The Blood of Jesus
Ticket Details
Lecture Hall
(USA/1941—directed by Spencer Williams)
Actor and film director Spencer Williams (1893-1969) began his career in New York theater circles, where he worked as a stagehand for Oscar Hammerstein I and was mentored by the great Black vaudevillian Bert Williams in the art of comedy. After serving in the Army in France during WWI, he went to Hollywood, landing stereotyped roles in silent film comedies such as Buster Keaton’s Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928).
Williams’ first feature, The Blood of Jesus, is a singular work that draws from two very different traditions: Southern Baptist spirituality, and the surreal imagery of silent Expressionist films. Cathryn Caviness plays a young woman who suffers a personal tragedy and dreams she is suspended between life and death, at the crossroads of heaven and hell. (57 min.)
This program is part of a companion series of film and music events presented in celebration of Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898–1971, on view at the Detroit Institute of Arts Feb. 4–June 23, 2024. Regeneration is organized by the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.
The Blood of Jesus
Ticket Details
Lecture Hall
Related Exhibition
Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898 – 1971
February 4 - June 23, 2024
Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898 – 1971 honors the legacy of African American filmmakers and actors from the dawn of cinema, through the golden age, and into the aftermath of the Civil Rights Movement. Inspired by and named after an independent 1923 all-Black-cast movie, Regeneration seeks to revive lost or forgotten films, filmmakers, and performers for a contemporary audience.
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