This weekend: 'Battling Butler' in Campton, N.H., then 'The Flying Ace' in Somerville, Mass.

The front page of this week's 'Weekend' section of the Boston Globe.

Our planned screening of 'The Flying Ace' (1926) on Sunday, Feb. 2 at the Somerville Theatre has generated significant interest from Boston media.

On Friday, the Boston Globe made it the cover story of their Weekend Section, with a preview by critic Odie Henderson going in-depth about the film as well as the live music I'll be doing.

(The screening is at 2 p.m at the Somerville Theatre, 55 Davis Square, Somerville.; a press release with more info is pasted in below.)

On the same day, WBUR (a big-time NPR station in Boston) ran a substantial story by reporter Amelia Mason about the cultural climate that produced "race" films such as 'The Flying Ace,' which was intended for segregated cinemas of the era.

Here's a link to the Boston Globe piece. And here's the WBUR story.

I'm grateful to both journalists for their interest in the film as well as my work, and to their respective media outlets for the willingness to devote resources to covering this corner of Boston's cultural scene. Thank you!

And thank you (in advance) to all for making the trek to the Somerville to see this picture the way it was intended: on the big screen, in a great-looking print, with live music, and (most importantly) with an audience.

The main difference this time is that the audience, unlike when the film was originally released, will likely include some non-Black film-goers. I think that's a good thing—and I believe the people who produced 'The Flying Ace' nearly 100 years ago would agree. 

Prior to this, I'm heading north this afternoon for one of my favorite gigs of the season: the Campton (N.H.) Historical Society's Annual Pot Luck Supper and Silent Movie Night.

This year's attraction: Buster Keaton's boxing comedy 'Battling Butler' (1926), preceded by a communal supper made up of dishes that everyone brings in. (That's the actual admission price: something for the pot luck.)

Buster Keaton trains in the boxing ring; from 'Battling Butler' (1926).

If you're in the vicinity and want to join in, everyone's welcome. Supper begins at 5 p.m.; the film program usually starts by 6:30 p.m. or so. It's at the Campton Town Historical Society, Route 149 in Campton, N.H. Bring a dish—and your appetite!

*     *     *

Original trade advertisement for 'The Flying Ace' (1926).

MONDAY, JAN. 27, 2025 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

Honoring Black History Month

Somerville Theatre to screen rare vintage crime thriller with all-Black cast

'The Flying Ace' (1926), added to U.S. National Film Registry, to be shown with live music on Sunday, Feb. 2

SOMERVILLE, Mass. — Can discrimination exist in an America where everyone is Black?

That's among the questions posted by 'The Flying Ace' (1926), a rare surviving example of movies produced early in the 20th century for Black audiences in segregated cinemas.

'The Flying Ace,' named to the U.S. National Film Registry in 2021, will be screened in honor of Black History Month on Sunday, Feb. 2 at 2 p.m. at the Somerville Theatre, 55 Davis Square, Somerville, Mass.

Admission $17 adults; $13 members; $12 seniors/children. Tickets are available at somervilletheatre.com or at the door. 

The screening will feature live music by Jeff Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based silent film accompanist.

'The Flying Ace' was produced by Norman Studios in Jacksonville, Fla., using professionals such as Laurence Criner, a veteran of Harlem’s prestigious all-black theater troupe the Lafayette Players, but also many non-professionals for minor roles.

In 'The Flying Ace,' Criner plays Capt. Billy Stokes, a World War I fighter pilot known as "The Flying Ace" because of his downing of seven enemy aircraft in France.

Returning home to resume his former job as a railroad detective, he's assigned to locate a stationmaster who's gone missing along with the $25,000 company payroll.

While investigating, Stokes begins romancing the stationmaster's daughter Ruth (Kathryn Boyd), causing a rivalry with another suitor which leads to a break in the case.

With Ruth's safety now at risk, Stokes' dogged pursuit of the suspects leads to climax highlighted by a dramatic airborne chase which calls upon his piloting prowess.

Films such as 'The Flying Ace' were shown specifically to African-American audiences in areas of the U.S. where theaters were segregated.

Norman Studios was among the nation's top film production companies making feature length and short films for this market from the 1920s to the 1940s.

Featuring all-Black casts in stories meant to inspire and uplift, such films were popular with African-American audiences at the time. In Norman Studios films, the stories often took place in a world without the racial barriers that existed at the time.

