David Starkman
Encyclopedia
David Starkman was an Austria
n immigrant who helped to found the Colored Players Film Corporation
, an independent silent film
studio, as well as write and produce the film company’s most famous film The Scar of Shame
.
, a veteran of vaudevillian
and race movie
s. Dudley and Starkman shared a common vision in which there was a black Hollywood free of the traditional black stereotype
s; and so with Starkman’s theatre in Philadelphia as a base of operations the Colored Players Film Corporation was born with Dudley named as the President of the company and Starkman in charge of the management, finances, and operation of the production company
. The Colored Players Film Corporation took the morals and ethics of Starkman and Dudley to heart as all their films attempt to show the African American
as a successful person able to achieve middle class status and step away from the typical stereotypes and minstrel films of the time period. While only Dudley and the cast comprised the African Americans of the Colored Players Film Corporation, the collaboration between both the white and black staff was an integral part of the company. More importantly the interracial cooperation found in the company allowed for the success of the film The Scar of Shame.
s each from different levels of society. The main protagonist must choose whether or not to be with a woman from a lower caste of society or leave her in order to keep with the plan his social status
has pre-planned for him.
” of the white independent film producer
s, Starkman helped to produce and write The Scar of Shame a famous film that the Colored Players Film Corporation produced and released before it was eventually absorbed and merged with another film production company. Starkman would eventually go bankrupt due to the competition with other independent film companies and lack of revenue brought in by the film corporation’s productions.
into cash; he intimidated local Philadelphia lawyers and merchants for capital. Starkman would ultimately write scripts carry the “release prints to out of town play dates and [count] the house in person” (Smith 54). During production of his last film, The Scar of Shame, Starkman began to offer his own car for the film, put forward his sister’s house as a shooting location and decorated the set with his own furniture
. In the end, the financial pressure got the best of Starkman and after releasing The Scar of Shame Starkman could no longer compete due to the debut of sound film
, ruining him and similar independent film companies. In a last effort to save the Colored Players Film Corporation Starkman merged the company with one of his partner’s, Sherman Dudley, but unfortunately the company never took off.
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n immigrant who helped to found the Colored Players Film Corporation
Colored Players Film Corporation
The Colored Players Film Corporation, also known as The Colored Players Film Corporation of Philadelphia, was an independent silent film production company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Primarily founded by David Starkman and Sherman H. Dudley in 1926, the film company for the most part made...
, an independent silent film
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
studio, as well as write and produce the film company’s most famous film The Scar of Shame
The Scar of Shame
The Scar of Shame is a silent film, which was filmed in 1926 and released in 1927.It was produced by the Colored Players Film Corporation of Philadelphia, in one of the earliest examples of "race movies", in which an entirely black cast performed a feature film specifically for a black audience...
.
Colored Players Film Corporation
In 1926 David Starkman helped to found the Colored Players Film Corporation with Sherman H. “Uncle Dud” DudleySherman H. Dudley
Sherman Houston Dudley was an African American vaudeville performer and theatre entrepreneur.-Career:Born in Dallas, Texas, he became involved in medicine and minstrel shows in his youth. By the early 1890s he was a popular performer in troupes such as the Dudley Georgia Minstrels and the McCabe...
, a veteran of vaudevillian
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
and race movie
Race movie
The race movie or race film was a film genre which existed in the United States between about 1915 and 1950. It consisted of films produced for an all-black audience, featuring black casts....
s. Dudley and Starkman shared a common vision in which there was a black Hollywood free of the traditional black stereotype
Stereotype
A stereotype is a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings...
s; and so with Starkman’s theatre in Philadelphia as a base of operations the Colored Players Film Corporation was born with Dudley named as the President of the company and Starkman in charge of the management, finances, and operation of the production company
Production company
A production company provides the physical basis for works in the realms of the performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, and video.- Tasks and functions :...
. The Colored Players Film Corporation took the morals and ethics of Starkman and Dudley to heart as all their films attempt to show the African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
as a successful person able to achieve middle class status and step away from the typical stereotypes and minstrel films of the time period. While only Dudley and the cast comprised the African Americans of the Colored Players Film Corporation, the collaboration between both the white and black staff was an integral part of the company. More importantly the interracial cooperation found in the company allowed for the success of the film The Scar of Shame.
The Scar of Shame
The peak of the Colored Players Film Corporation’s success came when it produced the film The Scar of Shame in 1929, just one year before the closure of the production company. Starkman produced the film and wrote it with the cooperation of the black staff in order to understand the social caste among African Americans living within the same neighborhood. The film primarily focuses on two protagonistProtagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
s each from different levels of society. The main protagonist must choose whether or not to be with a woman from a lower caste of society or leave her in order to keep with the plan his social status
Social status
In sociology or anthropology, social status is the honor or prestige attached to one's position in society . It may also refer to a rank or position that one holds in a group, for example son or daughter, playmate, pupil, etc....
has pre-planned for him.
The White Micheaux?
Sometimes called the “Oscar MicheauxOscar Micheaux
Oscar Devereaux Micheaux was an American author, film director and independent producer of more than 44 films...
” of the white independent film producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
s, Starkman helped to produce and write The Scar of Shame a famous film that the Colored Players Film Corporation produced and released before it was eventually absorbed and merged with another film production company. Starkman would eventually go bankrupt due to the competition with other independent film companies and lack of revenue brought in by the film corporation’s productions.
Downfall
Although Starkman worked for his audience in order to enhance their experience in the theatre, Starkman did not always have the money to fund his films. Starkman eventually sold his theatre and then turned his wife’s inheritanceInheritance
Inheritance is the practice of passing on property, titles, debts, rights and obligations upon the death of an individual. It has long played an important role in human societies...
into cash; he intimidated local Philadelphia lawyers and merchants for capital. Starkman would ultimately write scripts carry the “release prints to out of town play dates and [count] the house in person” (Smith 54). During production of his last film, The Scar of Shame, Starkman began to offer his own car for the film, put forward his sister’s house as a shooting location and decorated the set with his own furniture
Furniture
Furniture is the mass noun for the movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating and sleeping in beds, to hold objects at a convenient height for work using horizontal surfaces above the ground, or to store things...
. In the end, the financial pressure got the best of Starkman and after releasing The Scar of Shame Starkman could no longer compete due to the debut of sound film
Sound film
A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades would pass before sound motion pictures were made commercially...
, ruining him and similar independent film companies. In a last effort to save the Colored Players Film Corporation Starkman merged the company with one of his partner’s, Sherman Dudley, but unfortunately the company never took off.
External links
- TCM Turner Classic Movies http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article/?cid=74413