(77 min) Released 1937-08-23
Director: Thornton Freeland
Stars: Paul Robeson, Henry Wilcoxon, Wallace Ford
Genres: Drama | Musical | Adventure
This was my favorite PR movie yet. Watching the featurette about his Brit films, his son says this was PR's fave of all his films. And I just watched 3 in a row (doing other stuff in between, but not watching movies/tv), and I'm ready for another. Unfortunately only 2 more left, and only 1 tagged "musical", released '40.
We start with PR in the American army, in a segregated black unit with a white commander (Wilcoxon) who values PR's contribution to the unit, and is helping him get more medical training. Although seeing the all-black unit set me on edge, bracing myself for racism to get ugly, I don't remember anything bad in that regard.
But bad things happen while PR is doing good, and PR's escape from injustice has bad consequences for HW. PR makes a new life for himself with new travel companion Ford. PR's leadership skills fully bloom. HW catches up with him, and their conflict resolves with great satisfaction to me (although it goes Fast, so don't look away, or you'll have to start that last chapter again).
I don't want to spoil the plot more than that. PR's presence is fully utilized, I don't remember racism being a thing, and they employed a lot of black actors for the beginning scenes. PR's character has great dignity and shows a full range of human emotions. I can't think of another actor so physically large and strong yet dignified, heroic, smart and warm. AND HE SINGS TOO.
I just made a note on his birthday that I should have a PR film festival. I have all 11 of his features, his only short as actor and the doc'y he narrated.
Buckingham Film Productions, Capitol Film Corporation, General Film Distributors, dir. Freeland; 8