In 'The Flying Ace,' Capt. Stokes is a pilot returning home from serving honorably in World War I—but Blacks were not allowed to fly aircraft in the U.S. military until 1940.

In an essay for the San Francisco Silent Film Festival, critic Megan Pugh wrote that Capt. Billy Stokes "...is a model for the ideals of racial uplift, fulfilling aspirations that Black Americans were not yet allowed to achieve."

"At a time when Hollywood employed white actors in blackface to play shuffling servants and mammies, the Norman Film Manufacturing Company...hired all-black casts to play dignified roles."

 

Kathryn Boyd and Laurence Criner star in 'The Flying Ace' (1926).
 
"Instead of tackling discrimination head-on in his films, Norman created a kind of segregated dream world where whites—and consequently, racism—didn’t even exist," Pugh wrote.

"While it’s impossible to measure the influence The Flying Ace had on its viewers, it is reasonable to assume that audiences found its lead character inspirational. Billy Stokes was a black male hero who would have never made it onscreen in a Hollywood movie of the time," Pugh wrote.

Filmed in the Arlington area of Jacksonville, Fla., 'The Flying Ace' is a unique aviation melodrama in that no airplanes actually leave the ground. The mid-air scenes were filmed in a studio in front of neutral backdrops.

Although 'The Flying Ace' may appear crudely made to modern audiences, in 2021 the movie was named to the U.S. National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

Of films produced for Black-only audiences in segregated theaters, very few survive. 'The Flying Ace' is unusual in that it survives complete, and in pristine condition. The film was included in 'Pioneers of African American Cinema," a DVD collection released in 2016 by Kino-Lorber.

A live musical score for 'The Flying Ace' will be created by accompanist Jeff Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based performer who specializes in music for silent film presentations.

Rapsis said the Red River screening is a rare chance to see the film as it was meant to be experienced—on the big screen, with live music, and with an audience.

'The Flying Ace' (1926), a silent crime melodrama with an all-Black cast, will be shown in honor of Black History Month on Sunday, Feb. 2 at 2 p.m. at the Somerville Theatre, 55 Davis Square, Somerville, Mass.

Admission $17 adults; $13 members; $12 seniors/children. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.somervilletheatre.com or call the box office at (617) 625-5700.

On Sunday: 'Within Our Gates' (and maybe a second feature) at the Somerville Theatre

From Oscar Micheaux's drama 'Within Our Gates' (1920).

Sunday, Feb. 5 takes me down to Davis Square in Somerville, Mass., for the relaunch of the Somerville Theatre's 'Silents, Please!' series.

I'll accompany 'Within Our Gates' (1920), a "race drama" directed by Oscar Micheaux that's being screened in honor of Black History Month.

Showtime is 2 p.m. More details about the film and the full 'Silents, Please!' schedule are included in a press release pasted in below.

'Within Our Gates' is hailed as something of a breakthrough: it was the first U.S. feature-length film directed by an African-American. 

The movie was intended for "Black Only" movie theaters that flourished in certain parts of the U.S. during the Jim Crow era. 

Much of the product for that market was produced on shoestring budgets by small companies (many in Florida) that often vanished when the rent came due. 

As a young Black filmmaker, race movies were the only outlet open to Micheaux. Despite the limitations, he was aiming for something more, as seen in 'Within Our Gates.'

Unusual for its time, the film tackles head-on the racism that was pervasive in the U.S. at the time. 

A hundred years later, have things changed all that much? See the film, and decide for yourself.

The film will be shown via a 35mm print on loan from our friends at the Library of Congress. 

In shipping 'Within Our Gates,' the LOC included a 35mm print of a second film that we didn't specifically request.

It's 'The Other Woman's Story' (1925), a seemingly routine courtroom drama with absolutely nothing to do with Black History Month.

But then, as Paul Harvey used to say, there's "...the rest of the story." 

Turns out one of the lead actresses in 'The Other Woman's Story,' Helen Lee Worthing would shortly become infamous for...marrying an African-American!

This was at a time when interracial marriage was actually against the law in California and many other states. 

The resulting scandal and ongoing furor in the press not only caused the marriage to break down, but led to Worthing's involuntary commitment to an insane asylum a few years later. She died in 1948, at the young age of 52.

