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Trailers & Videos
Shana L. Redmond and Michael Gillespie on Body & Soul and Us
Cast
Paul Robeson
Reverend Isaiah T. Jenkins / His brother Sylvester
Mercedes Gilbert
Sister Martha Jane
Julia Theresa Russell
Isabelle
Marshall Rogers
Speakeasy Proprietor
Lawrence Chenault
Yello-Curley' Hinds - the Phony Reverend's Former Jailmate
Chester A. Alexander
Deacon Simpkins - a Church Elder
Walter Henry Cornick
Brother Amos - a Church Elder
Lillian Johnson
"Sis" Ca'line
Madame Robinson
"Sis" Lucy
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Reviews
talisencrw
I love silent films, though this one heralding the first film performance of Paul Robeson is simply good or decent, not great or essential. Robeson's performance is excellent in an otherwise average melodrama, and it's clear he's going to be a star of the silver screen. In her only cinematic appearance, Julia Theresa Russell, who was the director's sister-in-law, deserves mention, however. She's gorgeous and her acting wasn't bad at all. The jazz/blues/spiritual score on the Criterion Collection release, I believe by Wycliffe Gordon, is outstanding. Recommended if you like either silent films or Paul Robeson.
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