Charles W. Chesnutt to Robert Levy, 7 February 1921
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February 7, 1921.
Mr. Robert Levy,
Care Reol Productions Corporation,1
126-130 West 46th Street,
New York City.
Dear Sir:-
I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter of February 3rd, which was addressed to me as Clerk of the Municipal Court, which I am not, but the address was corrected at the post office and I received it.
As you say in your letter "The Marrow of Tradition"2 is at present out of print due to the high cost of paper during the war, though I trust it will be revived ere long.3 As I have only a few copies, I do not wish to sell any of them, but I am sending you today by parcel post one of my copies which I shall be very glad to have you read and consider as material for a motion picture, with the understanding that if you do not find it available you will return me the book.
I am in negotiations at the present moment with the Micheaux Film Company of Chicago for another one of my stories for motion picture purposes.4 They made me a proposition which as revised by me they accepted, although the contract has not yet been signed.5
I am of course glad that there is demand for my stories for moving picture purposes and shall be glad to consider any propostion you may make me in respect to this one. I have other stories published and unpublished which would make excellent films; indeed the Micheaux people speak of wanting me to write several others for them.6 I imagine there is no difficulty about my writing for any one who wants my services, but I should of course consider my own interests, and feel more inclined to deal with the concern which made me the best offer.
Awaiting further advices from you, I am Yours very truly,Correspondent: 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. 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]
3. In a February 18, 1921, letter to William B. Pratt, Chesnutt noted that he had been advised by Houghton Mifflin director Ferris Greenslet (1875–1959) that a reprint of The Marrow of Tradition had been put on hold because of the high price of paper that resulted from shortages during the First World War. Letters from Greenslet regarding the reprint have not been identified. [back]
4. 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]
5. 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]
6. See Oscar Micheaux's January 29, 1921, letter to Chesnutt. [back]
