Body and Soul
(1925)

Director: Oscar Micheaux

Key Cast : Paul Robeson, Mercedes Gilbert, Julia Theresa Russell, Lawrence Chenault, Marshall Rodgers, Lillian Johnson, Madame Robinson, Chester A. Alexander, Walter Conick, Tom Fletcher

Rating: Not Rated

Genre(s): Drama, Silent

"Body and Soul" - Scenes from this
Silent Movie

Paul Robeson made his screen debut in this famous Oscar Micheaux silent film "Body and Soul."

A bold and controversial film by pioneer independent filmmaker Oscar Micheaux, "Body and Soul" marked Paul Robeson’s screen debut and was the only motion picture he made with an African-American director.

Paul Robeson plays a hard-drinking thief and vicious womanizer who poses as a pastor in a small southern town.  Through this diabolical ruse he preys upon a young member of his flock, not unlike the murderous minister of The Night of the Hunter.  The film’s depiction of clergy was deemed so incendiary that at least one prominent black newspaper refused to even mention the film in its column.  In fact, Paul Robeson never discussed the film in public.

• "Body and Soul" was Paul Robeson’s first film role and the only movie that he made with an
African-American director.

•  "Body and Soul" is one of the few African-American silent films still in existence today.

•  The director of this film, Oscar Micheaux, is the first African-American to produce a feature-length film.  Due to budgetary constraints, Oscar Micheaux's films don’t have the technical excellence like other films of the time, but he provides a unique African-American perspective in his movies. He is considered one of the most prolific black filmmakers of his time.

• Oscar Micheaux also directed Within Our Gates , another Top 100 Black Classic Movies film.

Body and Soul is only currently available as part of the Paul Robeson DVD Collection.

This collection contains the following eight Paul Robeson films:

The Emperor Jones, another Top 100 Black Classic Movies film
Body and Soul
Borderline
Sanders of the River
Jericho
The Proud Valley
Native Land
Paul Robeson:Tribute to an Artist

Buy The Paul Robeson DVD Collection: Portraits of an Artist
This collection contains seven Paul Robeson films and a special
documentary about Paul Robeson.

 
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