22 • March 3, 2022 - March 9, 2022
THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS
IN
THE
CLASSROOM
Mercedes Gilbert, an actress, novelist and poet
By HERB BOYD Special to the AmNews
useless, and she may have been less enthusiastic about the dialect in the captions. Nonetheless, her matronly appearance and her willful demeanor matched Robeson’s dual role in “Body and Soul,” giving his
Oscar Micheaux was a wise filmmaker and evidence of that is readily apparent in 1924-’25 when he cast Paul Robeson in the leading role Mercedes Gilbert in “Body and Soul.” This was Robeson’s film debut and the character he portrays is an extreme departure from what the actor would become in real life. With such a commanding, charismatic leading man, the women in the film, credited or not, are given little mention in summaries and reviews. One that deserves more than a nod was Mercedes Gilbert, and as the mother of a daughter she is determined to wed with a local preacher, she magnetic personality an even pairs equally with Robeson on larger platform of popularity. the film’s basic plot. Here’s the basic synopsis of But all this occurs in the the film, which several film early ’20s when Gilbert is in critics dismissed as being terher mid-30s, and had firmly rible uneven with an awkward established her place on stage plot: Robeson, a prisoner in and screen, particularly from Georgia, is being transported her portrayal as Zipporah, the to the North to be extradited wife of Moses, in the original to England when he manages touring production of “Green to escape and then changes his Pastures” in 1930. identity to the Right Reverend Gilbert was born July 26, Isaiah T. Jenkins. Since this is a 1894, in Jacksonville, Florida silent film we miss Robeson’s and attended Edward Waters oratorical majesty as he begins College where she began train- to hoodwink followers in small ing to be a nurse before leaving southern towns. Gilbert porfor New York City to try her luck trays Martha Jane as among in the world of entertainment, those captivated by his speechfirst as a songwriter and then es. The reverend is soon joined as an actress. When she was re- in Tatesville by another convict, cruited by Micheaux many of Yellow-Curly Hinds, who he the skills she had acquired on had met in jail. Their scheme is the stage were no longer nec- to liberate the church’s contriessary, especially in silent films butions by selling them whiswhere her voice was key at inflated prices. Martha Jane is a frugal
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member of the church who has been saving her hardearned money for her daughter’s dowry and to help her and her husband buy a nice home for the couple: Rev. Jenkins and Isabelle. Her daughter is not
smitten by the reverend and her heart belongs to Sylvester. Before long she catches wind of her mother’s plans. One day Martha leaves Isabelle alone with Rev. Jenkins, primarily for him to save her soul, according to her mother’s wishes. After the pastor steals Martha’s money, he convinces Isabelle to take the blame for the thievery and flee to Atlanta. Later, Isabelle confesses to the theft in a note to her mother and departs for Atlanta only to find her there living in dire poverty. Isabelle movingly reveals how the incident occurred and how the pastor molested her and forced her to tell him where the money was hidden. Gilbert, in a scene where her consummate acting is delivered, forgives Isabelle who in a subsequent scene dies. Back in Tatesville,
Martha attends a church where the half-drunk pastor is preaching about “Dry Bones in the Valley.” After she publicly accuses the pastor of causing her daughter’s death, the congregation turns on him. Later that evening, the pastor, being pursued by bloodhounds, arrives at Martha’s door, explaining that it was her pampering that ruined him. Meanwhile, two of Martha’s friends arrive to help her but she shoos them away and hides the pastor in the closet. A forgiven pastor then takes flight and seeks a hiding place in a nearby woods. One of his pursuers who corners him is assaulted and killed. At this point the film takes an abrupt change and Martha awakens from slumber to discover all of the events were part of a dream. Now she learns that Sylvester, Isabelle’s true love, has made a remarkable discovery and earned a considerable amount of money. The reality of this good fortune compels Martha to secure her savings from a bible and give it to them. A few scenes later the happy couple return to Martha’s home to find the place transformed and nicely appointed, and thus your happy ending. This began Gilbert’s fairly impressive film career, including “Moon Over Harlem” in 1939 and there were a number of radio programs, most notably a tribute to Black women “Heroines in Bronze,” in 1943. She was also the author of “Aunt Sara’s Wooden God,” a novel in 1938. After a brief illness in March, 1952, she died in Queens General Hospital. She was 57 and was survived by her husband Arthur J. Stevenson and a brother Earl Gough, who was also an actor.
ACTIVITIES FIND OUT MORE Completing a full profile on Gilbert is a very challenging assignment, but bits and pieces from film authority Donald Bogle and several obituaries were indispensable. DISCUSSION Very little was available about her early years or during extensive gaps of her acting career. PLACE IN CONTEXT Her life spanned a half century from the end of the 19th to the mid-20th.
THIS WEEK IN BLACK HISTORY Feb. 27, 1988: Figure skater Debi Thomas became the first African American to win a medal (bronze) at the winter Olympic Games. Feb. 28, 1784: Renowned poet Phillis Wheatley passed away. She was only 31, but she is the first African American woman to be published. Feb. 28, 1943: Porgy and Bess opened on Broadway, starring Anne Brown and Todd Duncan.
