is unconvinced of the preacher's piousness but unfortunately her mother is one of his greatest fans. It does stretch audience credibility but there is quite a bit missing - Sylvester seems to disappear from the movie after an establishing scene. Isabelle's mother can't understand her antipathy toward the preacher and arranges what looks like an exorcism but when she arrives home it is to find her daughter gone!! - along with her life savings!!
Months later her mother tracks her down in Atlanta and there are some really interesting location shots of a city on the rise. She watches in secret as the half starved girl is given food from a sympathetic stranger (who looks suspiciously like one of the preacher's cronies) and goes to her shabby room to collapse - what happened to the money she took!! It takes a lot of persuading and a flashback of a nightmare experience in an abandoned cabin but Martha Jane is finally convinced of her daughter's innocence and the scene is set for a gripping denunciation in the church!!
Like a few of these "race" movies the leading actress, this one was Julia Theresa Russell, tended to make only one or two films then return to oblivion but Russell was quite adequate in the role.
Yes, there are a few problems and the ending is a real let down but Robeson's performance as the charlatan preacher is just so powerful. One astonishing scene shows him calmly preaching, then, with the help of a hidden liquor bottle, whipping himself and the crowd into a frenzy. I know it was a silent film but his performance was so vivid, strutting up and down the pulpit, chanting, singing - completely unforgettable. Robeson plays an escapee who is passing himself off as Reverend Jenkins - his past is about to catch up with him though when his former cellmate "Yellow" Curly Hinds tracks him down and wants him to help recruit local girls for a burlesque show. Jenkins has a nice racket going on in Tateville, the women of the town being mesmerized by his preaching technique - with the result he is never short of cash!! Isabelle, who is engaged to Sylvester who just happens to be Jenkin's estranged twin brother, is unconvinced of the preacher's piousness but unfortunately her mother is one of his greatest fans. It does stretch audience credibility but there is quite a bit missing - Sylvester seems to disappear from the movie after an establishing scene. Isabelle's mother can't understand her antipathy toward the preacher and arranges what looks like an exorcism but when she arrives home it is to find her daughter gone!! - along with her life savings!!
Months later her mother tracks her down in Atlanta and there are some really interesting location shots of a city on the rise. She watches in secret as the half starved girl is given food from a sympathetic stranger (who looks suspiciously like one of the preacher's cronies) and goes to her shabby room to collapse - what happened to the money she took!! It takes a lot of persuading and a flashback of a nightmare experience in an abandoned cabin but Martha Jane is finally convinced of her daughter's innocence and the scene is set for a gripping denunciation in the church!!
Like a few of these "race" movies the leading actress, this one was Julia Theresa Russell, tended to make only one or two films then return to oblivion but Russell was quite adequate in the role.