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The Symbol of the Unconquered

Play trailer Poster for The Symbol of the Unconquered 1920 54m Romance Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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Tomatometer 3 Reviews 22% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
In this silent film, Eve Mason (Iris Hall) learns of her grandfather's death, leaves her small Southern town and travels west to inspect her newly-inherited land. With help from her neighbor, Hugh Van Allen (Walker Thompson), she arrives at her grandfather's homestead. When the self-loathing Jefferson Driscoll (Lawrence Chenault) learns that Van Allen's property sits atop a vast oil reserve, he teams up with a group of unsavory criminals to threaten Mason and force Van Allen off his land.

Critics Reviews

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Richard Brody The New Yorker A journalistic deep dive into the economic, social, and criminal underpinnings of the startup town as well as a literary study of the complex psychology of race relations in the North. Jun 1, 2015 Full Review NY Age Staff New York Age The photography of The Symbol of the Unconquered compares favorably with screen successes put out by leading producers and interest is sustained throughout the eight reels. Jul 1, 2021 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews Embodies black soul. Rated: B- Sep 12, 2016 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member The soundtrack by Max Roach is surprisingly expressive. I'm blown away by his ability to keep me involved in the film with only his drum set. It maybe shouldn't work, but it does, beautifully. (The movie is good too.) Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review Audience Member A black man inherits some land that unbeknownst to him has valuable oil deposits. A half-black/half-white man who passes for white and despises black people teams up with racists to intimidate him into selling his land. Like many of Oscar Micheaux's silent films, there's not a very clear narrative flow to it, but it contains rich and powerful imagery. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Audience Member There's a chunk of this film missing, centered around a scene of Klansmen getting beat down by a brick-wielding "negro". Going to venture a guess it was Abraham. Might've added half a star for that scene alone. The Max Roach soundtrack is a nice touch to this otherwise silent film. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/18/23 Full Review Audience Member good silent race film Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Symbol of the Unconquered

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Cast & Crew

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Oscar Micheaux

Director

Iris Hall

Eve Mason

Walker Thompson

Hugh Van Allen

Lawrence Chenault

Jefferson Driscoll

Jim Burris

Actor

Mattie Wilkes

Mother Driscoll
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The Symbol of the Unconquered

The Symbol of the Unconquered (1920) The Symbol of the Unconquered (1920) The Symbol of the Unconquered (1920) The Symbol of the Unconquered (1920) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis In this silent film, Eve Mason (Iris Hall) learns of her grandfather's death, leaves her small Southern town and travels west to inspect her newly-inherited land. With help from her neighbor, Hugh Van Allen (Walker Thompson), she arrives at her grandfather's homestead. When the self-loathing Jefferson Driscoll (Lawrence Chenault) learns that Van Allen's property sits atop a vast oil reserve, he teams up with a group of unsavory criminals to threaten Mason and force Van Allen off his land.
Director
Oscar Micheaux
Producer
Oscar Micheaux
Screenwriter
Oscar Micheaux
Production Co
Micheaux Film Corporation
Genre
Romance, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Feb 8, 2017
Runtime
54m