George C. Anderson to Charles W. Chesnutt, 27 July 1920
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Oscar Micheaux's
Within Our Gates
A Story of the Negro
Micheax Book & Film Company
(INCORPORATED)
SUITE 807 - 808, 538 S. DEARBORN ST.
CHICAGO
ALSO PRODUCER OF
THE GREAT SUCCESS
"THE HOMESTEADER"1
July 27, 1920;
Mr. Chas. W. Chestnut,
Cleveland, Ohio.
Dear Sir:
It is the purpose of the Micheaux Film Corporation2 to film stories by famous colored authors in the near future whenever the right can be secured to use such stories.
You have written several stories which we would like very much to use, and I am writing this to you for the purpose of arranging an interview with you to discuss terms, etc.
Mr. Oscar Michaeux3 will be passing through your city within the next three weeks en route to New York and we would like to have him stop over in your city to interview you personally if it will be agreeable to you.
Will you please inform us by return mail if such an interview may be had?
Thanking you in dvance, I am,
Yours sincerely, Geo. C. Anderson Geo. C. Anderson, Assistant Manager.Correspondent: George C. Anderson worked as a regional agent and assistant manager for the Micheaux Film Corporation out of their Chicago office, and was the initial contact for Chesnutt's involvement with the Micheaux brothers.
1. The letterhead of this initial letter from the Micheaux Film Corporation to Chesnutt still bears the original company name, and advertises its only two movies thus far released: The Homesteader (February 1919), based on the 1917 novel of the same title by Oscar Micheaux (1884–1951), and Within Our Gates (January 1920), Micheaux's answer to D. W. Griffith's racist 1915 film The Birth of a Nation. [back]
2. The Micheaux Film Corporation began in 1919 as the Micheaux Book and Film Company. Founded by Black novelist, film director, and film producer Oscar Micheaux (1884–1951), it was based in Chicago, with offices in New York City and Roanoke, Virginia, and became the most successful Black-owned film company of the 20th century. In the 1920s and '30s, Micheaux produced at least three dozen films featuring Black actors and themes he believed to be of particular interest to Black audiences, three of them based loosely on Chesnutt's work. In 1928, the company voluntarily filed for bankruptcy, reorganized, and survived until 1940. Most of the films are lost. [back]
3. Oscar Micheaux (1884–1951) was a Black American writer and film director known for his films about race and racism. Originally from Illinois, he began his career as a novelist and later founded the Micheaux Film and Book Company (ultimately renamed Micheaux Film Corporation) in 1919. He first adapted his early novel The Homesteader to film, and directed and produced over three dozen films in the 1920s and 30s, typically writing the scripts as well as overseeing the low-budget production and distribution of the films. Several of his films were loosely based on the works of Black authors, including Chesnutt. After the demise of his company in 1940, Micheaux founded a publishing business and wrote several more novels. [back]
