''Birthright'' is a 1938 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed, co-produced and co-written by

Oscar Micheaux Oscar Devereaux Micheaux (; January 2, 1884 – March 25, 1951) was an American author, film director and independent producer of more than 44 films. Although the short-lived Lincoln Motion Picture Company was the first movie company owned and c ...

and starring

Carman Newsome Carman Newsome (June 21, 1912 - July 17, 1974) was an African-American actor, musician and band conductor in the United States. His work includes leading roles in five Oscar Micheaux films. Born in Kansas, he moved to Cleveland, Ohio when he was a ...

. This is a talkie remake of Micheaux's 1924

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

of the same name; both were adapted from white author T. S. Stribling's eponymous 1922 novel. Starring J. Homer Tutt, Micheaux's 1924 film was highly controversial for its graphic depiction of racism. The film is now considered lost.

Plot

A black

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

graduate faces racism and discrimination after he returns to his small hometown in Tennessee, where he hoped to develop a school similar to

Tuskegee Institute Tuskegee University (Tuskegee or TU; formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute) is a Private university, private, Historically black colleges and universities, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama, United States. It was f ...

Hampton Institute Hampton University is a private, historically black, research university in Hampton, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1868 as Hampton Agricultural and Industrial School, it was established by Black and White leaders of the American Missiona ...

, both historically black colleges.Larry Langman, David Ebner. ''Hollywood's Image of the South: A Century of Southern Films'' (2001), p. 95 . "Birthright (1939), Micheaux. Dir. Oscar Micheaux; Sc. Oscar Micheaux; Cast includes: Carman Newsome, Alec Lovejoy,

Ethel Moses Ethel Moses (April 29, 1904 – June 1982) was an American stage and film actress, and dancer. She was billed as "the black Jean Harlow". Moses is best known for working in films by Oscar Micheaux. Early life Ethel Moses was born on April 29, 190 ...

. Advertised as "A story of the Negro and the South," Oscar Micheaux's drama is based on the novel by T. S. Stribling."

Cast

* Alec Lovejoy *

Production

The ''Birthright'' remake was first scheduled for release in 1937, but in January 1938 it was reported that filming was still taking place in

Ridgefield, New Jersey } Ridgefield is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 11,501, an increase of 469 (+4.3%) from the 2010 Unite ...

. The crew was estimated to number 15 members.

Release

The exact date of the film's theatrical release is unclear, though it most likely occurred at some point in 1938. By mid-March 1939, the film was playing in theaters in

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

. Black patrons of Oakland's Lincoln Theater threatened to boycott all black films (also known as

race films The race film or race movie was a genre of film produced in the United States between about 1915 and the early 1950s, consisting of films produced for African American, black audiences, and featuring black casts. Approximately five hundred race ...

) after having seen ''Birthright'' and Micheaux's 1935 film ''

Temptation Temptation is a desire to engage in short-term urges for enjoyment that threatens long-term goals.Webb, J.R. (Sep 2014). Incorporating Spirituality into Psychology of temptation: Conceptualization, measurement, and clinical implications. Sp ...

,'' as they accused the films of stereotyping blacks in the same manner as did mainstream Hollywood productions.

Legacy

Although the 1924 film is considered lost, the portion of the 1938 version that survives was restored under

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

supervision and has been preserved in its AFI Collection. Along with other Micheaux films, ''Birthright'' is available on

The Criterion Channel The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films". A "sister company" of arthouse film distributor ...

References

External links

* 1939 films Films directed by Oscar Micheaux 1939 drama films Race films American black-and-white films American drama films Films based on American novels 1930s American films 1930s English-language films English-language drama films {{1930s-drama-film-stub