I won't say any more in case the theater does run the film. I hope they do. It's a rare chance to see one of Helen Lee Worthing's few surviving films—and I've never had a chance to do music for it before.

Cross your fingers!

*     *     *

A scene from 'Within Our Gates' (1920).

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 25, 2023 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

'Within Our Gates' on Sunday, Feb. 5 opens Somerville Theatre's 2023 'Silents Please!' series

First feature-length film directed by African-American to be screened in 35mm with live music to honor Black History Month

SOMERVILLE, Mass.—They're back where they belong: on the big screen.

Classic motion pictures from Hollywood's early days, shown using 35mm prints and accompanied with live music, mark the return of the Somerville Theatre's 'Silents, Please,' a long-running series at the Davis Square moviehouse.

The 2023 line-up kicks off on Sunday, Feb. 5 at 2 p.m. with a screening of 'Within Our Gates' (1920), the first U.S. feature-length film to be directed by an African-American, Oscar Micheaux.

The movie—a ground-breaking drama that deals directly with racism in the U.S. as experienced a century ago—will be shown in honor of Black History Month.

The plot features an African-American woman who goes North in an effort to raise money for a rural school in the Deep South for poor black children. Her romance with a Black doctor eventually leads to revelations about her family's past and her own mixed-race, European ancestry.

Tickets $16; seniors/children $12. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.somervilletheatre.com or call the box office at (617) 625-5700.

'Within Our Gates' was produced at a time when the mainstream Hollywood film industry was shut off to Black Americans.

Micheaux (at left, in a formal portrait) was able to self-produce 'Within Our Gates' on a shoestring budget and outside the studio system.

'Within Our Gates' portrays the contemporary racial situation in the U.S. during the early 20th century—the years of Jim Crow, the revival of the Ku Klux Klan, and the Great Migration of Blacks to cities of the North and Midwest.

At the time, it was part of an emerging genre known as "race films"—pictures intended for segregated Black-only movie theaters that existed primarily in the U.S. south from the 1920s until after World War II.

The film portrays racial violence under white supremacy. It was produced, written and directed by Micheaux.

'Within Our Gates' stirred up considerable controversy during its original release because it contained a scene in which a Black man is lynched by a white mob.

At first the film, which eventually had its premiere in Chicago, was rejected by the Chicago Board of Movie Censors who were afraid the movie could possibly inspire a race riot. However, a second screening of the film by the press, Chicago politicians, and prominent members of the Black community convinced the Censors to grant the film a permit since it addressed horrendous conditions that needed reform.

Not everyone agreed with this assessment, however, and some of the most vigorous protests against the film came from Black activists.

Not surprisingly, white theatre owners in the south who catered to Black patronage were also offended by 'Within Our Gates' and refused to book it. One theatre owner in Shreveport, La., admitted "it was a very dangerous picture to show in the south" and his comment was typical for the region.

Micheaux, no stranger to controversy, refused to compromise his material despite being locked out of numerous distribution channels and went on to tackle other unpopular but equally topical problems in films like 'God's Stepchildren' (1938), in which a light-skinned African-American tries to pass for Caucasian, and 'Birthright' (1939), the story of a Black Harvard graduate who encounters opposition from both whites and members of his own race.

While Micheaux was well aware that audiences wanted to be entertained, he also felt it was his duty to confront challenging issues that would, in his words, "leave an impression" on audiences.

Michaeux died in 1951 at age 67, having independently produced a total of 44 films and earned a reputation as the most successful African-American filmmaker of the first half of the 20th century.

For many years, 'Within Our Gates' was regarded as a lost film. However, a single copy turned up in Spain in the 1970s. The version to be screened at the Somerville Theatre descends from this single surviving copy.

The precursor to Black History Month was Black History Week, established in 1926 to coincide with the birthday of Abraham Lincoln on Feb. 12 and Frederick Douglass on Feb. 14. Primary emphasis was placed on encouraging the coordinated teaching of the history of American Blacks in the nation's public schools.

In 1976, the expansion to Black History Month was officially recognized by the U.S. government. At the time, President Gerald Ford urged Americans to "seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history."

Following 'Within Our Gates,' the 'Silents, Please!' schedule features a broad range of titles, from well-known classics to obscure films rarely seen since their release, which in some cases was more than a century ago.

