If there is anyone who doesn't know where the sobriquet "Uncle Tom", to describe a complaisant Negro, came from, this is the place. The book that some say started the U. S. Civil War gets fairly good silent era treatment. Filmed just as the "dawn of sound" was beginning, there are sound effects and a brief semi-synchronised segment. The emphasis in the film is more on "Eliza", a very light complexioned slave (probably an octoroon), than on "Uncle Tom", who is almost a background lay figure. There is justification for this, for "Eliza", though virtually helpless as a female slave, is much more the rebel than "Uncle Tom". In the novel, Harriet Beecher Stowe gave him much more "presence".
Some characters are portrayed realistically, but the more villainous they are, the more they are limned as caricatures. For example, take "Simon Legree" and especially "lawyer Marks". The white actors seem inclined to employ the more irritating silent era acting mannerisms, much more than the black actors. But the two slaves of "Simon Legree" who specialise in flogging, behave more as clowns than actors. They are the exception, though. Take note of very young Virginia Grey as doomed "Little Eva", and the scene of "Eliza" crossing the ice. These are high points, and the river scene is very impressively filmed. Shades of Lillian Gish on the ice floes! I am not going to take up more space about the plot elements for such a well known story. My suggestion is seek out the novel and read it.
So how are we to regard this film and the source novel. Ms. Stowe certainly intended it as an anti-slavery tract, and it was very effective following publication circa 1856. This film tones the anti-slavery sentiment down quite a bit, but only someone obsessed with "political correctness" could call it racist in a malicious sense.
Some characters are portrayed realistically, but the more villainous they are, the more they are limned as caricatures. For example, take "Simon Legree" and especially "lawyer Marks". The white actors seem inclined to employ the more irritating silent era acting mannerisms, much more than the black actors. But the two slaves of "Simon Legree" who specialise in flogging, behave more as clowns than actors. They are the exception, though. Take note of very young Virginia Grey as doomed "Little Eva", and the scene of "Eliza" crossing the ice. These are high points, and the river scene is very impressively filmed. Shades of Lillian Gish on the ice floes! I am not going to take up more space about the plot elements for such a well known story. My suggestion is seek out the novel and read it.
So how are we to regard this film and the source novel. Ms. Stowe certainly intended it as an anti-slavery tract, and it was very effective following publication circa 1856. This film tones the anti-slavery sentiment down quite a bit, but only someone obsessed with "political correctness" could call it racist in a malicious sense.