“head of the most respected…most successful, and most enduring black-owned film production company during the entire 1910-1956 era of black filmmaking( William Jones, AFI Catalog). Micheaux's films would begin in an early 20th Century genre called "Race films". Race films dealt with issues unique and relevant to the Black American community. He placed the triumphs and tribulations affecting his community which garnered mixed reactions. He faced censorship and some of his work was almost lost to time, Yet despite that, he received national to international recognition, and he paved the way for future filmmakers of the Black American Experience.
The Conquest - His first novel written in 1913 & adapted to film in 1919. It is loosely based on his life.- Full Text -(LOC.gov)
Some of books he also adapted to film. (https://www.micheaux.org/books/)
DIRECTOR (FEATURE FILM) (TCM.com)
The Betrayal (1948)
The Notorious Elinor Lee (1940)
Lying Lips (1939)
God's Step Children (1938)
Birthright (1938)
Swing! (1938)
Underworld (1937)
Lem Hawkins' Confession (1935)
Harlem After Midnight (1934)
Ten Minutes to Live (1932)
Veiled Aristocrats (1932)
The Girl from Chicago (1932)
The Exile (1931)
A Daughter of the Congo (1930)
Easy Street (1930)
When Men Betray (1929)
The Wages of Sin (1928)
Thirty Years Later (1928)
The Broken Violin (1927)
The Millionaire (1927)
The Spider's Web (1927)
Body and Soul (1925)
The Devil's Disciple (1925)
Birthright (1924)
The House Behind the Cedars (1924)
A Son of Satan (1924)
Deceit (1923)]
The Virgin of Seminole (1922)
The Dungeon (1922)
The Gunsaulus Mystery (1921)
Within Our Gates (1920)
The Symbol of the Unconquered (1920)
The Brute (1920)
The Homesteader (1919)
WRITER (FEATURE FILM)
The Betrayal (1948)
The Notorious Elinor Lee (1940)
Lying Lips (1939)
Swing! (1938)
Birthright (1938)
Underworld (1937)
Lem Hawkins' Confession (1935)
Harlem After Midnight (1934)
Ten Minutes to Live (1932)
The Girl from Chicago (1932)
The Exile (1931)
Thirty Years Later (1928)
The Millionaire (1927)
A Son of Satan (1924)
Birthright (1924)
The Dungeon (1922)
Story
The Gunsaulus Mystery (1921)
Within Our Gates (1920)
The Brute (1920)
The Symbol of the Unconquered (1920)
The Homesteader (1919)
Oscar Michaux's independent films of the the early 20th century were groundbreaking because a black man created and wrote his own narratives of black life. His films were his own form of activism in he was intentional to portray African-American people has dignified and multifaceted characters in a society who constantly denigrated the black community. Despite censorship and critics, he continue to produce his own independent films and would path the way for future black filmmakers.
Micheaux presented stories that Hollywood previously didn't address. Through his storytelling, ha addressed the lives of light-skinned mulattos, the boxing stories, expose & searing criticism of Ku Klux Klan, and a folksy tale of a sodhouse frontier. His films were versatile and the subject matter in his films became more political and socially conscious films. For example, in his 1926 film Spider's Web, he addresses the complex relationship between the ghetto and gambling or "playing the numbers. 1929 Wage of Sin depicts a black family struggling with urban life. 1924 Birthright chronicles a young Black Ivery league student heading down South to help his black community. His later film years mainly focused on the black middle-class culture of aspirational living and black solidarity (Cripps, 1977).
G.R. Little Library
Elizabeth City State University
