Popular Culture Review Vol. 5, No. 1, February 1994 | Page 51

Lynched, Assaulted, and Intimidated

49

lynching and 'concubinage' that was ever written or filmed" (Chicago
Defender, 24 January 1920: 6). It took as long as two months for the
film to receive censorship approval allowing it to be shown in local
theaters. When it was advertised, Micheaux noted:
The Photoplay, Within Our Gates, was passed by the
Censor, but owing a wave of agitation on the part of
certain Race people (who had not even seen it) 1,200
feet was eliminated during its first engagement. This
1,200 feet has been restored and the picture will
positively be shown from now on as originally
produced and released--no cut-outs. (C hicago
Defender, 31 January 1920: 8)
Certainly Micheaux's re-creation of a lynching on the motion
picture screen during a time when the African-American community
had taken an assertive position against such practices was considered
controversial.
Other films steeped in controvesy included The Brute (1920) and
Symbol of the Unconquered (1920), alternately titled The Wilderness
Trail. The Brute provoked controversy because it portrayed a male
assaulting a female. When the film was advertised, it featured a
caption which read: "To make a woman love you, knock her down."
The film also featured a seventeen-round fight between two
heavyweight champions, Sam Langford and Marty Cutler. Despite
the controversy this film provoked, Micheaux received high praise
as a filnunaker in the African-American press following its release.
For instance, the Chicago Defender reported that "In this photoplay
Mr. Micheaux has demonstrated clearly, that as a writer, director
and producer he stands in the front ranks . . . " (25 September 1920: 4).
With Symbol of the Unconquered, Micheaux focused on the
intimidation of African-Americans by such groups as the Ku KIux
Man. A review of this film reported:
It tells the struggles of a young man to retain
possession of a piece of valuable oil land against
tremendous odds, which includes everything from
intimidation at the hands of his neighbors to a