The Green Pastures (1936)

The Green Pastures
Directed by Marc Connelly and William Keighley
Written by Marc Connelly based on a play by Marc Connelly and a novel by Roark Bradford (“Ol’ Man Adam and His Chillun” )
1936/USA
Warner Bros.
First viewing

[box] Gabriel: Gangway for the lord god, Jehovah![/box]

This white imagining of what African-Americans imagine the Old Testament bible stories to have been like couldn’t be more politically incorrect.  Nevertheless, it is quite enjoyable on all fronts and particularly for the choral singing.

The story begins in a country town as an African-American preacher conducts Sunday school and tells the bible stories to small children.  We segue to Da Lawd (Rex Ingram) and his angels in heaven where life is one perpetual fish fry.  When Da Lawd overdoes it in coming up with extra Firmament for the boiled custard, he creates the earth to hold the excess and Man to take care of the garden watered by the Firmament.  He is vastly displeased by the antics of his creation, however.  There follow folkloric low-brow presentations of the stories of Cain and Abel, Noah (Eddie “Rochester” Anderson) and the Ark, the Exodus, and the exile in Babylon. The film ends with Da Lawd learning mercy through the suffering of an unseen man carrying a cross.

I didn’t know what to expect here but this was very entertaining.  The spirituals sung by the heavenly choir are glorious and all the performances are solid and amusing.  I’m sure the portrayal of Da Lawd as a fallible, fickle God made many Black theologians wince and civil right activists protested the film at the time.  Nevertheless, it does stand out as one of only six all-Black feature films produced by the Hollywood studios during the classic era.   I prefer Hallelujah (1929) but this isn’t far behind.

The part of “De Lawd” was originally written to be played in blackface by Al Jolson. When that fell through, it was offered to Paul Robeson, who naturally refused it. It was eventually given to Rex Ingram.  We can all be very grateful that Jolson wasn’t in this.

For an interesting critique of the film see here: http://brightlightsfilm.com/59/59greenpastures.php#.UgPeIpLCZ8E

Trailer