''The Betrayal'' is a 1948 American

race film 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 ...

written, produced, and 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 ...

. He adapted it from his 1943 novel ''The Wind From Nowhere''.

Plot

Martin Eden is a successful

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

farmer in

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

. He is in love with Deborah Stewart, but he believes that she is white and that she would not be interested in him. He is unaware that Deborah also loves him. Martin goes to

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

to seek out a wife. After an unsuccessful date with a

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, casino, hotel, restaurant, or nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or drinking, ...

singer, he reconnects with an ex-girlfriend who introduces him to Linda. They fall in love and marry, and then return to Martin’s farm. The couple become parents, but their happiness is short-lived when Linda’s pathologically jealous father convinces her that Martin is homicidal. She flees the farm with their child and returns to Chicago. Martin tracks her down in the city, but Martin is shot by Linda during a fight. In South Dakota, Deborah discovers she is African-American. She travels to Chicago and meets Linda, who agrees to divorce Martin so he can marry Deborah. Linda also gives her child to Deborah to raise. Martin and Deborah return to South Dakota and Linda kills her father in revenge for his role in destroying her marriage.Gevinson, Alan
''Within Our Gates: Ethnicity in American Feature Films, 1911–1960''
American Film Institute, 1997, p. 86.

Cast

*William Byrd as Jack Stewart *Leroy Collins as Martin Eden *Verlie Cowan as Linda *Frances De Young as Mrs. Bowles *Vernon B. Duncan as Duval *Edward Fraction as Nelson Boudreaux *Harris Gaines as Dr. Lee *Jessie Johnson as Preble *Barbara Lee as Jessie *Yvonne Machen as Terry *Arthur McCoo as Joe Bowles *Vernetties Moore as Eunice * Alice B. Russell as Aunt Mary *Myra Stanton as Deborah *

Lou Vernon Lou Vernon (born Clarence Alphonse Lambert, 26 June 1888, Brisbane – 22 December 1971, Sydney) was an Australian actor of stage, radio and screen and producer. He started his career in musical comedy, and was particularly noted for his versati ...

as Ned Washington

Production

''The Betrayal'' was adapted by Micheaux from his novel ''The Wind From Nowhere'' (1943), although the plot regarding racial identities in rural South Dakota was borrowed from ''

The Homesteader ''The Homesteader'' (1919) is a lost film, lost black-and-white silent film by African-American author and filmmaker Oscar Micheaux. The film is based on his novel inspired by his experiences. Plot ''The Homesteader'' involves six principal cha ...

'' (1919), Micheaux’s first film. ''The Betrayal'' marked Micheaux’s return to filmmaking after an eight-year absence following the release of '' The Notorious Elinor Lee'' (1940). Micheaux shot ''The Betrayal'' at a studio in

Fort Lee, New Jersey Fort Lee is a Borough (New Jersey), borough at the eastern border of Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, situated along the Hudson River atop The Palisades (Hudson River), The Palisades. As of the 2020 Uni ...

, with location filming in Chicago.McGilligan, Patrick
"A memorable summer school"
''Los Angeles Times'', June 15, 2003. Micheaux named his male lead Martin Eden in honor of the eponymous hero of the

Jack London John Griffith London (; January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors t ...

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

. Leroy Collins, a non-professional actor, was cast in the role when he came to the Chicago set seeking work as a stagehand and was spotted by one of Micheaux’s assistants. This was Collins’ first and only film appearance. Collins (1923-2013) later worked as a Chicago Public Schools administrator. Myra Stanton, who played the role of Deborah Stewart, had modeled since the age of five. She had appeared in ''

Ebony Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus '' Diospyros'', which also includes the persimmon tree. A few ''Diospyros'' species, such as macassar and mun ebony, are dense enough to sink in water. Ebony is fin ...

'' magazine in her teenage years and had only acted in school plays when Micheaux's wife, Alice B. Russell, called Stanton's mother with an invitation to audition for the film. Collins and Stanton fell in love during the filming and married soon after the film was done. The couple divorced four years later. Stanton is now a retired teacher. ''The Betrayal'' was self-financed by Micheaux.the Film originally ran 195 minutes, However Twelve minutes were cut for the film’s commercial release.

Release

''The Betrayal'' was the first

to have its premiere in a Broadway venue in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, with reserved-seat screenings at the Mansfield Theatre. Reviews of the film were overwhelmingly negative, with ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' complaining of "sporadically poor photography and consistently amateurish performances" within a story that "contemplates at considerable length the relations between Negroes and whites as members of the community as well as partners in marriage." ''

Box Office A box office or ticket office is a place where ticket (admission), tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a Wicket gate, wicket. ...

'' also panned the film, noting "sincerity of purpose is perhaps the only redeeming feature of this all-Negro feature.""The Betrayal"
''Box Office'', August 28, 1948. The African-American media was also hostile, with the ''

Chicago Defender ''The Chicago Defender'' is a Chicago-based online African-American newspaper. It was founded in 1905 by Robert S. Abbott and was once considered the "most important" newspaper of its kind. Abbott's newspaper reported and campaigned against Jim ...

'' criticizing the film as "a preposterous, tasteless bore". (HighBream subscription required)

Preservation status

''The Betrayal'' was the last film directed by Micheaux, who died in 1951. No print of ''The Betrayal'' is known to exist, and it is considered 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. ...

, although the script can be found in the

New York State Archives The New York State Archives is a unit of the Office of Cultural Education within the New York State Education Department, with its main facility located in the Cultural Education Center on Madison Avenue in Albany, New York, United States. The ...

(Motion Picture Scripts Collection) in Albany, New York.

References

External links

*
Review of film
at ''Variety'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Betrayal (1948 film), The 1948 films American black-and-white films Films directed by Oscar Micheaux Films shot in Fort Lee, New Jersey Lost American films Race films Films set in South Dakota Films based on American novels 1940s lost films 1940s English-language films