Oscar Micheaux was born January 2, 1884 near Metropolis,
Illinois, the son of freed slaves. He was one of 11 children —
five boys and six girls. He worked in Chicago as a shoe-shine boy,
and porter on a Pullman car before the family moved west to farm and
homestead in South Dakota.
In 1904, he bought a homestead in South Dakota where
the frontier environment gave him a generous amount of material for
several of his most important books and movies. Micheaux's first creative
work was the 1913 novel, The Conquest: The Story of a Negro Pioneer.
He then decided that his books would be even better as movies, but
blacks were not welcome in the film industry.
Micheaux formed his own publishing company, The Micheaux
Book and Film Company, and sold copies of the books door-to-door.
From his second novel, he made into his first film, He wrote, produced
and directed The Homesteader which was released in 1919.
Micheaux went on to write, produce, and direct 43
movies in his life — 27 silent films and 16 sound features.
Micheaux did it all on a shoestring - hired the actors, directed the
movies, often taking only one “take” of a scene. He personally
transported prints from town to town. He traveled to some 700 segregated
black theaters across America, sometimes for a single showing, and
edited his movies on the road. The cost cutting was necessary but
also obvious in the quality of his movies. In some of his early sound
material, you can sometimes hear him barking directions on the film.
Micheaux created the Micheaux Film Corp. to handle
the distribution of his films.
To finance his work, Micheaux visited black theaters
prior to filming the movies, and showed the theater owners photographs
of the actors. The theaters would then pay Micheaux in advance, in
exchange for first-run rights, and he would produce the movies and
bring them back to those theaters. Micheaux even distributed his films
internationally. Micheaux was described by one writer as a “crafty
buccaneer” who tirelessly promoted his work.
Lorenzo Tucker, a star in Micheaux's movies, once
said, “Why he was so impressive and so charming that he could
talk the shirt off your back.” One critic wrote that when Micheaux
entered a room it was as if “he were God about to deliver a
sermon".
Micheaux was not afraid to tackle controversial subjects.
His films dealt with topics such as lynching, white-on-black crime,
corrupt preachers, and light/dark intra-racial discrimination. Micheaux's
film, Within our Gates (1920) was a black response to the racist film,
Birth of a Nation (1915).
Micheaux boasted “an all star colored cast”
and famous black singer and actor Paul Robeson made his film debut
in the Micheaux movie Body and Soul (1924). Robeson was a law school
graduate and a star of the stage, who popularized the song, Ol' Man
River in the play, Showboat. Also, Robert Earl Jones, the father of
modern day actor James Earl Jones (the voice of Darth Vader in the
Star Wars trilogy) starred in Micheaux films. Actor Lorenzo Tucker
was billed by Micheaux as “the black Valentino”; Bee Freeman
as “the sepia Mae West”; Slick Chester as the “Colored
Cagney”; and Ethel Moses as “The Negro Harlow.”
Also, Oscar Polk, who played Scarlett O'Hara's servant in Gone with
the Wind, appeared in Micheaux's film, The Underworld (1947).
Many of Micheaux's films were so-called “exploitational”
films, and Micheaux was not afraid to explore sexual topics in his
movies. However, Micheaux's most influential films dealt with serious
racial topics.
In his later years, Micheaux returned to his writing.
No other book self-published has equaled, "Wingate."
It was published by his own firm, The Book Supply Company located
at his home address on Morningside Avenue in New York.
His first book success was in 1943 with his novel
"Wind From Nowhere", but "Wingate", published
in 1945, was his most successful.
Even though the literary critics were never kind
to Micheaux's writing efforts, he was nevertheless a successful author.
"Wingate" sold over 53,000 copies; "Wind" about
30,000; "Stanfield" around 25,000; and "Masquerade"
a little less than 15,000.
If a book sells over 25,000, it is called a best
seller, and considered a success. Judged by that standard, even if
the late Mr. Micheaux had to publish his own books, distribute them,
and promote them himself, he was nevertheless a successful author,
and also a successful businessman.
Micheaux's last film, The Betrayal, was released
in 1948. The three-hour film opened in white theaters and flopped
at the box office. However, the movie was a hit at black theaters.
Micheaux died of a heart attack in 1951 at the age
of 67 while on a trip to the South to promote his work. Micheaux was
married twice: first to Orlean E. McCracken, and then to Alice Russell,
an actress who appeared in Micheaux's films. Micheaux had no children.
Ultimately, Oscar Micheaux is not a black American
hero, but simply an American hero. He successfully pursued his impossible
dreams against steep odds. Micheaux, the pioneer, writer, filmmaker
and salesman was an American original.
Here is a list of his books
and videos
