The Emperor Jones (1933) | Directed by Dudley Murphy - Full Movie

Unscrupulously ambitious Brutus Jones escapes from jail after killing a guard and through bluff and bravado finds himself the emperor of a Caribbean island.

The Emperor Jones is a 1933 American pre-Code film adaptation of Eugene O'Neill's 1920 play of the same title, directed by iconoclast Dudley Murphy, written for the screen by playwright DuBose Heyward and starring Paul Robeson in the title role (a role he played onstage, both in the US and UK), and co-starring Dudley Digges, Frank H. Wilson, Fredi Washington and Ruby Elzy.

The film was made outside of the Hollywood studio system, financed with private money from neophyte wealthy producers. It was filmed at Kaufman Astoria Studios with the beach scene shot at Jones Beach Long Beach, New York.

Directed by: Dudley Murphy
Screenplay by: DuBose Heyward
Based on: The Emperor Jones (1920 play) by Eugene O'Neill
Produced by: Gifford Cochran, John Krimsky
Starring: Paul Robeson, Dudley Digges, Frank H. Wilson, Fredi Washington, Ruby Elzy
Cinematography: Ernest Haller
Edited by: Grant Whytock
Music by: Rosamond Johnson, Frank Tours
Distributed by: United Artists
Release date: September 29, 1933
Running time: 80 minutes (Original cut) 73 minutes
Country: United States
Language: English
Budget: $263,000