The Betrayal (film)
Encyclopedia
The Betrayal is a race film written, produced, and directed by Oscar Micheaux
.
farmer in South Dakota
. He is in love with Deborah Stewart, but he believes that she is white and that she would not be interested in him. He is unaware that Deborah also loves him. Martin goes to Chicago
to seek out a wife. After an unsuccessful date with a cabaret
singer, he reconnects with an ex-girlfriend who introduces him to Linda. They fall in love and marry, and then return to Martin’s farm. The couple become parents, but their happiness is short-lived when Linda’s pathologically jealous father convinces her that Martin is homicidal. She flees the farm with their child and returns to Chicago. Martin tracks her down in the city, but Martin is shot by Linda during a fight. In South Dakota, Deborah discovers she is African American. She travels to Chicago and meets Linda, who agrees to divorce Martin so he can marry Deborah. Linda also gives her child to Deborah to raise. Martin and Deborah return to South Dakota and Linda kills her father in revenge for his role in destroying her marriage.
(1919), Micheaux’ first film. The Betrayal marked Micheaux’ return to filmmaking after an eight-year absence following the 1940 release of The Notorious Elinor Lee.
Micheaux shot The Betrayal at a studio in Fort Lee, New Jersey
, with location filming in Chicago.
Micheaux named his male lead Martin Eden in honor of the eponymous hero of the Jack London
novel
. Leroy Collins, a nonprofessional actor, was cast in the role when he came to the Chicago set seeking work as a stagehand when he was spotted by one of Micheaux’ assistants. This was Collins’ first and only film appearance.
The Betrayal was self-financed by Micheaux. and the director’s cut ran 195 minutes. Twelve minutes were cut for the film’s commercial release.
, with reserved seat screenings at the Mansfield Theatre. Reviews of the film were overwhelmingly negative, with The New York Times
complaining of “sporadically poor photography and consistently amateurish performances” within a story that “contemplates at considerable length the relations between Negroes and whites as members of the community as well as partners in marriage.” Box Office
also panned the film, noting “sincerity of purpose is perhaps the only redeeming feature of this all-Negro feature.” The African American media was also hostile, with the Chicago Defender
criticizing the film as "a preposterous, tasteless bore.”
. A script for the film can be found in the New York State Archives (Motion Picture Scripts Collection) in Albany, New York
.
Oscar Micheaux
Oscar Devereaux Micheaux was an American author, film director and independent producer of more than 44 films...
.
Plot
Martin Eden is a successful African AmericanAfrican 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...
farmer in South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
. He is in love with Deborah Stewart, but he believes that she is white and that she would not be interested in him. He is unaware that Deborah also loves him. Martin goes to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
to seek out a wife. After an unsuccessful date with a cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
singer, he reconnects with an ex-girlfriend who introduces him to Linda. They fall in love and marry, and then return to Martin’s farm. The couple become parents, but their happiness is short-lived when Linda’s pathologically jealous father convinces her that Martin is homicidal. She flees the farm with their child and returns to Chicago. Martin tracks her down in the city, but Martin is shot by Linda during a fight. In South Dakota, Deborah discovers she is African American. She travels to Chicago and meets Linda, who agrees to divorce Martin so he can marry Deborah. Linda also gives her child to Deborah to raise. Martin and Deborah return to South Dakota and Linda kills her father in revenge for his role in destroying her marriage.
Production
The Betrayal was adapted by Micheaux from his 1943 novel The Wind From Nowhere, although the plot regarding racial identities in rural South Dakota was borrowed from The HomesteaderThe Homesteader
The Homesteader is a black-and-white silent film by African American author and filmmaker Oscar Micheaux.-Production:The film was produced, co-directed and written for the screen by Micheaux, based on his book of the same name. It is believed to be the first feature-length film made with a black...
(1919), Micheaux’ first film. The Betrayal marked Micheaux’ return to filmmaking after an eight-year absence following the 1940 release of The Notorious Elinor Lee.
Micheaux shot The Betrayal at a studio in Fort Lee, New Jersey
Fort Lee, New Jersey
Fort Lee is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 35,345. Located atop the Hudson Palisades, the borough is the western terminus of the George Washington Bridge...
, with location filming in Chicago.
Micheaux named his male lead Martin Eden in honor of the eponymous hero of the Jack London
Jack London
John Griffith "Jack" London was an American author, journalist, and social activist. He was a pioneer in the then-burgeoning world of commercial magazine fiction and was one of the first fiction writers to obtain worldwide celebrity and a large fortune from his fiction alone...
novel
Martin Eden
Martin Eden is a novel by American author Jack London, about a proletarian young autodidact struggling to become a writer. It was first serialized in the Pacific Monthly magazine from September 1908 to September 1909, and subsequently published in book form by Macmillan in September 1909.This book...
. Leroy Collins, a nonprofessional actor, was cast in the role when he came to the Chicago set seeking work as a stagehand when he was spotted by one of Micheaux’ assistants. This was Collins’ first and only film appearance.
The Betrayal was self-financed by Micheaux. and the director’s cut ran 195 minutes. Twelve minutes were cut for the film’s commercial release.
Release
The Betrayal was the first race film to have its premiere in a Broadway venue in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, with reserved seat screenings at the Mansfield Theatre. Reviews of the film were overwhelmingly negative, with The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
complaining of “sporadically poor photography and consistently amateurish performances” within a story that “contemplates at considerable length the relations between Negroes and whites as members of the community as well as partners in marriage.” Box Office
Boxoffice (magazine)
Boxoffice is a film industry magazine dedicated to the movie theatre business published by Boxoffice Media LP. It started in 1920 as The Reel Journal, taking its current name in 1931 and still publishes today, with an intended audience of theatre owners and film professionals.Boxoffice is the...
also panned the film, noting “sincerity of purpose is perhaps the only redeeming feature of this all-Negro feature.” The African American media was also hostile, with the Chicago Defender
Chicago Defender
The Chicago Defender is a Chicago based newspaper founded in 1905 by an African American for primarily African American readers.In just three years from 1919–1922 the Defender also attracted the writing talents of Langston Hughes and Gwendolyn Brooks....
criticizing the film as "a preposterous, tasteless bore.”
Preservation status
The Betrayal was the last film directed by Micheaux, who died in 1951. No print of The Betrayal is known to exist, and it is considered a lost filmLost film
A lost film is a feature film or short film that is no longer known to exist in studio archives, private collections or public archives such as the Library of Congress, where at least one copy of all American films are deposited and catalogued for copyright reasons...
. A script for the film can be found in the New York State Archives (Motion Picture Scripts Collection) in Albany, New York
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
.