Robert Levy to Charles W. Chesnutt, 6 April 1921
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Telephone BRYANT 5600
Cable Address "REOL"
REOL PRODUCTIONS CORPORATION1
126–130 WEST 46TH STREET
NEW YORK CITY
April sixth 19202
Mr. Chas W. Chesnutt,
1106 Williamson Bldg.,
Cleveland, Ohio.
Dear Mr. Chesnutt,
I was very much disappointed at not having had the opportunity to explain to you, up to this time, why you had not heard from me relative the motion picture rights of THE MARROW OF TRADITION,3 but several things have arisen since I have seen you last, which have made it impossible for me to communicate with you before this. I assure you that it was not from any lack of courtesy or indifference which had delayed my communicating with you. Something has occurred, over which I had no control whatsoever, and it was awaiting for developments, which has been the cause of my not writing you before.
I expect to be in Cleveland in the very near future and shall call to take this matter up with you, as well as to offer the proper apology which is due you.4
Trusting that you will be patient until then, I am
Sincerely yours, Robert Levy ROBERT LEVY. RL/enCorrespondent: Robert Levy (1888–1959) was a producer and director in Black theater and film in the 1920s. He was the manager of the Lafayette Theater in Harlem from 1916 until 1919, and founded REOL Productions, a film company dedicated to making films for Black audiences. A White Jewish immigrant from Britain, he was at times criticized for not making space for Black leadership in his theater and films.
1. REOL Productions was a film company founded by Robert Levy (1888–1959). Like the Micheaux Film Corporation, its direct rival, REOL sought to produce films based on the writings of Black writers and aimed at Black audiences. The company was incorporated in May of 1920 and released twelve silent films in 1921 and 1922, before being dissolved in 1924. Negotiations over the film rights to Chesnutt's The Marrow of Tradition did not ultimately result in a contract. [back]
2. This letter was very likely misdated. REOL was not incorporated until May 1920, and this letter was most likely a response to Chesnutt's inquiry to Levy about the status of the movie rights discussion on March 12, 1921. [back]
3. The Marrow of Tradition was published by Houghton, Mifflin & Company in October 1901. The novel was a thinly veiled account of the Wilmington Massacre of 1898, a White supremacist coup that overthrew an interracial city government, targeted Black elected officials, killed between sixty and three hundred Black citizens, and terrorized several thousand who fled the city and never returned. [back]
4. Nothing more is known about Levy's possible visit to Cleveland or the reasons why REOL Productions ultimately did not acquire the film rights to The Marrow of Tradition. The six surviving letters, of which this is the last, do not provide any further insight. [back]
