His Darker Self
1924 silent film
- March 16, 1924 (1924-03-16)
Running time
His Darker Self is a 1924 American silent blackface comedy film directed by John W. Noble and starring Lloyd Hamilton, Tom Wilson, and Sally Long.[1] The plot involves a self-taught small town detective who, after a Black friend is killed, goes undercover in blackface.
Plot
As described in a film magazine review,[2] Uncle Eph, the old black servant of the Sappington family, hauls liquor at night to Bill Jackson's dancehall. Jackson in a fit of temper knocks out Eph and fatally stabs another man. Eph is blamed for the crime. Claude Sappington, in love with the Governor's daughter, but frowned upon by her father, blackens his face and visits Darktown in an attempt to discover the real murderer. After many wild adventures, he succeeds in making Jackson confess, saves old Eph, and marries the woman he loves.
Cast
- Lloyd Hamilton as Claude Sappington
- Tom Wilson as Bill Jackson
- Tom O'Malley as Uncle Eph
- Lucille La Verne as Aunt Lucy
- Irma Harrison as Darktown's Cleopatra
- Edna May Sperl as Bill Jackson's Sweetheart
- Sally Long as Claude's Sweetheart
- Kate Bruce as Claude's Mother
- Warren Cook as The Governor
- Jack Oakie (uncredited)
Production
Al Jolson was originally cast as the lead in His Darker Self, but he dropped out to protect his stage career.[3] Lloyd Hamilton, a veteran of many comedy short films, replaced Jolson. Jolson would later use blackface while starring in the first talking picture, The Jazz Singer (1927).
References
- ^ Munden p. 351
- ^ Pardy, George T. (5 April 1924). "Box Office Reviews: His Darker Self". Exhibitors Trade Review. New York: Exhibitors Review Publishing Corporation: 28. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. - ^ Steinmetz p. 187, note 77
Bibliography
- Munden, Kenneth White (1997). The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States, Part 1. University of California Press.
- Steinmetz, Jay Douglas (2017). Beyond Free Speech and Propaganda: The Political Development of Hollywood, 1907–1927. Lanham, Maryland: Lexington Books. ISBN 978-1-4985-5681-1.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to His Darker Self.
- His Darker Self at IMDb
- Synopsis at AllMovie
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Films directed by John W. Noble
- The Three of Us (1914)
- Black Fear (1915)
- The High Road (1915)
- Fighting Bob (1915)
- One Million Dollars (1915)
- The Bigger Man (1916)
- The Right of Way (1916)
- The Brand of Cowardice (1916)
- Man and His Soul (1916)
- The Red Mouse (1916)
- A Million a Minute (1916)
- Romeo and Juliet (1916)
- The Awakening of Helena Richie (1916)
- The Wall Between (1916)
- The Call of Her People (1917)
- Shame (1917)
- The Power of Decision (1917)
- A Magdalene of the Hills (1917)
- Sunshine Alley (1917)
- The Beautiful Lie (1917)
- The Birth of a Race (1918)
- My Own United States (1918)
- The Gray Towers Mystery (1919)
- The Golden Shower (1919)
- The Song of the Soul (1920)
- Footlights and Shadows (1920)
- Cardigan (1922)
- His Darker Self (1924)
- Lightning Reporter (1926)
- Burning Gold (1927)
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