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confronts
Jenkins in front of the congregation. Jenkins flees and during a twilight struggle he kills a man who tries to bring him to justice. The following morning, Martha Jane awakens and realizes the episode with Jenkins was only a dream. She provides Isabelle (who is not dead) and Sylvester with the funds to start a married life together.
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town of
Tatesville, Georgia, by passing himself off as the Rt. Reverend Isaiah T. Jenkins. He is joined in town by a fellow criminal, and the pair scheme to swindle the phony reverend's congregation of their offerings. Jenkins falls in love with a young member of his congregation, Isabelle Perkins,
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was a nine-reel production. When the filmmaker applied for an exhibition license from the Motion
Picture Commission of the State of New York, it was denied approval on the grounds it would "tend to incite to crime" and was "immoral" and "sacrilegious". Micheaux was forced to re-edit the film twice
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and dies just as her mother locates her. Before dying, Isabelle reveals to her mother that
Jenkins raped her and that he is the one who took her mother's money. She explains that she did not speak up before because she knew her mother would not believe her. Returning to Tatesville, Martha Jane
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even though she is in love with a poor young man named
Sylvester, who happens to be Jenkins’ long-estranged identical twin brother. Jenkins steals money from Martha Jane, Isabelle's mother, and convinces the young woman to take the blame for his crime. She flees to
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was originally released to cinemas catering to an exclusive
African-American audience, and for many years the film was unknown to white moviegoers. In 2000,
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Musser, Charles. "To
Redream the Dreams of White Playwrights: Reappropriation and Resistance in Oscar Micheaux's Body and Soul."
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is one of three surviving silent films created by
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before the commission approved the film, which was reduced from nine to five reels. The surviving copy of
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Oscar
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is based on this edited version; Micheaux's director cut is considered a
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for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
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in his motion picture debut. In 2019, the film was selected by the
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513:"Body and Soul (1925): FILM REVIEW; Reverend's Wrongs Unrighted"
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as Yello-Curley' Hinds - the Phony
Reverend's Former Jailmate
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and performed live by the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra.
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Chester A. Alexander as Deacon Simpkins, a Church Elder
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An escaped prisoner seeks refuge in the predominantly
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Paul Robeson made his film debut at the age of 27 in
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as Reverend Isaiah T. Jenkins / His brother Sylvester
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holds an 80% approval rating on aggregate film site
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310:with a new musical score composed by trombonist
154:produced, written, directed, and distributed by
250:Walter Cornick as Brother Amos, a Church Elder
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241:Lillian Johnson as "Sis" Caline, a Pious Lady
229:Julia Theresa Russell as Isabelle - the Girl
244:Madame Robinson as "Sis" Lucy, a Pious Lady
1051:United States National Film Registry films
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398:"Complete National Film Registry Listing"
226:as Sister Martha Jane - Isabelle's Mother
373:"Women Rule 2019 National Film Registry"
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238:Marshall Rogers as Speakeasy proprietor
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320:was released on home video in 2016 by
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345:Chow, Andrew R. (December 11, 2019).
54:Oscar Micheaux (novel and screenplay)
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16:1925 film directed by Oscar Micheaux
531:Pioneers of African American Cinema
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447:"Body and Soul: Overview Article"
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435:"Overview for Body and Soul"
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1046:Silent American drama films
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99:November 9, 1925
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970:The Notorious Elinor Lee
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271:The original version of
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308:New York Film Festival
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168:National Film Registry
908:Harlem After Midnight
894:The Girl from Chicago
688:The Gunsaulus Mystery
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1041:Films set in Atlanta
776:The Devil's Disciple
938:God's Step Children
880:Ten Minutes to Live
712:Uncle Jasper's Will
402:Library of Congress
377:Library of Congress
164:Library of Congress
139:English intertitles
1036:Films about dreams
901:Phantom of Kenwood
872:Veiled Aristocrats
816:Thirty Years Later
642:Films directed by
607:TCM Movie Database
497:"Citizen Micheaux"
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768:The Conjure Woman
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233:Lawrence Chenault
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887:Black Magic
840:Easy Street
696:The Dungeon
501:After Image
322:Kino Lorber
136:Silent film
119:102 minutes
59:Produced by
41:Directed by
1026:Race films
1001:1925 films
995:Categories
962:Birthright
954:Lying Lips
930:Underworld
923:Temptation
736:Birthright
332:References
255:Production
150:is a 1925
103:1925-11-09
51:Written by
864:The Exile
672:The Brute
282:lost film
152:race film
132:Languages
596:AllMovie
482:Archived
463:Archived
67:Starring
605:at the
570:at the
425:. 2001.
267:Release
205:Atlanta
124:Country
101: (
981:(1948)
973:(1940)
965:(1939)
957:(1939)
949:(1938)
946:Swing!
941:(1938)
933:(1937)
925:(1936)
919:(1935)
911:(1934)
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897:(1932)
889:(1932)
883:(1932)
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867:(1931)
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811:(1927)
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787:(1926)
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747:(1924)
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728:Deceit
723:(1922)
715:(1922)
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691:(1921)
683:(1920)
675:(1920)
667:(1920)
659:(1919)
194:(1925)
328:set.
585:IMDb
539:2020
409:2020
384:2020
359:2019
351:Time
212:Cast
174:Plot
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