MovieChat Forums > Way Down South (1939) Discussion > Would love to see this film remade

Would love to see this film remade

posted 12 years ago by dmnemaine
4 replies | jump to latest

I never thought I'd say it, but this is one film from the golden age of Hollywood that should be remade. The original Langston Hughes/Clarence Muse screenplay had great potential, but unfortunately they wrote this at a period in our history when they would most likely never have gotten a non-stereotypical portrayal of the antebellum South produced. It buys into notions perpetrated by many white people after the Civil War to downplay the seriousness and atrocity of slavery such as people being happy to be slaves if their owner was "good" to them. Whenever I see depictions of slaves as "happy", it just begs the question, "Would I be happy being a slave?" I think we'd all answer that question the same way. And as far as the "good" slave owner idea goes, no matter how kindly or nicely the slaves were treated, they were still human beings who were OWNED by other human beings, and that's a horrible, terrible thing. Anyway, I think a more realistic portrayal of antebellum Louisiana could be accomplished in an updated screenplay without hurting the integrity of the story. And no, I'm not advocating that black people and white people should hate each other. I'm advocating that people need to face the reality of America's slavery history, and not try to make it "nice" and "pretty" when it wasn't that at all.

[–] bradford-1 10 years ago

I'm wondering how much Muse and Hughes were paid by RKO. I just have the feeling that they were paid "cullud" money for the script rather than what a Nunally Johnson or Dudley Nichols would have received.
"May I bone your kipper, Mademoiselle?"

[–] chicago85 10 years ago

I doubt they were paid much. I once read a biography about Hattie McDaniels. It said her and other blacks weren't under contract by the studios but had to audition for each role. Her and Clarence Muse were early NAACP leaders in Hollywood and had many up hill battles in the film industry. The only black actor who made a lot of money was comedian Step N Fechit who was an embarrasement to the others in his roles.

I read too in this movie there was a scene where someone suggested a white female lead slap Muse. He replied if anyone slapped him he would be slapping back.

Later Walter White of the NAACP stabbed them and others like Eddie "Rochester" Anderson in the back in 1946 by denouncing them as the "old" (and darker) Hollywood and Lena Horne as the new idealized version of a black movie star. Muse denounced White for his degrading and unfair insults. Walter White may have lead the NAACP but he looked like a white person with no African blood.

He reminded me of the old joke about auditors told in business offices. Auditors are said to come on the field after the battle to shoot all the wounded.

I don't know everything. Neither does anyone else

[–] mdonln 9 years ago

I think you're very wrong. I don't think anyone in their right mind would suggest slavery was a good thing for the slaves but to go to the other extreme is just as wrong.

To think slaves were always miserable and unhappy would be to misunderstand human nature. In any situation, some people will find ways to find amusement, happiness, and joy. That doesn't mean people always enjoy the situations they're in but if they were being treated with kindness, allowed to stay with their families and not sold off, beaten and abused that would go a long way.

No, I wasn't around in those days and I would never attempt to speak for anyone but I'm comfortable saying these things because of what I know about people in general. Stockholm syndrome is a term that hadn't yet been coined at that time but it would probably apply in that situation on a much grander scale.

You have to remember, the slaves knew what life was like on other plantations either from having lived on them at one point or having known others who had. If their living conditions were substantially better than other people they knew it's understandable they'd be 'grateful' even though they were slaves. Also, I've read stories about how lost some of the slaves were after they were freed. Most had known no other way of life. They had no education and few prospects so life was hard. Some who had been in relatively kinder plantations chose to stay on; continuing to work for the family who previously owned them.

Again, I am not discounting or condoning slavery but I can imagine how there would have been plenty of slave owners who were decent, even nice, well-meaning people. They did what was the norm at the time, owning slaves to run their plantations, perhaps even inheriting the situation but it doesn't necessarily mean the slave owners were all horrible, evil people.

Happiness doesn't only exist under ideal situations and all people don't lose their humanity when they are in power over others. These are some basic facts of human nature. We'll never really be able to get along until we understand and appreciate all that we are and can be as human beings. The human race is the only race we should be worried about yet it's still the one we have the most trouble understanding. To better understand the human race, it's important we start by understanding and appreciating ourselves.

[–] dmnemaine 9 years ago

1) There certainly were people who suggested that black people were better off being slaves because they needed white people to take care of them. So you're wrong.
2) I never said that slaves were "always miserable and unhappy". I said that slaves were not happy being slaves. Nice straw man there.
3) A true depiction of slaves in the Antebellum South would not be one of happily serving and pleasing white people. That does not mean they would necessarily be miserable and unhappy people, just that their happiness would not stem from being slaves.
4) My actual point was that it would have been a much better film if we had real, human characters rather than caricatures.