Blog Post #3: Richard Norman and Robert Levy

While race films were dominated by a stream of features that were produced for and by the black community, there were outliers that were able to develop equally compelling films that inspired enthusiasm among the contemporary audience. Though they have not been awarded much credit until more recently, and most, if any, of the features, are not extant, they played a prominent role in portraying equality in contrast to the reality faced during that period. African Americans were often cast as lower members of that contemporary society, or  as less admirable members of theater casts. The films produced by Richard Norman and Robert Levy offered very contrary views, serving to uplift the black community into the realm of privilege and success, as experienced by their white counterparts.

Neither Norman, nor Levy, were African-American themselves, Norman being a southern-born white, and Levy, the son of a Russian Jewish immigrant family. However, despite being more observers than insiders, they developed a keen awareness of the taste possessed by the African American audience. Rather than playing on the tropes and stereotypes being propagated at the time, they focused their efforts on elevating the status of blacks, portraying them in roles of authority or heroism, traditionally given to a white cast, as blacks were relegated to play more secondary characters.

Employing an all-black cast for their pictures, Norman and Levy could be seen as creatives that truly embodied the contemporary black ideology. Norman headed the Norman Film Manufacturing Company, while Levy led Reol Productions, with strong personal standards. Norman was very heavy in self-promotion, developing “exploitation accessories” and promotions called “ballyhoos,” and going on roadshows. He refused to conform with the practices of other filmmakers, self-financing most of his films, turning down outside investment. Levy aimed to offer “continuous employment” for black performers, and released no shares for sale to the public.

With a strong desired to deliver high production value, while offering role models that demonstrated the promise of advancement through merit, their films were well-received, breaking many box office records. Though they faced their own set of obstacles, from censorship to white protesters, the greatest impediments they had to overcome were the barrier of introduction, as well as reigning in production costs. That is, despite the audience for their work, they did not have the same distribution infrastructure that Hollywood commanded, which resulted in many of such race filmmakers having to personally go on roadshows. Additionally, they often had issues with production costs becoming higher than estimated, requiring them to cut corners. As such, filmmakers often coaxed the cast they secured to work on multiple films at the same time, utilizing the same time, studio to produce three or four pictures for far less than the price of one.

In all, Norman was able to produce and release seven feature-length films, while Levy managed to develop twelve. Though only one of Norman’s films has survived in its entirety, and none of Levy’s productions survived, they made an indelible mark in the race film industry. Though they both suffered the same fate as many of their race film contemporaries, after beginning with initial ample financial support, industry experience, and a strong pool of talent, they still achieved more than many others combined, despite the later shortcomings, and especially demonstrated an admirable relationship to their craft, as well as with their audience, and scrutiny of their methods indubitably provides insight into the unique race film culture of that era.