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The Emperor Jones

United States

1933

105 Min
Black and White
1.33:1
English
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DIR Dudley Murphy

SCR DuBose Heyward

DP Ernest Haller

CAST Paul Robeson, Dudley Digges, Frank Wilson, Fredi Washington, Ruby Elzy, George Stamper, Blueboy O'Connor, Rex Ingram, Jackie "Moms" Mabley

ED Grant Whytock

MUSIC Frank Tours

SOUND Joseph Kane

Synopsis

Of all Paul Robeson’s eleven starring film performances, by far his most iconic was his breakthrough in the big-screen adaptation of Eugene O’Neill’s The Emperor Jones (1933). He was already a legend for his stage incarnation of Brutus Jones, a Pullman porter who powers his way to rule of a Caribbean island, but with this, his first sound-era film role, his regal image was married to his booming voice for eternity. With The Emperor Jones, Robeson became the first African-American leading man in mainstream movies and, he said, gained a deeper understanding of cinema’s potential to change racial misconceptions. Previously censored, The Emperor Jones is presented here in its most complete form. —The Criterion Collection

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By Criteri​onRefs on March 8, 2009

I posted a review of this film to my blog: http://criterionreflections.blogspot.com/2009/03/emperore-jones-1933-370.html

A quote: At the time of Emperor Jones’ release, Paul Robeson was among…  read review

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Buy the DVD from The Criterion Collection.