Lawrence Chenault

Birthright

Oscar Micheaux

J. Homer Tutt, Evelyn Preer

Birthright is a 1924 film by Oscar Micheaux in 10 reels, adapted from Thomas Sigismund Stribling's novel of the same title (1922).

The Crimson Skull

Richard E. Norman

Anita Bush, Lawrence Chenault

To rid the range of a gang of outlaws that are rustling cattle and robbing the banks and stagecoaches, cowhand Bob Calem, working on the gang-leader's superstitions, dons a skeleton-costume to strike fear into the gang.

The Scar of Shame

Frank Peregini

Harry Henderson, Norman Johnstone

An educated, upscale young black musician marries a woman from a lower socioeconomic class to get her out of the clutches of her stepfather.

Ten Nights in a Barroom

Roy Calnek

Charles Gilpin, Myra Burwell

A man pursues the vice lord who killed his daughter, but his journey leads to self-discovery and the desire for a better life.

A Son of Satan

Oscar Micheaux

Andrew S. Bishop, Lawrence Chenault

A Son of Satan is a 1924 silent race film directed, written, produced and distributed by Oscar Micheaux. The film follows the misadventures of a man who accepted a bet to spend a night in a haunted house. Micheaux shot the film in The Bronx, New York, and Roanoke, Virginia. A Son of Satan ran into distribution problems when state censorship boards rejected the film based on its contents. New York censors objected to the film’s depiction of violence, particularly against women and animals (a cat is killed onscreen in one scene, a Ku Klux Klan leader is slain and a man chokes his wife to death), while Virginia censors complained the film’s references to miscegenation would "prove offensive to Southern ladies". In at least one state the film was banned for its title alone No print of the film is known to exist and it is presumed to be a lost film.

Body and Soul

Oscar Micheaux

Paul Robeson, Mercedes Gilbert

A minister is malevolent and sinister behind his righteous facade. He consorts with, and later extorts from, the owner of a gambling house, and betrays an honest girl, eventually driving them both to ruin.

The Gunsaulus Mystery

Oscar Micheaux

Evelyn Preer, Edward R. Abrams

The Gunsaulus Mystery is a 1921 American silent race film directed, produced, and written by Oscar Micheaux. The film was inspired by events and figures in the 1913-1915 trial of Leo Frank, a Jewish man, for the murder of Mary Phagan, a Christian girl. The film is now believed to be lost.

We Work Again

Eric Burroughs, Lawrence Chenault

The role of African Americans in the recovery years of the Great Depression is the subject of this informational short, which offers an idealized depiction of life in a segregated society. The highlight, by far, is rare footage of Orson Welles’s “Voodoo Macbeth,” produced in 1935 for the New York Negro Unit of the WPA’s Federal Theatre Project.

The Symbol of the Unconquered

Oscar Micheaux

Iris Hall, Walker Thompson

Eve Mason, a white-passing black woman, moves to a remote cottage she inherited from her late father. She makes the acquaintance of her neighbor, a dashing black settler named Hugh Van Allen, and quickly falls for him. Trouble brews as the local cadre of racist hucksters want the valuable land Van Allen lives on, and will do anything to take it from him.

The Brute

Oscar Micheaux

Evelyn Preer, A.B. DeComathiere

Directed by Oscar Micheaux.

The House Behind the Cedars

Oscar Micheaux

Shingzie Howard, Andrew Bishop

Directed by Oscar Micheaux.

Veiled Aristocrats

Oscar Micheaux

Lucille Lewis, Walter Fleming

A young woman plans to marry, but her mother and brother--a lawyer--don't like her prospective husband and scheme to prevent the marriage.

Ten Minutes to Live

Oscar Micheaux

Lawrence Chenault, A.B. DeComathiere

A movie producer offers a nightclub singer a role in his latest film, but all he really wants to do is bed her. She knows, but accepts anyway. Meanwhile, a patron at the club gets a note saying that she'll soon get another note, and that she will be killed ten minutes after that.