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Introduction Race and the Struggle for Cinematic Meaning: Film Production, Censorship, and African American Reception, 1940-1960 by Ellen Christine Scott A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (American Culture) in The University of Michigan 2007 Doctoral Committee: Professor Gaylyn Studlar Associate Professor Catherine L. Benamou Associate Professor Matthew J. Countryman Associate Professor Matthew H. Bernstein, Emory University ©Ellen Christine Scott 2007 To My Family ii Acknowledgements I would like to thank everyone who has been a part of my intellectual community. Most particularly, I want to express my gratitude to Gaylyn Studlar, a true educator, for always seeing promise in me and for her consistent, genuine support and brilliant direction of this project—from the roughest of first drafts to the final stages. I would also like to thank my dream team committee: Matthew Bernstein, Matthew Countryman, and Catherine Benamou for the supportive and nuanced readings and advice that were formative in this project and in my scholarly development more generally. It is rare to have a committee where all of the members give so much and with so much obvious and genuine interest. I appreciate each of you for all you have done. I would like to thank Sue Kirby, Connie Ejarque, Phil Hallman, Mary Lou Chlipala at University of Michigan’s Screen Arts and Cultures program for showing me love and support and being a home away from home in Ann Arbor. I cannot imagine having finished this project or even being in graduate school without the support of the Mellon Minority Undergraduate Pre-doctoral fellowship. Pat, Val, Susan, Erica and Eve made me believe I could do this. I also want to thank the Ford Foundation for making this project possible through their financial support. The Center for the Education of Women at the University of Michigan also gave me a number of grants. Their support helped me to believe that there would always be provision for me. Thanks especially to Valerie Eglin. Archivists play a pivotal role in any historical dissertation but too often go unsung. I visited a large number of archives in this project and I received tremendous guidance from the archivists iii there. At the Library of Virginia, Joanne Porter not only gave me access to the collection but made sure I ate lunch. I am glad to call her a friend. I am extremely grateful to the staff and Archivists at the AMPAS, especially Barbara Hall, Doug Bell, and Doug Johnson who both inspired and directed me. Thank you to Annette Butler and Verna Kindle at the Waxter Senior Center; Sheila Minor- Harris at the Richmond Senior Center and all other senior center staff and study participants for contributing to my project and imparting sage wisdom as well. Thank you to the staff at the Maryland State Archives, The Library of Congress motion picture reading room, and specifically to Bill Gorman at the New York State Archives and William Markley at the Ohio State Archives. Thanks also to Ned Comstock at the USC Doheny Library for help with the research materials on Pinky and No Way Out. Thank you also to Eric Schaeffer, Robert Headley, Mark Quigley, and Leonard Leff who were helpful in tracking down difficult to find material. Thank you to those who gave editing support, namely Alexandra and Constance. My gratitude extends also to Jeremy Proffitt of Woodland Church who helped me with any and all my technical questions and with a genuine gentleness and grace that deserves praise. Thank you also to Grandma Carolyn Julye and Lael Walker who helped me get organized and listened in the process. My gratitude extends also to Jared Lauterbach who helped me to tackle negotiations with French Amazon.com so I could get a copy of I Spit on Your Graves (1959) and to Heather Swanson of Woodland Church who simultaneously translated the movie for me. Thank you also to the Scott Family and Gross families, especially Aunt Pat, Uncle D, and my cousins, Eric, Jason, Steven, Adam, Jeremy, Jamie and David. I especially want to thank Aunt Norma, who helped in a number of ways including sending articles, getting the word out to her sorority sisters, and connecting me to her cousin Henry T. Sampson who was an early support to me in this research—especially on the Popkins. iv There are also those whose extraordinary acts of provision made this project possible. David Berger and Holly Maxon cared for, sheltered, and guided me while I was doing interviews and research in New York. Dick Easterlin and Eileen Crimmins graciously welcomed me to stay with them indefinitely while I was doing research in Los Angeles. Without their help and support I would not have been able to complete the research for Chapters 4 and 5. Magali Safardi Larsen helped me by simultaneously translating