Oscar Micheaux to Charles W. Chesnutt, 24 March 1921
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MICHEAUX FILM CORPORATION1
PRODUCERS & DISTRIBUTORS OF
HIGH CLASS NEGRO PHOTOPLAYS
538 SOUTH DEARBORN STREET
CHICAGO
FOREIGN DISTRIBUTION BY JOSEPH P. LAMY
NEW YORK LONDON PARIS
OSCAR MICHEAUX, PRES.
W. R. COWAN, VICE PRES.
S. E. MICHEAUX, SECY. & TREAS
March 24th., 1921.
Mr. Charles W. Chesnutt,
1106 Williamson Bldg.,
Cleveland, Ohio.
Dear Sir:
We are in receipt of the contracts,2 which are satisfactory to us and you may expect the check in a week or ten days along with your copy.3 Our delay in closing up this has been due to my time being so greatly consumed in the completion of our forth coming production, "The Gunsaulus Mystery,"4 which will be shown at the Temple Theatre, four days beginning May 2nd., and if you would bear this in mind and take the time to go and see the same, it is a fair demonstration of our ability to produce pictures.5
Assuring you that you may expect to hear from us as set forth above, we are
Very truly, MICHEAUX FILM CORP. Oscar Micheaux CCF.OMCorrespondent: 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. Delays in the signing of the movie-rights contract for The House Behind the Cedars continued from March 1921 throughout the summer (see Swan E. Micheaux to Chesnutt, June 17, 1921, and Chesnutt's reply). The contract was eventually signed in late August or early September. [back]
3. 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]
4. The Gunsaulus Mystery was a Micheaux Film Corporation movie released in the spring of 1921. It was based on the murder trial and lynching of a Jewish factory superintendent, Leo Frank (1884–1915), in which a Black janitor was involved as an accomplice. [back]
5. The Temple Theatre (or Theater) at East 55th and Central Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio, catered to Black audiences. It seated just under 600 people and operated from the late 1910s to around 1945. Micheaux's Gunsaulus Mystery was initially advertised to run there from May 23-27, 1921, but the showings were delayed by a week. See Cleveland Gazette, May 21, 1921: 3; May 28, 1921: 3, and June 4, 1921: 3. Chesnutt saw the film at some point during this time. [back]
