Richard E. Norman and Race Filmmaking [Paperback]

In the early 1900s, so-called race filmmakers set out to produce black-oriented pictures to counteract the racist caricatures that had dominated cinema from its inception. Richard E. Norman, a southern-born white filmmaker, was one such pioneer. From humble beginnings as a roving home talent filmmaker, recreating photoplays that starred local citizens, Norman would go on to produce high-quality feature-length race pictures. Together with his better-known contemporaries Oscar Micheaux and Noble and George Johnson, Richard E. Norman helped to define early race filmmaking. Making use of unique archival resources, including Norman's personal and professional correspondence, detailed distribution records, and newly discovered original shooting scripts, this book offers a vibrant portrait of race in early cinema.

Barbara Tepa Lupack has written extensively on American literature, film, and culture. She has authored or edited more than 20 books and taught at universities within the United States and abroad.

Finalist, 2013 Richard Wall Memorial Award (Theatre Library Association)Winner, 2015 Jacksonville Historic Preservation AwardGrounded in impressive archival research, Barbara Lupacks book offers a long overdue history of Richard E. Norman and the filmmaking company he established early in the twentieth century. Lupacks ability to describe Normans filmsand the work that went into their productionreanimates them for readers and stresses their role in shaping early African American cinematic representation.

Foreword by Michael Martin
Acknowledgements
List of Abbreviations
Introduction: A New Vision of Opportunity
1. Race Matters: The Evolution of Race Filmmaking
2. Have You Talent? : Normans Early Career
3. Not a White Man in the Cast : Normans Early Race Films
4. Taking Two Hides From the Ox : The Bull-Dogger and The Crimson Skull
5. A Risky Experiment : Zircon and Regeneration
6. You Know We Have the Goods : The FlyilCk