Jericho (1937)

This month’s theme of PORTRAITS OF THE ARTISTS digs us deeper into the film history of Paul Robeson. Soured greatly on the post-production outcome of his previous British film, “Sanders of the River”, Robeson asserted more creative control for his follow up feature “JERICHO” from 1937. Directed by Thornton Freeland. Robeson stars as Jericho Jackson, a U.S. soldier in WW1 who accidentally kills a commanding officer while rescuing some of his fellow soldiers. He jets off on a stolen boat with a snappy AWOL American to a North African desert scape where they help a small village prosper. “JERICHO”, like many Robeson features are deep cut in the greater film zeitgeist and yet often feature certain representative traits that just might symbolize several firsts for the history of cinema and African American History itself. Also, you know my man is in this picture soothing those desert hotties with his warm baritone from atop the tallest sand dunes. He’s pulling Sudanese Princesses up in this piece and his wisecracking white sidekick is off tending to the camels. That’s shit you don’t even see today. Camels are fun to look at. Here’s the movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xwKPeyfuwg Subscribe to us on YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuJf3lkRI-BLUTsLI_ehOsg Contact us here: [email protected] Hear us on podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/6o6PSNJFGXJeENgqtPY4h7 Our OG podcast “Documenteers”: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/documenteers-the-documentary-podcast/id1321652249 Soundcloud feed: https://soundcloud.com/documenteers Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/culturewrought