Several programs are double bills on a common theme, such as a July program saluting 'Canada Day' with two films set in the Canadian West. All films in the series will be shown using 35mm prints, with most on loan from the U.S. Library of Congress.

A roster of upcoming films includes:

• Sunday, March 5, 2023, 2 p.m.: 'Annie Laurie' (1927) starring Lillian Gish and 'Cinderella' (1914). Celebrate Women's History Month with a double feature of two films featuring leading ladies of early Hollywood. 'Annie Laurie' (1927), a rarely-screened MGM epic about warring Scottish clans, features silent-era megastar Lillian Gish as leading lady while legions of men in kilts do battle. Plus, an early adaptation of 'Cinderella' (1914) starring film industry pioneer Mary Pickford.

• Sunday, May 7, 2023, 2 p.m.: Buster Keaton 'Boats and Trains' Double Feature! Two Keaton classics in which Buster creates large-scale comedy with big machines. In 'Steamboat Bill, Jr.' (1928), Buster plays the effete college-educated son of a rough-hewn riverboat captain who must help his father fight a domineering businessman—who just happens to be the father of Buster's girlfriend. In 'The General' (1926), Buster's Civil War-era masterpiece tells the story of a Confederate railroad engineer whose train is hijacked by Northern spies.

• Sunday, July 9, 2023, 2 p.m.: Salute to Canada Double Feature! To mark "Canada Day" (July 1), we salute our neighbors with a double helping of vintage cinema set north of the border. In 'Mantrap' (1926), silent-era "It" girl Clara Bow stars in a battle-of-the-sexes comedy about a big city divorce lawyer hoping to get away from it all at a Canadian wilderness retreat. 'The Canadian' (1926) stars Thomas Meighan in the tale of a pioneering couple homesteading in Alberta, where they battle bad weather and financial woes.

• Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023, 2 p.m.: 'The Fire Brigade' (1926). MGM’s blockbuster production stars Charles Ray as the youngest in a long line of fearless Irish American firefighters. Things get complicated when he falls in love with the daughter (May McEvoy) of a crooked building contractor. Spectacular fire sequences with hand-colored effects included in this recent Library of Congress restoration.

• Sunday, Nov. 12, 2023, 2 p.m.: 'The Big Parade' (1925) starring John Gilbert, Renée Adoree. We salute Veterans Day with this sweeping saga about U.S. doughboys signing up and shipping off to France in 1917, where they face experiences that will change their lives forever—if they return. MGM blockbuster directed by King Vidor; one of the biggest box office triumphs of the silent era.

'Within Our Gates' (1920), a silent drama directed by Oscar Micheaux, will be shown in 35mm with live music on Sunday, Feb. 5 at 2 p.m. at the Somerville Theatre, 55 Davis Square, Somerville, Mass.  Tickets $16; seniors/children $12. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.somervilletheatre.com or call the box office at (617) 625-5700.

Rare all-Black drama, 'The Flying Ace' (1926), tonight at the Regent Theatre in Arlington, Mass.

A not-very-subtle promotional poster for the all-Black drama 'The Flying Ace' (1926).

In honor of Black History Month, tonight (Friday, Feb. 18) the Regent Theater of Arlington, Mass. is screening 'The Flying Ace' (1926), with live music by me. 

It's a rare surviving example of what some scholars call "Race Cinema," meaning movies made for segregated theaters that were part of the American movie landscape in the first half of the 20th century.

'The Flying Ace,' a rare surviving example of this type of film, was recently added to the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being either "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

I think 'The Flying Ace,' produced by Norman Studios of Jacksonville, Fla., applies to the first two distinctions: cultural and historic. It's a vivid reminder of racism that permeated everyday life in its era—so much so that people set up separate theaters for people of different skin color!

In terms of being "aesthetically significant"—well, you can make up your own mind on that. But I believe that any film from a century ago, no matter what its level of aesthetic achievement, has a lot to say to us today, if only for just the passing of time. 

And let's be clear about one thing. By screening 'The Flying Ace,' neither I nor the Regent Theatre are celebrating the fact that for many decades, movie theaters in the United States were segregated by race. 

No. 'The Flying Ace' is a concrete artifact of a shameful legacy of racism that pervaded society at the time, and with which we still grapple today.  

