Body and Soul (1925)

62% User Rating

1h 33min

A minister is malevolent and sinister behind his righteous facade. He consorts with, and later extorts from, the owner of a gambling house, and betrays an honest girl, eventually driving them both to ruin.

Oscar MicheauxDirector

Cast

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Paul Robeson

Reverend Isaiah T. Jenkins / His brother Sylvester

Mercedes Gilbert

Sister Martha Jane

Julia Theresa Russell

Isabelle

Marshall Rogers

Speakeasy Proprietor

Lawrence Chenault

Yello-Curley' Hinds - the Phony Reverend's Former Jailmate

Chester A. Alexander

Deacon Simpkins - a Church Elder

Walter Henry Cornick

Brother Amos - a Church Elder

Lillian Johnson

"Sis" Ca'line

Madame Robinson

"Sis" Lucy

Reviews (1)

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talisencrw

Rating 80%

March 1, 2016

I love silent films, though this one heralding the first film performance of Paul Robeson is simply good or decent, not great or essential. Robeson's performance is excellent in an otherwise average melodrama, and it's clear he's going to be a star of the silver screen. In her only cinematic appearance, Julia Theresa Russell, who was the director's sister-in-law, deserves mention, however. She's gorgeous and her acting wasn't bad at all. The jazz/blues/spiritual score on the Criterion Collection release, I believe by Wycliffe Gordon, is outstanding. Recommended if you like either silent films or Paul Robeson.