REOL Productions Corporation was a film production company in New York City from 1921 until 1924 during the

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, 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) ...

era. It released ten films for African American audiences. The company promoted its films by noting they were adaptations of works by African American authors such as a film version of

Paul Laurence Dunbar Paul Laurence Dunbar (June 27, 1872 – February 9, 1906) was an American poet, novelist, and short story writer of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born in Dayton, Ohio, to parents who had been enslaved in Kentucky before the American C ...

's 1902 novel ''

The Sport of the Gods ''The Sport of the Gods'' is a novel by Paul Laurence Dunbar, first published in 1902, centered on American urban black life. Forced to leave the South, a family falls apart amid the harsh realities of Northern inner city life in this examination ...

''. Lafayette Theatre manager Robert Levy (producer) managed the film productions with casts from the

Lafayette Players A number of theatre companies are associated with the Harlem Renaissance. Lafayette Players (1916–1932) Anita Bush, a pioneer in African American theater, began an acting company after seeing a show at the Lincoln Theater in Harlem. She want ...

The studio's first release was ''

''. The company's ''

The Call of His People ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in E ...

'' was an adaptation of Audrey Bowser's book about

passing Passing may refer to: Social identity * Passing (sociology), presenting oneself as a member of another sociological group ** Passing (gender), presenting oneself as being cisgender ** Passing (racial identity), presenting oneself as a member ...

The Man Who Would Be White ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

''. Plans developed to adapt

Charles W. Chesnutt Charles Waddell Chesnutt (June 20, 1858 – November 15, 1932) was an American author, essayist, political activist and lawyer, best known for his novels and short stories exploring complex issues of racial and social identity in the post-Ame ...

's '' The Marrow of Tradition'' but did not come to fruition. The film company went out of business in 1924. Productions included melodramas, at least one comedy, and two documentaries. It secured a distribution agreement in Philadelphia and Baltimore. In 2002, the Cornell Institute for Digital Collections sought out any holders of the company's films for a restoration and preservation project.

The Simp

''The Simp'' featured Sherman H. Dudley Jr,

Inez Clough Inez Clough was a singer, dancer, and film actress in the United States during the early 1900s. Clough, an African American, was born on March 1, 1873 in Worcester, Massachusetts and died on November 21, 1933 in Elgin, Illinois. Career Clough sp ...

Edna Morton Edna Morton (April 2, 1894 – July 31, 1980) was an American actress who was in films in the 1920s. She starred in mainly race films most of them produced by Reol Productions. Her most notable films being ''Spitfire'' (1922), ''Easy Money'' (192 ...

, Alex K. Shannon, and

Percy Verwayen Percy Verwayne (March 10, 1895 – November, 1968), sometimes spelled Percy Verwayen, was an American stage and film actor. He featured in several films with African American casts including the 1921 REOL Productions film '' The Simp'' and Osc ...

Filmography

*'' The Sport of the Gods (film)'' (1921) *''

The Burden of Race ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in E ...

'' (1921) *''

The Secret Sorrow ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

'', starring George Edward Brown *''

'' (1922), an adaptation of

Aubrey Bowser Aubrey is traditionally a male English given name. The name is from the French derivation Aubry of the Germanic given name Alberic / Old High German given name Alberich, which consists of the elements ALF "elf" and RIK "king", from Proto-German ...

's ''

The Man Who would Be White ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

''. *''

The Jazz Hounds ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

'' *'' The Simp'' (1921) *''

Ties of Blood TIES may refer to: * TIES, Teacher Institute for Evolutionary Science * TIES, The Interactive Encyclopedia System * TIES, Time Independent Escape Sequence * Theoretical Issues in Ergonomics Science * The International Ecotourism Society The In ...

'' (1921) *'' The Schemers'' (1922) *''

Easy Money A get-rich-quick scheme is a plan to obtain high rates of return (finance), return for a small investment. The term "get rich quick" has been used to describe shady investments since at least the early 20th century. Most schemes create an impr ...

'' (1922) *''

Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allies of World War II, Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 ...

'' (1922)

References

{{Reflist

The Simp

Filmography

References

See also