The Nigger
Cast & Crew
Edgar Lewis
Philip Morrow
Claire Whitney
George De Carlton
Henry Armetta
George De Carlton
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Philip Morrow, raised in aristocratic Southern society, is persuaded to run for governor by whiskey distiller and political boss Cliff Noyes. After winning the election, Governor Morrow decides to sign a prohibition bill that would ruin Noyes's liquor business. Furious, Noyes confronts Morrow with proof that the governor is of Negro ancestry and threatens to expose him in the newspaper. Realizing that he faces political ruin as well as the loss of his sweetheart, Georgiana Byrd, Governor Morrow bravely signs the bill and resigns his office. Georgiana begs to stay with him, but Morrow departs alone for a new life in the North, where he hopes to improve the plight of blacks in America.
Director
Edgar Lewis
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
This film was also released under the title The New Governor. Location scenes were filmed in Augusta, GA. According to the 1921 MPSD, Carey Lee was the author of this film. As Edgar Lewis is credited as scenarist in reviews, and the film was based on a play by Edward Brewster Sheldon, Lee's role is unclear. According to information in the NAACP Collection at the Library of Congress, the film was censored and passed by the National Board of Censorship on March 20, 1915, subject to the following changes and eliminations: the name of the film was changed to read "The New Governor, based on Sheldon's The Nigger"; a subtitle following the title card, which stated that an impossible gulf exists between the white and black races, was to be eliminated; a scene in which a drunken black man meets a little girl in the woods and attacks her was to be altered substantially; the scene of her brothers finding her was to be cut substantially; the subtitle "The Man Hunt" was to be cut; a close view of the black man being pulled from his horse and struggling with his captors was to be cut; the subtitle "Reaping the Penalty" was to be cut; and a scene in which the black man is shown tied to a tree with fire burning around him was to be cut substantially.
