Paul Robeson as "The Emperor Jones," 1933

Paul Robeson as "The Emperor Jones," 1933

Edward Steichen
Gelatin silver print
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, gift of Richard and Jackie Hollander in memory of Ellyn Lee Hollander
M.2019.398.10
© 2021 The Estate of Edward Steichen / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York, digital image
© Museum Associates/LACMA

Watch: The Emperor Jones – 2 minutes, 9 seconds


The Emperor Jones

The most iconic of all Paul Robeson's eleven starring film performances was his breakthrough in the 1933 adaptation of Eugene O'Neill's The Emperor Jones. With this film, Robeson became the first African American leading man in mainstream movies and, he said, gained a deeper understanding of cinema's potential to change racial misconceptions.

Watch a short clip from the film.