Within Our Gates (1920)

Abandoned by her fiancé, an educated negro woman with a shocking past dedicates herself to helping a near bankrupt school for impoverished negro youths.

Director:

Oscar Micheaux

Writer:

Oscar Micheaux

Stars:

Evelyn Preer, Flo Clements, James D. Ruffin

1 win.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Evelyn Preer	...	Sylvia Landry
Flo Clements	...	Alma Prichard
James D. Ruffin	...	Conrad Drebert - Sylvia's Fiancé
Jack Chenault	...	Larry Prichard - Alma's Stepbrother
William Smith	...	Philip Gentry - A Detective
Charles D. Lucas	...	Dr. V. Vivian
Bernice Ladd	...	Mrs. Geraldine Stratton
Mrs. Evelyn	...	Mrs. Elena Warwick
William Stark	...	Jasper Landry
Mattie Edwards	...	Jasper's Wife
Ralph Johnson	...	Philip Gridlestone
E.G. Tatum	...	Efram - Gridlestone's Servant
Grant Edwards	...	Emil Landry
Grant Gorman	...	Armand Gridlestone
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Leigh Whipper

Storyline

Southern negro Sylvia Landry visits her cousin Alma in the north, where there is less racial prejudice than in her home town of Piney Woods in the deep south, and is anxiously awaiting her fiancé, Conrad. But Alma has designs on Conrad and tricks Sylvia into a compromising situation when he arrives, and he abandons her. Disheartened, she returns to Piney Woods to help a reverend running a school for young negroes. Sylvia learns that the reverend hasn't the heart to turn away poor students, and unless he can raise $5,000 to supplement the $1.49 per child per year that the state supplies, the school will be closed. She goes up north again to try to raise the money and has little success, but meets kindly negro, Dr. V. Vivian, who helps her regain her stolen purse. When she saves a child from being hit by an auto, she herself is slightly injured. But the owner of the car is philanthropist Mrs. Elena Warwick, who is sympathetic to her quest and promises to donate the $5,000 to the school....

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Plot Keywords:

school | reverend | student | prejudice | philanthropist | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Details

Country:

USA

Release Date:

12 January 1920 (USA)

Also Known As:

Chocolate Kiddies

Filming Locations:

Capital City Studios, Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Micheaux Book & Film Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

79 min

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Including among the '1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die', edited by Steven Jay Schneider.

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Connections

Featured in Movies of Color: Black Southern Cinema (2002)

User Reviews

Incredible Silent Film

I disagree with the first comment. I did not find this movie silly at all. I believe it was up to par with any other silent movie of this same period, and the acting was not atrocious. I think it was a very provocative movie for its time and, whether it was purposefully or not, a great response to DW Griffith's "Birth of a Nation." That movie showed a mulatto man trying to force himself on a White woman, along with numerous other stereotypes of Black people in that movie. "Within Our Gates" showed the true side of what really happened, especially with the lynching, and the main character and her *real* father. I feel privileged to have seen a Black silent film, especially one of such high caliber.