The Brute (1920 film)
The Brute is a 1920 silent race film directed, written, produced and distributed by Oscar Micheaux. No print of the film is known to exist and the production is believed to be a lost film.[2] The original version of the film included a scene where the boxer defeats a white rival, but Micheaux was forced to remove the scene by censors.[3]
The Brute | |
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Newspaper advertisement for the film | |
Directed by | Oscar Micheaux |
Produced by | Oscar Micheaux |
Written by | Oscar Micheaux |
Cinematography | "Whitie" [Note 1] |
Production company | Micheaux Film Corp. |
Distributed by | Micheaux Film Corp. |
Release date | 1920 |
Running time | 7 reels |
Country | United States |
Language | Silent |
Plot
Herbert Lanyon is thought to be dead after a shipwreck, and his fiancée Mildred Carrison is forced by her money-minded Aunt Clara into marriage with "Bull" Magee, a gambler and underworld boss who mistreats Mildred. After Herbert returns, Magee undergoes financial difficulties that he blames on Mildred and Herbert, and seeks revenge. Herbert and a repentant Aunt Clara, however, free Mildred from Magee, and the lovers are able to marry. A subplot involves boxer "Tug" Wilson, who is ordered by his manager Magee to lay down in the seventeenth round of a prizefight at the film's climax. No other information concerning the plot has been discovered.
- —American Film Institute
Cast
- Evelyn Preer – Mildred Carrison
- A. B. DeComathiere – Bull Magee
- Sam Langford – Tug Wilson
- Susie Sutton – Aunt Clara
- Lawrence Chenault – Herbert Lanyon
- Laura Bowman – Mrs. Carrison
- Mattie Edwards – Guest in "The Hole"
- Alice Gorgas – Margaret Pendleton
- Virgil Williams – Referee
- Marty Cutler – Sidney Kirkwood
- Floy Clements – Irene Lanyon[4]
- Louis Schooler – Klondike
- Harry Plater
- E. G. Tatum
- Al Gaines
See also
Notes
- In the records of the George P. Johnson Negro Film Collection, the cameraman was identified only as "Whitie."[1]
References
- "The Brute". American Film Institute.
- “Progressive Silent Film List: The Brute,” SilentEra.com
- “The cutting gaze of Oscar Micheaux,” UWM Leader, February 8, 2006 Archived March 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
- Foster, A.L. (November 22, 1958). "Other Peoples Business: A Proud First". Chicago Defender – via ProQuest.
External links
- The Brute on IMDb
- The Brute at the American Film Institute Catalog
- The Brute at the TCM Movie Database