Senza Pieta (1948) and giving research direction. Drew Faust and Charles Rosenberg offered me moral support at several pivotal junctures during the process. When I told Girlznite that I needed to stop working thirty hours a week so I could finish my dissertation, they responded not only with prayer and support but with financial provision that made the difference for me. To Rhonda Phil, Aleisha Langhorne, Misty Felton, (Lo)Rita Grant, Selena Whitfield, Portia Jackson, and Kim Jackson: thank you for showing me what provision is and where my help comes from. I am indebted in countless ways, also, to Barbara Savage, Tukufu Zuberi, Doug Massey, Herman Beavers, Camille Charles who have always supported me as a scholar and believed I had a contribution to make, especially in that exciting but vulnerable stage when I was just on the cusp of knowing. The Center for Africana Studies also made my time studying at Penn most productive, giving me borrowing privileges at the library as well as making me a part of the intellectual community. Carol, Onyx, and Gayle always helped me, cheered me on (and up when I needed it) and made Penn a home for me again. I also want to thank Eric McDuffie, Joe Barbarese, Ilina Singh, Almitra David, Ms. Rachel and Mr. Roland Wilson, and all my teachers and the staff at FSS who educated me in innumerable ways both inside and outside the classroom environment and helped me to develop my voice. Friend v Select not only taught me that the most enduring brilliance is both produced and enhanced by a nurturing intellectual community and “friendly” institutions, but also taught me, through our “search projects,” that intellectual inquiry and personal growth are intimately connected. Thank you also to those members of the academic community who provided regular collegial support to me in this process: Kristen Whissel, who first helped me to develop this dissertation idea, Tracie Rubeck, Ines Casillas, Anika Wilson, Shawan Wade, Afia Ofiri-Mensa, Lia and Chaz Howard, Tamara Walker, Lesa Lapeyrouse, Heather Swanson, Arica White, Daniel Barrett, Ling-Ling Zhao, Gaye Mudderisoglu, Charles Gentry, Luis Vazquez, Katy Jurado, Angel Jessup, Bambi Haggins, and Frances Gateward. All the members of the Africana Studies Dissertation writing group at Penn who read enormous drafts and gave exceedingly insightful commentary are also on my mind to thank. To my best friends who kept me (mostly) sane in the constant urgency of it all—Lori Dean, Rachel Ryan (and the Estradas, Continis, and Bellos), Rachel Anglade (and her mother and grandparent), and Rasool Berry—thank you! Thanks as well to my Church Families that gave spiritual nurture: to Woodland Presbyterian and Antioch in Philadelphia, Calvary Chapel of Downriver in Romulus, MI, and UMGC, thank you for your enduring prayer and support. I want to thank, especially Robert Tucker, who always kept it real with his spiritual nurture, guidance and support and Nancy Nath who prayed for me everyday that I would successfully complete my dissertation. Thank you also to the Fantuzzo family, especially John Fantuzzo who met with me and gave me wise advice when things got tough. To my Godchildren, Gabriel Ryan and Charissa Howard: I love you both so much! May your future be bright and may you know that with God, all things are possible. I owe an inexpressible debt to my family, especially my mother, my grandmother and my sister, who did everything they could think of to help, from listen to drafts to get me groceries. vi Thanks also to my dad, who made me laugh at the right times and who reminded me to breathe. Most of all, I thank God who is my Author, Wisdom, Inspiration. vii Contents Dedication………………………………………………………………………………………………………..….ii Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………….………….…………………….iii List of Figures………………………………………………………………….…………………………………..ix List of Appendices……………………………………………………..….………………………….…………..xi List of Abbreviations…………………………………………………………………………………..………..xii Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………..…….………………..xiii Chapter Introduction………………………………….….……………………………………………………………………..…1 1. Theaters of Engagement, Spaces of Hope: Local Exhibitor Agency and Black Cinematic Experience, 1940-1960…………………………….……………………………………..……32 2. Watching Movies, Imagining Equality: An Oral History of Civil Rights and Cinematic Interpretation, 1940 to 1960……………………..……………………………..…111 3. State Censorship, Politics, and the Struggle over African American Representation, 1930-1960………………………………………………………………………………………………….........217 4. Hushing Race: Industry policy, the Production Code and Censorship of Racial Problems, 1930-1960………………………………………………………………................354 5. Making Racial Democracy Safe for Hollywood: Darryl F. Zanuck, Studio Self-Regulation,
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