But by acknowledging that it once existed, and preserving this artifact from the era (and I believe screening vintage film before the public is part of preservation), we can be better equipped to confront racism in our own time.

So hope to see you at the Regent tonight at 7:30 p.m. Much more info in the press release below.

*      *      *

Kathryn Boyd and Laurence Criner star in 'The Flying Ace' (1926).

MONDAY, FEB. 14, 2022 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

Honoring Black History Month

Regent Theatre to screen rare vintage crime melodrama with all-Black cast

'The Flying Ace' (1926), recently added to U.S. National Film Registry, to be shown with live music on Friday, Feb. 18

ARLINGTON, Mass. — Can discrimination exist in an America where everyone is Black?

That's among the questions posted by 'The Flying Ace' (1926), a rare surviving example of so-called "race" movies produced early in the 20th century for Black audiences in segregated cinemas.

'The Flying Ace,' recently named to the U.S. National Film Registry, will be screened in honor of Black History Month on Friday, Feb. 18 at 7:30 p.m. at the Regent Theatre, 7 Medford St., Arlington, Mass.

General admission is $15 per person. Tickets available at the door or online at www.regenttheatre.com.

The screening will feature live music by Jeff Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based silent film accompanist.

'The Flying Ace' was produced by Norman Studios in Jacksonville, Fla., using professionals such as Laurence Criner, a veteran of Harlem’s prestigious all-black theater troupe the Lafayette Players, but also many non-professionals for minor roles.

In 'The Flying Ace,' Criner plays Capt. Billy Stokes, a World War I fighter pilot known as "The Flying Ace" because of his downing of seven enemy aircraft in France.

Returning home to resume his former job as a railroad detective, he's assigned to locate a stationmaster who's gone missing along with the $25,000 company payroll.

While investigating, Stokes begins romancing the stationmaster's daughter Ruth (Kathryn Boyd), causing a rivalry with another suitor which leads to a break in the case.

With Ruth's safety now at risk, Stokes' dogged pursuit of the suspects leads to climax highlighted by a dramatic airborne chase which calls upon his piloting prowess.

Films such as 'The Flying Ace' were shown specifically to African-American audiences in areas of the U.S. where theaters were segregated.

Norman Studios was among the nation's top film production companies making so-called "race" films for this market from the 1920s to the 1940s.

Featuring all-Black casts in stories meant to inspire and uplift, such films were popular with African-American audiences at the time. In Norman Studios films, the stories often took place in a world without the racial barriers that existed at the time.

In 'The Flying Ace,' Capt. Stokes is a pilot returning home from serving honorably in World War I—but Blacks were not allowed to fly aircraft in the U.S. military until 1940.

In an essay for the San Francisco Silent Film Festival, critic Megan Pugh wrote that Capt. Billy Stokes "...is a model for the ideals of racial uplift, fulfilling aspirations that Black Americans were not yet allowed to achieve."

"At a time when Hollywood employed white actors in blackface to play shuffling servants and mammies, the Norman Film Manufacturing Company...hired all-black casts to play dignified roles."

"Instead of tackling discrimination head-on in his films, Norman created a kind of segregated dream world where whites—and consequently, racism—didn’t even exist," Pugh wrote.

"While it’s impossible to measure the influence The Flying Ace had on its viewers, it is reasonable to assume that audiences found its lead character inspirational. Billy Stokes was a black male hero who would have never made it onscreen in a Hollywood movie of the time," Pugh wrote.

Filmed in the Arlington area of Jacksonville, Fla., 'The Flying Ace' is a unique aviation melodrama in that no airplanes actually leave the ground. The mid-air scenes were filmed in a studio in front of neutral backdrops.

A monochrome lobby card for 'The Flying Ace' (1926).

Although 'The Flying Ace' may appear crudely made to modern audiences, in 2021 the movie was named to the U.S. National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

Of films produced for Black-only audiences in segregated theaters, very few survive. 'The Flying Ace' is unusual in that it survives complete, and in pristine condition. The film was included in 'Pioneers of African American Cinema," a DVD collection released in 2016 by Kino-Lorber.

A live musical score for 'The Flying Ace' will be created by accompanist Jeff Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based performer who specializes in music for silent film presentations.

Rapsis said the Regent Theatre screening is a rare chance to see the film as it was meant to be experienced—on the big screen, with live music, and with an audience.

