Lawrence Chenault

A Hollywood producer tries to seduce a young nightclub singer with promises of movie stardom while a club patron receives a foreboding note.

The great Paul Robeson – American stage star, activist, and later a key presence in British cinema – made his film debut in this landmark work by pioneering Black filmmaker Oscar Micheaux. Body and Soul features an all-Black cast, with Robeson in a remarkable dual role: a ruthless escaped convict posing as a reverend to exploit his congregation, and the preacher’s upright long-lost twin brother.

When a young woman (Lucia Moses) escapes from her abusive father (William E. Pettus), she is rescued by an aspiring composer (Harry Henderson), but encounters opposition from his class-conscious mother.