The Scar of Shame

Monday February 6, 7:00pm The Paramount Theater

In a contemporary study of film history The Scar of Shame (1927) has great value as an early surviving example of the "Race Movie" genre. These were motion pictures produced from the silent era through the nineteen-forties using black actors for a black audience in a racially segregated market. Race movies were screened in the schools and churches of small towns as well as theaters in larger cities. The films of Oscar Micheaux were of particular significance in the early days of the genre. "The Scar of Shame" was one of four films produced by The Colored Film Players Corporation of Philadelphia. Harry Henderson (Alvin Hillyard) is a well-educated musician with high aspirations. In an act of altruism he marries Louise Howard (Lucia Lynn Moses) to save her from her abusive Stepfather but is ashamed to take her home to his Mother because she not "in our set". Essentially a well executed melodrama, "The Scar of Shame " is noteworthy for its high production values which indicate a larger than typical budget, as well as elements of colorism and classism.

I enjoyed this race movie intended for black audiences, even though I am not African-American or any racial minority. The forward states its point of view that a poor environment for a child will inevitably bring on a sense of shame, and then proceeds to unfold its story of an educated man in the field of music marrying a lower class woman to protect her from her stepfather, who beats her. Problems arise, however, when he won't take her to see his mother, who doesn't know he got married, and who he knows will be disappointed he did not marry a girl from his own class. My only problem with the movie was in the casting of the very refined Lucia Lynn Moses as the woman, so I could not fathom why her husband, well played by Harry Henderson, would not want his mother to meet her. It's an old-fashioned movie with some old-fashioned ideas, but has a few twists and wound up producing a few tears in my eyes. Watch it with some hankies close by if you are a softy for such movies, like me.

An all black silent film made exclusively for black audiences in the 1920s (back then theatres were segregated). Poor but beautiful Louise Howard (Lucia Lynn Moses) is beaten by her stepfather (William E Pettus) but dreams of a better life. She meets good honest Alvin Hillyard (Harry Henderson) and he falls in love with her. But her stepfather and evil Eddie Blake (Norman Johnson) aren't going to let her go without a fight.

Interesting from a historical standpoint and not too bad as a drama either. It does get overly melodramatic with a lot of eye-rolling speeches and gets more than a little ridiculous during it's last half hour but I was never bored. The acting is actually pretty good and it moves quickly. Also the cards telling us what's going on have some interesting designs. When Blake is introduced there's a wolf shown on the title card! So, a pretty good movie. Also interesting to see how blacks were shown and treated back then. A 7.

Scar of Shame, The (1927)

*** (out of 4)

Historically important race film (black cast for black crowds) is one of the best I've seen from this genre of films. A rich concert pianist (Harry Henderson) marries an abused poor girl (Lucia Lyn Moses) so that she can escape her abusive stepfather but this leads to tragedy as the girl doesn't know any life other than the ghetto. Sadly a lot of these silent race films are now lost but from the few I've seen I can see why they were controversial back when they were originally released. Like Within Our Gates, this film spends a lot of time bashing black people for their living conditions, alcohol and the "shame" of their race, which is interesting to see since this film was meant for a black crowd. I guess the producers knew black folks would be seeing these films so they wanted to push some sort of moral issue on them. What I also find interesting and somewhat hypocritical is the fact that these race films always put light skinned black people in the lead roles. In fact, if you just looked at the actors in this movie you'd never guess they were black and in several scenes it appears that the actors are wearing make up to make themselves look lighter. I've read a couple books by race experts and they said this was due to the producers hoping these films could sneak into white theaters (they never did).

As for the film itself, it's pretty much a remake of Griffith's Broken Blossoms bit it's still very powerful and memorable. The best thing about the movie are the performances, which match any of the actors appearing in Hollywood films at the time. The real highlight is the work of Lucia Lynn Moses, who while filming this was also working at The Cotton Club. She's an incredibly beautiful woman who uses those looks to bring out a certain sadness, which would touch anyone. She's does a remarkable job here and it's a damn shame that this was her only film. The film's final act is pretty predictable and far fetched but it still works pretty well. At times the film pushes its moral lessons a tad bit too strongly but this is still an important film that more people need to see.

Since it's once again Black History Month, I thought I'd once again review various movies made by people of color for the occasion. This production of the Colored Players Film Corporation (which was co-founded by one African-American, Sherman H. Dudley, a former stage performer) was quite compelling as a cautionary drama though the melodramatic trappings do permeate. Still, there were quite some good performances by the cast of which one of them, a Lucia Lynn Moses, was quite alluring in going from a victimized girl to one trying to be more seductive. It's interesting finding out on this site she filmed this in Philadelphia while also commuting to New York as a chorus girl at the Cotton Club. I don't feel like revealing much else so on that note, I recommend The Scar of Shame.