'The Flying Ace' (1926), a silent crime melodrama with an all-Black cast, will be shown in honor of Black History Month on Friday, Feb. 18 at 7:30 p.m. at the Regent Theatre, 7 Medford St., Arlington, Mass.

General admission is $15 per person. Tickets available at the door or online at www.regenttheatre.com. For more information, call the theater at (781) 646-4849.

Thursday, 2/11: Micheaux's 'Within Our Gates' in Plymouth to celebrate Black History Month

Pioneer filmmaker Oscar Micheaux at the time he made 'Within Our Gates.'

It's been a busy time in the film accompaniment biz! Recent gigs range from a pot luck supper at the Campton (N.H.) Historical Society this weekend to a screening last night at the Harvard Film Archive.

But through it all, I've been looking forward to an unusual and special program we've planned for tomorrow night.

On Thursday, Feb. 11, I'll be accompanying Oscar Micheaux's silent drama 'Within Our Gates' (1920). It's the earliest surviving work by an African-American filmmaker, and it's my privilege to be creating live music for this landmark movie.

The screening is part of our regular monthly series of silent film screenings with live music at the Flying Monkey Moviehouse and Performance Center, 39 South Main St. in Plymouth, N.H.

This program is designed to celebrate Black History Month. It grew out of discussions that took place last month when we ran D.W. Griffith's monumental (and monumentally racist) epic 'The Birth of a Nation' (1915) as a way to mark Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

I suppose you could say that not everyone agreed with my decision to link 'The Birth of a Nation' with MLK. Although our intention was to show the racism and prejudice that Dr. King (and so many others) had to overcome, some people felt strongly that there were better ways to accomplish this goal.

I could see their point, although we still went forward with our planned screening of 'Birth.'

But I'm so pleased to say that as an outgrowth of these discussions, we could put together a silent film program that everyone agrees is appropriate for Black History Month.

It was a great opportunity to revisit the issue of racism (as it pertains to silent film) in a whole different way.

Many thanks to theater owner Alex Ray for facilitating this program, and for all the people whose thoughts and ideas contributed to it coming together so quickly.

I've never done music for 'Within Our Gates' before, and I've learned a lot about Micheaux and the experience of Black filmmakers (and filmgoers) in the early days of cinema.

Showtime is 6:30 p.m., and the program includes speakers who are much better equipped than I am to discuss the film and talk a little bit about the African-American experience in America.

Highlights include remarks from Michael Fischler, an author who will recount his experience of teaching at an all-black segregated high school in Florida on the day Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968.

We'll also hear from Prof. Metasebia (Metty) Woldemariam, a faculty member at Plymouth State University who will discuss Micheaux's career and put 'Within Our Gates' in context.

Admission is $10 per person. Hope to see you there! For more information, please check out the press release below. Thanks!

* * *

A scene from Oscar Micheaux's silent drama 'Within Our Gates' (1920).

THURSDAY, JAN. 28, 2016 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

Black History Month program to feature earliest surviving film by African-American director

Oscar Micheaux's pioneering drama 'Within Our Gates' to screen with live music at Flying Monkey on Thursday, Feb. 11

PLYMOUTH, N.H.—A movie regarded as the earliest surviving feature film directed by an African-American will be the centerpiece of a salute to Black History Month at the Flying Monkey Moviehouse and Performance Center.

The film, Oscar Micheaux's 'Within Our Gates' (1920), will be shown as part of a special program on Thursday, Feb. 11 at 6:30 p.m.

Live music for the silent drama will be provided by Jeff Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based silent film musician who frequently accompanies programs at the Flying Monkey.

Admission to the program, which is part of the Flying Monkey's monthly silent film series, is $10 per person.

The program also will include remarks by speakers about the film, the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and the Black experience in America.

Featured will be a presentation by Michael Fischler, an author and educator who will reflect on the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the impact of his assassination in 1968.

On the day following King's Death in 1968, Fischler was a Social Studies and English teacher in an all-Black middle school in the Miami, Fla. area. Seizing the moment, Fischler redirected his planned learning experiences for the day to facilitate a powerful lesson in honor of MLK Jr.

Fischler published recollections of the event, as well as excerpts from a letter he composed to Coretta Scott King, widow of the slain Civil Rights leader. The letter, published in "Annual Editions in Multicultural Education," retells the lesson and the influences on the author's life.

