Themes: Social Injustice, Out For Revenge, Faltering Friendships
Main Cast: Paul Robeson, Princess Kouka, John Laurie
Release Year: 1937
Country: UK
Run Time: 77 minutes
Plot
In this drama, a black American corporal gets court-martialed for a murder and receives a death sentence. Unfortunately, he is innocent. A white captain believes him and gives him one last furlough so he can spend New Year's Eve with his friends. Naturally the corporal uses the opportunity to go AWOL. The captain is later thrown out of the military and imprisoned for letting the colonel go. The colonel had no idea that the captain suffered so much on his behalf. The former captain, feels betrayed by the colonel and vows to get his revenge. After he is finally freed from prison, the ex-captain goes on a world-wide search for the former colonel. He finds him living in the African desert, leading a large tribe, and raising a family. The captain is just about to kill the colonel, and then has a change of heart. He decides to return to the States. The ex-colonel agrees to go with him, but the captain fights him because he wants him to stay. Unfortunately, the rest of the tribe misconstrues the captain's reasons for fighting with their leader. They shoot him in cold blood. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Review
Jericho is an intriguing, uneven and ultimately unsatisfying drama, but it's worth catching for the chance to see Paul Robeson in a role that lets him hold center stage and demonstrate the considerable power he had at his disposal. The basic story behind Jericho has promise, concerning as it does a man wrongfully convicted of killing his superior officer and how his decision to flee and live a life of his own destroys the life of the man who vouched for him. And the screenplay does provide a rare instance from the period of a true multicultural situation, with people of several different colors relating in a manner that is unusual for the time. (It also has some interesting things to say about war and the manner in which war affects those who must fight in it.) Unfortunately, the writing is decidedly uneven; too often heavy melodramatics mar what might have been genuinely affecting dramatic moments. Robeson is given several moments to display his incredible rich baritone in the movie, and while these are not necessarily as well integrated into the piece as one might wish, they stand alone as impressive moments. Robeson throughout dominates the movie, acting with power and assurance and commanding attention even in his quietest moments. He carries the film with grace and confidence; it may not be a perfect vehicle, but he drives it as if it were the cream of the crop. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Princess Kouka - Gara; John Laurie - Hassan; James Carew - Maj. Barnes; Lawrence Brown - Pvt. Face; Ike Hatch - Tag; George Barraud - Explorer; Frederick Cooper - Explorer; Peter Gawthorne - Officer; Frank Cochrane - Agouba; Rufus Fennell - Sgt. Gamey; Wallace Ford - Mike Clancy; Danny Green - Sergeant; Henry Wilcoxon - Capt. Mack
Credit
Thornton Freeland - Director, Edward B. Jarvis - Editor, John W. Boyle - Cinematographer, Walter Futter - Producer, George Barraud - Screenwriter, Robert N. Lee - Screenwriter, Peter Ruric - Screenwriter
Paul Robeson considered Jericho one of his most positive accomplishments in projecting a screen image of a Black man with courage, honor, self-sacrifice and intelligence who achieves success and happiness. The epic film begins as a World War IAmerican troop ship is torpedoed, and many soldiers are trapped below the deck. Robeson plays Jericho Jackson, a medical student drafted into the war. Jericho heroically saves the trapped men, in defiance of his superior’s orders to abandon ship, but he accidentally kills the officer in the melee. Despite his heroism, Jericho is court-martialed for refusing an order. Embittered, he escapes, and an officer named Captain Mack is held responsible for his escape and court-martialed.
Jericho ends up in North Africa, where he meets the Tuareg people. When he uses his medical skills to heal the sick, the Tuareg welcome Jericho into their tribe, and he marries and raises a family with them, eventually becoming their leader. He leads his people to victory over rivals and brings peace and unity to the region through which the Tuareg trek annually to trade for salt. When an anthropology film crew’s coverage of the salt trek is shown in London, Captain Mack spots Jericho in the film and vows to track him down. Finally, when the Captain sees what good works Jericho has done for his people, he relents.
It is telling of Robeson’s demand for final cut that at this point in the story, Jericho, homesick, was to agree to help clear the captain’s name in the United States. After their plane crashes in the desert, Jericho dies trying to save Captain Mack. Instead, Robeson simply requested that the movie end with the captain flying off alone and crashing in the desert.
