God's Step Children (1938)

User Rating:

4.3/10   

Director:

Oscar Micheaux

Writer:

Oscar Micheaux (unconfirmed)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A young light-skinned Negress struggles to find her place in both the black and the white worlds. |

Plot Keywords:

Racism | Interracial Relationship | African American | Racial | Mother Daughter Relationship

Cast

Jacqueline Lewis	...	Naomi, as a Child
Ethel Moses	...	Mrs. Cushinberry / Her Daughter Eva
Alice B. Russell	...	Mrs. Saunders
Trixie Smith	...	A Visitor
Charles Thompson	...	Jimmie, as a Child
Carman Newsome	...	Jimmie, as an Adult
Gloria Press	...	Naomi, as an Adult
Alec Lovejoy	...	Ontrue Cowper, a Gambler
Columbus Jackson	...	Cowper's Associate
Laura Bowman	...	Aunt Carrie
Sam Patterson	...	A Banker
Charles R. Moore	...	School Superintent
Consuelo Harris	...	Muscle Dancer
Sammy Gardiner	...	Tap Dancer
Leon Gross	...	Orchestra Leader

Also Known As:

All God's Stepchildren (USA) (review title)

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Wicmar and Blue Seal Noiseless Recording

Company:

Micheaux Film

Controversy Continues

God's Step Children (1938)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

Yet another highly controversial film from pioneer director Oscar Micheaux, which tries to be critical of black people who hate being black. A black mother gives birth to a mixed baby but she can't stand the backlash so she gives the child to another black woman. At nine years old, this child starts lying and trying to get her black teachers into trouble because she hates being black. She's sent to a convent but when the girl returns at the age of 21, she again tries to destroy everyone around here. This is an incoherent mess of a film that doesn't make a bit a sense and it's never real clear what message the director is trying to send. I couldn't make heads or tails out of any scene and in the end I was left with a major headache. The other films from the director that I've seen were often critical of black people, which was a brave thing to do considering these films only played black theaters but whatever Micheaux's point was here is certainly lost. Needless to say, the acting is pretty horrid throughout, which is hard to be too critical of since the majority of blacks were allowed in any sort of acting school at the time.