Charles W. Chesnutt to Oscar Micheaux, 27 January 1921
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January 27, 1921.
The Micheaux Film Corporation,1
358 South Dearborn Street, 115 W 135th NYC
Chicago, Illinois.
Attention Mr. Oscar Micheaux.
Dear Mr. Micheaux:-
Since receiving your letter of January 18th, I have written my publishers, Houghton Mifflin Company, 4 Park Street, Boston, who own the copyright and all other rights of reproduction, translation, etc., in "The House Behind the Cedars", and of course any arrangement I make with you will have to be subject to their approval.2 They think your offer of $500.00 for the motion picture rights is small in comparison with prices offered by other firms, but at the same time they realize that the market for such a film is somewhat restricted, and are willing to leave that matter to me. As to the terms of payment, they say that your concern is not listed in the motion picture directory, and they have not been able to find out anything about your financial standing, and then go on to say:
"As the price is so low, I think you could advantageously insist upon the full payment of the $500 on the signing of the contract. This would make it a cash transaction, and would eliminate any possibility of your assigning your rights and never receiving payment for them. If Mr. Micheaux is so situated finan-
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cially that this proposition would be impossible, I would suggest your giving him an option on the motion picture rights on the payment of say $100, such option extending to June 15, or the actual date of release, if the story is filmed before that time, and then the $400 payment on or before March 15, when the actual contract can be signed and the full motion picture rights granted Mr. Micheaux. This, I feel, would give you better protection than under the proposition as outlined by Mr. Micheaux.
"A rearrangement of the story to adapt it for motion picture use, would be essential, and most stories when screened have but slight resemblance to the original. This, if properly handled, should not be detrimental. On the other hand, there is always some advertising value to be gained from the screen presentation of the story, and it is important that in your contract it be stipulated that in advertising, and in the film itself, the statement be always made that the film is based on "The House Behind the Cedars" by Charles W. Chesnutt, by special arrangement with the publishers, Houghton Mifflin Company.""3
I agree with them as to the rearrangement of the story and quite appreciate what you say about it at considerable length in your letter of January 18th, and I have no doubt that you will
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make it an interesting and credible picture.4 That you can do so I am well aware, from the specimen of your work that I saw in Cleveland several months ago, although I have not yet received the copy of the scenario for your next production which you suggested in your letter that you sent me.5
Please let me know what you think of Houghton Mifflin Company's proposition.6 You ought to have this story on your list, because it is the most popular of my novels, which constitute a small body of literature which is in a way unique in its treatment of race questions.
Yours very truly,Correspondent: 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.
1. 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]
2. The House Behind the Cedars (Houghton Mifflin, 1900) was Chesnutt's first published novel. House evolved over more than a decade from a short story, "Rena Walden," first drafted in the late 1880s. It was the only novel by Chesnutt to be serialized, once in 1900-1901 in the monthly Self Culture and again in 1921-1922 in the Black weekly Chicago Defender. House was also his only novel to be adapted to film (1924 and 1932). [back]
3. Chesnutt is quoting directly from the January 24, 1921, letter from William Pratt at Houghton Mifflin. [back]
4. The lost 1924 silent film version of The House Behind the Cedars, produced by the Micheaux Film Corporation with a script by Oscar Micheaux (1884–1951), was very loosely based on Chesnutt's novel. It was filmed in 1923 in Roanoke, Virginia, and New York City, starring the Black actors Shingzie Howard (1902–1992) as Rena, Lawrence Chenault (1877–1943) as her White suitor, and Douglass Griffin as Frank Fowler. It premiered at Philadelphia’s Royal Theater in December 1924 and was shown in the spring of 1925 in Black movie theaters nationwide. Chesnutt saw it, but it is not known when. Micheaux later remade the film with sound under the title Veiled Aristocrats (1932) without notifying Chesnutt. [back]
5. By January 1921, four Micheaux films had been released: The Homesteader (1919), Within Our Gates (released February 1920), The Brute (released August 1920), and The Symbol of the Unconquered (released December 1920). Chesnutt is likely either referring to The Brute (shown in September 1920 in Cleveland at the Engineer's Auditorium, sponsored by the Cleveland Association of Colored Men) or Within Our Gates (shown in October at the East Tech High School Auditorium, sponsored by the NAACP). [back]
6. Between January and September 1921, Oscar Micheaux negotiated with Chesnutt to pay $500 in five installments for the film rights to Chesnutt's novel The House Behind the Cedars. This was a low sum for movie rights to a novel, but Chesnutt likely took into account that Black-produced films had low budgets. Ultimately, 25% (rather than the originally suggested 33%) of the money received went to Chesnutt's publisher, Houghton Mifflin Company. Several of the payments were delayed, and Chesnutt never received the final installment. Micheaux's film adaptation was released in December 1924. [back]
