His Darker Self
{{short description|1924 silent film}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox film
| name = His Darker Self
| image = His Darker Self (1924) - 2.jpg
| caption =
| director = John W. Noble
| producer = Albert L. Grey
| writer = Ralph Spence
| based_on ={{basedon|"Mammy's Boy"|Arthur Caesar}}
| starring =Lloyd Hamilton
Tom Wilson
Sally Long
| music =
| cinematography =
| editing =
| studio =G. & H. Pictures
| distributor = Hodkinson Pictures
| released = {{film date|1924|03|16}}
| runtime = 50 minutes
| country = United States
| language = Silent (English intertitles)
| budget =
| gross =
}}
His Darker Self is a 1924 American silent blackface comedy film directed by John W. Noble and starring Lloyd Hamilton, Tom Wilson, and Sally Long.Munden p. 351 The plot involves a self-taught small town detective who, after a Black friend is killed, goes undercover in blackface. The film is based on "Mammy's Boy" by Arthur Caesar.
Plot
As described in a film magazine review,{{cite journal |last=Pardy |first=George T. |title=Box Office Reviews: His Darker Self |journal=Exhibitors Trade Review |volume= |issue= |pages=28 |publisher=Exhibitors Review Publishing Corporation |date=5 April 1924 |location=New York |url=https://archive.org/details/exhibi00newy/page/n379/mode/1up |accessdate=3 November 2022}} {{Source-attribution}} Uncle Eph, the old black servant of the Sappington family, hauls liquor at night to Bill Jackson's dancehall. Jackson in a fit of temper knocks out Eph and fatally stabs another man. Eph is blamed for the crime. Claude Sappington, in love with the Governor's daughter, but frowned upon by her father, blackens his face and visits Darktown in an attempt to discover the real murderer. After many wild adventures, he succeeds in making Jackson confess, saves old Eph, and marries the woman he loves.
Cast
{{Cast listing|
- Lloyd Hamilton as Claude Sappington
- Tom Wilson as Bill Jackson
- Tom O'Malley as Uncle Eph
- Lucille La Verne as Aunt Lucy
- Irma Harrison as Darktown's Cleopatra
- Edna May Sperl as Bill Jackson's Sweetheart
- Sally Long as Claude's Sweetheart
- Kate Bruce as Claude's Mother
- Warren Cook as The Governor
- Jack Oakie (uncredited)
}}
Production
Al Jolson was originally cast as the lead in His Darker Self, but he dropped out to protect his stage career.Steinmetz p. 187, note 77 Lloyd Hamilton, a veteran of many comedy short films, replaced Jolson. Jolson would later use blackface while starring in the first talking picture, The Jazz Singer (1927).
References
{{reflist}}
Bibliography
- Munden, Kenneth White (1997). The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States, Part 1. University of California Press.
- {{cite book |last=Steinmetz |first=Jay Douglas |author-link= |title=Beyond Free Speech and Propaganda: The Political Development of Hollywood, 1907–1927 |publisher=Lexington Books |year=2017 |location=Lanham, Maryland |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YFY_DwAAQBAJ |isbn=978-1-4985-5681-1}}
External links
{{commons category|His Darker Self}}
- {{IMDb title|0014989}}
{{John W. Noble}}
Category:1920s English-language films
Category:American black-and-white films
Category:American silent feature films
Category:Blackface minstrel shows and films
Category:Films directed by John W. Noble
Category:Films distributed by W. W. Hodkinson Corporation
Category:Silent American comedy films
Category:English-language comedy films
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