Jericho (1937)

Director:

Thornton Freeland

Writers:

George Barraud (writer)
Walter Futter (story)

Release Date:

16 August 1938 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Musical | Adventure

Plot:

American deserter joins African tribe to avoid punishment.

Plot Keywords:

Captain | Salt | Corporal | Sergeant | Caravan

Cast

Paul Robeson	...	Cpl. Jericho Jackson
Henry Wilcoxon	...	Capt. Mack
Wallace Ford	...	Mike Clancy
Kouka	...	Gara
John Laurie	...	Hassan
James Carew	...	Maj. J.R. Barnes
Lawrence Brown	...	Pvt. Face
Rufus Fennell	...	Sgt. Gamey
Ike Hatch	...	Pvt. Tag
Frank Cram	...	Col. Lake
Frank Cochrane	...	Agouba
George Barraud	...	Explorer
Frederick Cooper	...	Explorer
Henry Aubin	...	Explorer

Also Known As:

Dark Sands

Runtime:

77 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Filming Locations:

Cairo, Egypt

Company:

Buckingham Film Productions

Soundtrack:

Shortnin' Bread

Just ignore the low imdb rating and see it

It's only 75 minutes long, so, even if you don't find it as good as I did, you haven't really wasted that much of you life. It's really quite a good adventure film starring the famous black actor Paul Robeson. He made this film as a part of a package deal with British backers, because he felt that he would be able to play less stereotypical roles. Other blacks in the film don't get this posh treatment, as they speak pidgin English, throw dice, and scare easily, but, for the most part, Robeson maintains all of his dignity (the most he does is sing `Mammy's little babies love shortnin' shortnin', but, who knows, that might not have seemed harmful in 1937). Robeson plays Jericho Jackson, an intelligent soldier trained as a doctor. During a crisis on his ship, Robeson tries to knock out a superior officer who has gone nuts and accidentally kills him. Sentenced to death, he escapes, which gets a friend of his who has vouched for him (Henry Wilcoxon, Marc Antony from Cecil B. DeMille's 1934 movie, Cleopatra) thrown in jail. Robeson runs into the North African desert, where he becomes a leader of a tribe of nomads. A wise-cracking white man (Wallace Ford) becomes his best friend. When Wilcoxon is released from prison, he attempts to search out Jericho in order to reclaim his own honor. It's a pretty good story, although it ends rather lamely. Robeson sings some damn fine songs and his acting is great. The on-location cinematography, by John W. Boyle, is really beautiful. He captures a lot of great shots of a caravan moving slowly up and down the desert terrain. 8/10.