Emperor Jones

"I am rating this pre-code studio film four stars because I have never seen anything like it. The story contains some singing, but it is not a musical. That simply reflects the fact that it is a play, some of which carries over into the film. The only thing that was hard to bear was the use of the "n" word, used so often I cringed almost every time. As I said, pre-code, so perhaps this was allowed because there was no 🙂‍↔️ standard of what films were allowed to portray until 1934. This adaptation of an original play stars Paul Robeson as Brutus Jones, a black American man who wants to seek his fortune across the United States. He takes a job as a pullman porter on the rails, and makes himself more than useful to a man he believes can help him make his fortune and fame. He leaves his beloved at home, and slowly climbs 🪜the ladder to a better life. Unfortunately, his path becomes bloody, and he starts to burn ❤️‍🔥 hearts and bridges along the way to what he terms is success. This plot is about his rise and downfall as a powerful man. Co-starring Dudley Digges and Fredi Washington. "