Also on the program: An overview of Micheaux's career and the minority movie-going experience by Metasebia Woldemariam, PhD, Associate Professor in the Department of Communication and Media Studies, Plymouth State University.

The Flying Monkey had originally scheduled a Valentine's Day program for its February silent film screening, but recently opted to change the focus to a program honoring Black History Month.

"We felt this was an appropriate way to pay tribute to an important part of America's multi-cultural community," said Alex Ray, the Flying Monkey's owner.

"Showing 'Within Our Gates' for Black History Month is an excellent way for today's audiences to understand how pervasive racism was at the time, and perhaps get us to think how much work we still need to do to achieve Dr. King's vision," Ray said.

"We're especially glad to work with people in the community, including members of the Black Student Union at Plymouth State University, who were among those who suggested this program," Ray said.

Another scene from Oscar Micheaux's silent drama 'Within Our Gates' (1920).

'Within Our Gates' was produced at a time when the mainstream Hollywood film industry was shut off to Black Americans.

Micheaux, however, was able to self-produce 'Within Our Gates' on a shoestring budget and outside the studio system.

'Within Our Gates' portrays the contemporary racial situation in the U.S. during the early 20th century—the years of Jim Crow, the revival of the Ku Klux Klan, and the Great Migration of Blacks to cities of the North and Midwest. It was part of a genre called race films.

The plot features an African-American woman who goes North in an effort to raise money for a rural school in the Deep South for poor Black children. Her romance with a Black doctor eventually leads to revelations about her family's past and her own ancestry. The film portrays racial violence under white supremacy. It was produced, written and directed by Micheaux.

'Within Our Gates' stirred up considerable controversy during its original release because it contained a scene in which a black man is lynched by a white mob.

At first the film, which eventually had its premiere in Chicago, was rejected by the Chicago Board of Movie Censors who were afraid the movie could possibly inspire a race riot. However, a second screening of the film by the press, Chicago politicians, and prominent members of the black community convinced the Censors to grant the film a permit since it addressed horrendous conditions that needed reform.

Not everyone agreed with this assessment, however, and some of the most vigorous protestors against the film were black activists.

Not surprisingly, white theatre owners in the south who catered to black patronage were also offended by 'Within Our Gates' and refused to book it. One theatre owner in Shreveport, La., admitted "it was a very dangerous picture to show in the south" and his comment was typical for the region.

Micheaux, no stranger to controversy, refused to compromise his material despite being locked out of numerous distribution channels and went on to tackle other unpopular but equally topical problems in films like 'God's Stepchildren' (1938), in which a light-skinned African-American tries to pass for Caucasian, and B'irthright' (1939), the story of a black Harvard graduate who encounters opposition from both whites and members of his own race.

While Micheaux was well aware that audiences wanted to be entertained, he also felt it was his duty to confront challenging issues that would, in his words, "leave an impression" on audiences.

Michaeux died in 1951 at age 67, having independently produced a total of 44 films and earned a reputation as the most successful African-American filmmaker of the first half of the 20th century.

for many years, 'Within Our Gates' was regarded as a lost film. However, a single copy turned up in Spain in the 1970s. The version to be screened at the Flying Monkey descends from this single surviving copy.

The precursor to Black History Month was Black History Week, established in 1926 to coincide with the birthday of Abraham Lincoln on Feb. 12 and Frederick Douglass on Feb. 14. Primary emphasis was placed on encouraging the coordinated teaching of the history of American blacks in the nation's public schools.

In 1976, the expansion to Black History Month was officially recognized by the U.S. government. At the time, President Gerald Ford urged Americans to "seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history."

All movies in Flying Monkey's silent film series are rarely screened in a way that allows them to be seen at their best. To revive them, organizers aim to show the films as they were intended—in top quality restored prints, on a large screen, with live music, and with an audience.

‘Within Our Gates’ (1920) will be shown with live music on Thursday, Feb. 11, at 6:30 p.m. at the Flying Monkey Moviehouse and Performance Center, 39 South Main St., Plymouth, N.H. The film is part of a program to salute Black History Month and honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Admission is $10 per person. For more info, call the box office at 603-536-2551 or visit www.flyingmonkeynh.com. For more info on the music, visit www.jeffrapsis.com.