''Deceit'' (sometimes referred to as ''The Deceit'') is a 1923 American silent

black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white to produce a range of achromatic brightnesses of grey. It is also known as greyscale in technical settings. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, ...

film. It is a conventional

melodrama A melodrama is a Drama, dramatic work in which plot, typically sensationalized for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodrama is "an exaggerated version of drama". Melodramas typically concentrate on ...

directed 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 ...

. Like many of Micheaux's films, ''Deceit'' casts

cleric Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

s in a negative light. Although the film was shot in 1921, it was not released until 1923. It is not known whether the film currently survives,Progressive Silent Film List: ''Deceit''
at silentera.com which suggests that it is a

lost film A lost film is a feature film, feature or short film in which the original negative or copies are not known to exist in any studio archive, private collection, or public archive. Films can be wholly or partially lost for a number of reasons. ...

. The 1922 film ''The Hypocrite'' was shown within ''Deceit'' as a film within a film.

Cast

Evelyn Preer Evelyn Preer (née Jarvis; July 26, 1896 – November 17, 1932), was an African Americans, African American pioneering screen and stage actress, and jazz and blues singer in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood during the late-1910s through the ea ...

– Doris Rutledge / Evelyn Bently * William Fountaine – unknown role *Norman Johnstone – Alfred DuBois / Gregory Wainwright *

A. B. DeComathiere A. B. DeComathiere (19 November 1877 - 18 May 1940) was an actor in the United States. He had a leading role in '' The Brute'' (1920). He also starred in the race film '' The Black King'' (1932), a satire of Marcus Garvey and his followers. He was ...

– Reverend Bently * Cleo Desmond – Charlotte Chesbro *Louis De Bulger – Mr. Chesbro *Mabel Young – Mrs. Levine *Cornelius Watkins – Gregory Wainwright, as a child *Mrs. Irvin C. Miller – Mrs. Wainwright *Ira O. McGowan – Mr. Wainwright

References

External links

* * 1923 drama films 1923 films Silent American drama films American silent feature films American black-and-white films 1920s melodrama films 1920s American films {{1920s-silent-drama-film-stub