Popular Culture Review Vol. 5, No. 1, February 1994 | Page 53

Lynched, Assaulted, and Intimidated

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story of a Haunted House with a colored man locked in while the Ku
Klux Klan are holding conclave and amuse themselves at his
expense" {Afro-American, Baltimore, 17 July 1926: 4). The film
featured Andrew Bishop in a prominent role and was possibly a rerelease of an earlier film titled. The Ghost of Tolston’s Manor.
An interracial relationship between a white millionaire and a
woman later discovered to have been an African-American was the
subject of Micheaux's screen version of Char les Waddell Chesnutt's
similarly titled novel. The House Behind the Cedars. Micheaux
corresponded with Chesnutt for nearly two years in an attempt to
secure the rights to produce this film. In fact, Micheaux, a shrewd
negotiator, offered Chesnutt an opportunity to have a serial of his
novel published in the Chicago Defender as part of the agreement for
securing the rights. Certainly, such promotion would benefit both
Chesnutt and Micheaux. The film was described as "the story of an
aristocratic young white millionaire's passionate love (played by
Andrew S. Bishop) for a beautiful mulatto being passed off as white—
and the discovery! An amazing parallel to the famous Rhinelander
case" (14 March 1925: 5). Micheaux often advertised this film as
being a parallel to the Rhinelander case in an effort to promote his
film. (The Rhinelander case concerned a wealthy white millionaire
who married a woman he later discovered had black blood.
Rhinelander attempted to have his marriage annuled.)
Interracial and intraracial prejudice were controversial issues
addressed in Micheaux's film Birthright, produced in 1924 and based
on T. S. Stribling's similarly titled novel. In this film, Micheaux
portrayed an African American Harvard graduate who is discredited
by his community. A review of this film stated:
Micheaux has made a really great picture. It is a
modem Uncle Tom 's Cabin; and may not be popular in
some quarters, a fact that will but confirm its value.
It was apparently not intended for colored audiences,
except that it is fair that they should know all about
anything that may concern them. Its brutal frankness
hurts, and some of the titles put a sting into the
evening's entertainment; and just because it has been
so well done, everyone of us should see it. {AfroAmerican, Baltimore, 25 January 1924: 10)