The Scar of Shame

1929

Crime / Drama / Romance

2
IMDb Rating 6.2/10 10 492 492

Plot summary

An educated, upscale young black musician marries a woman from a lower socioeconomic class to get her out of the clutches of her stepfather.

Director

Top cast

Lawrence Chenault as Ralph Hathaway
Charles Gilpin as Lido Club Gambler
Harry Henderson as Alvin Hillyard -aka Arthur Jones
Norman Johnstone as Eddie Blake
720p.BLU 1080p.BLU
795.66 MB
968*720
English 2.0
NR
24 fps
1 hr 26 min
Seeds ...
1.44 GB
1440*1072
English 2.0
NR
24 fps
1 hr 26 min
Seeds ...

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by rdjeffers 5 / 10

David Jeffers for SIFFblog.com

Monday February 6, 7:00pm The Paramount TheaterIn a contemporary study of film history The Scar of Shame (1927) has great value as an early surviving example of the "Race Movie" genre. These were motion pictures produced from the silent era through the nineteen-forties using black actors for a black audience in a racially segregated market. Race movies were screened in the schools and churches of small towns as well as theaters in larger cities. The films of Oscar Micheaux were of particular significance in the early days of the genre. "The Scar of Shame" was one of four films produced by The Colored Film Players Corporation of Philadelphia. Harry Henderson (Alvin Hillyard) is a well-educated musician with high aspirations. In an act of altruism he marries Louise Howard (Lucia Lynn Moses) to save her from her abusive Stepfather but is ashamed to take her home to his Mother because she not "in our set". Essentially a well executed melodrama, "The Scar of Shame " is noteworthy for its high production values which indicate a larger than typical budget, as well as elements of colorism and classism.
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Reviewed by Art-22 7 / 10

An effective tragedy that demonstrates the importance of environment in shaping the lives of people.

I enjoyed this race movie intended for black audiences, even though I am not African-American or any racial minority. The forward states its point of view that a poor environment for a child will inevitably bring on a sense of shame, and then proceeds to unfold its story of an educated man in the field of music marrying a lower class woman to protect her from her stepfather, who beats her. Problems arise, however, when he won't take her to see his mother, who doesn't know he got married, and who he knows will be disappointed he did not marry a girl from his own class. My only problem with the movie was in the casting of the very refined Lucia Lynn Moses as the woman, so I could not fathom why her husband, well played by Harry Henderson, would not want his mother to meet her. It's an old-fashioned movie with some old-fashioned ideas, but has a few twists and wound up producing a few tears in my eyes. Watch it with some hankies close by if you are a softy for such movies, like me.

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