Within Our Gates - Black and White - Silent Film - 1919

Within Our Gates - Black and White - Silent Film - 1919 - Film converted into Digital Format by http://linktr.ee/TheBeltwayBanditsShow more

Within Our Gates is a 1920 American silent film by the director Oscar Micheaux that portrays the contemporary racial situation in the United States during the early twentieth century, the years of Jim Crow, the revival of the Ku Klux Klan, the Great Migration of blacks to cities of the North and Midwest, and the emergence of the "New Negro". It was part of a genre called race films.

The plot features an African-American woman who goes North in an effort to raise money for a rural school in the Deep South for poor black children. Her romance with a black doctor eventually leads to revelations about her family's past and her own mixed-race, European ancestry. The film portrays racial violence under white supremacy, and the lynching of black people. Produced, written and directed by Micheaux, it is the oldest known surviving film made by an African-American director and has been named as one of the greatest films of all time by a Black director.

The film opens with Sylvia Landry (Evelyn Preer), a young African-American woman, visiting her cousin Alma in the North. Sylvia is waiting for the return of Conrad as they plan to marry. Alma also loves Conrad. Larry, Alma's step brother, attempts to woo Sylvia but is rebuffed. Larry kills a professional gambler after cheating during a game of poker. Alma arranges for Sylvia to be caught in a seemingly compromising situation by Conrad when he returns. Conrad begins to strangle Sylvia but is stopped by Alma. Conrad leaves for Brazil. Sylvia returns to the South.

Sylvia meets Rev. Jacobs, a minister who runs a rural school for black children called Piney Woods School. The school is overcrowded, and Rev. Jacobs cannot continue on the small amount offered to blacks for education by the state. With the school facing closure, Sylvia volunteers to return to the North to try to raise $5,000.

Sylvia's purse is stolen in Boston. A man named Dr. Vivian chases after the thief and recovers the purse. After running into the street to save a child from being run over, Sylvia is hit by the car herself. As she recovers in the hospital, she meets the owner of the car - Elena Warwick, a wealthy philanthropist. Learning of Sylvia's mission, Elena decides to give her the needed money. When her Southern friend Mrs. Stratton tries to discourage her, Warwick increases her donation to $50,000. This amount will save the school, and Sylvia returns to the South.

Rev. Jacobs asks for Sylvia's hand in marriage, but Sylvia, now in love with Dr. Vivian, refuses. Larry, on the run from the police, runs into Sylvia and attempts blackmail with secrets of Sylvia's past. Instead of stealing from the school on Larry's behalf, Sylvia runs away in the night and heads north.

Later, Dr. Vivian searches for Sylvia. Larry, who has run out of money and returned to Alma, is fatally shot during an attempted bank robbery. Dr. Vivian by chance ends up treating Larry and meets Alma. Alma tells Dr. Vivian about Sylvia's past: these flashback scenes are portrayed in the film. Sylvia was adopted and raised by a poor black family, the Landrys, who managed to provide her with an education.

During her youth, the senior Landry was wrongfully accused of the murder of an unpopular but wealthy white landlord, Gridlestone. A white mob attacked the Landry family, lynching the parents and hunting down their son, who escaped after nearly being shot. The mob also lynched Efrem, a servant of Gridlestone, despite Efrem collaborating with them. Sylvia escaped after being chased and attacked by Gridlestone's brother, who overpowered her and was close to raping her. Noticing a scar on her breast, Gridlestone's brother realized that Sylvia was in fact his mixed-race daughter, born of his marriage to a local black woman. He had paid for her education.

After hearing about her life, Dr. Vivian meets with Sylvia; he encourages her to love her country and take pride in the contributions of African Americans. He professes his love for her, and the film ends with their marriage.

CAST
Gorman and Evelyn Preer
Evelyn Preer as Sylvia Landry
Floy Clements as Alma Prichard
James D. Ruffin as Conrad Drebert, Sylvia's Fiancé
Jack Chenault as Larry Prichard, Alma's Stepbrother
William Smith as Philip Gentry, a detective
Charles D. Lucas as Dr. V. Vivian
Bernice Ladd as Mrs. Geraldine Stratton
Mrs. Evelyn as Mrs. Elena Warwick
William Starks as Jasper Landry
Ralph Johnson as Philip Gridlestone
E.G. Tatum as Efrem
Grant Edwards as Emil Landry
Grant Gorman as Armand Gridlestone