Unscrupulously ambitious Brutus Jones escapes from jail after killing a guard and through bluff and bravado finds himself the emperor of a Caribbean island.Unscrupulously ambitious Brutus Jones escapes from jail after killing a guard and through bluff and bravado finds himself the emperor of a Caribbean island.Unscrupulously ambitious Brutus Jones escapes from jail after killing a guard and through bluff and bravado finds himself the emperor of a Caribbean island.
- Awards
- 1 win
- Jeff
- (as Frank Wilson)
- Lem
- (as George Stamper)
- Carrington
- (uncredited)
- Stick-man
- (uncredited)
- Extra in Nightclub Scene
- (uncredited)
- Court Crier
- (uncredited)
- Pianist
- (uncredited)
- Marcella
- (uncredited)
- Young Tap Dancer
- (uncredited)
- Treasurer
- (uncredited)
- Extra in Nightclub Scene
- (uncredited)
- Extra in Nightclub Scene
- (uncredited)
- Directors
- Dudley Murphy
- William C. de Mille(uncredited)
- Writers
- Eugene O'Neill
- DuBose Heyward(uncredited)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaFredi Washington had to reshoot her scenes wearing dark make-up when the Hays Office deemed her as appearing too light-skinned in the first rushes. They feared audiences would think Paul Robeson was embracing a white actress.
- GoofsWhen Jones lands on a Caribbean island, there are prickly pear and San Pedro cacti on the beach, neither of which are found in the Caribbean.
- Quotes
Brutus Jones: I's got five lead bullets in this gun good enough for common bush niggers. And after that, I's got this silver bullet left to cheat 'em outta gettin' me. I tells 'em, when the time comes, I kills myself with it. That's 'cause I'm the only man in the world big enough to get me.
- Alternate versionsThe 72-minute version has different opening credits. In the original version, the title reads "The Emperor Jones" in uppercase (capital) letters. In later prints of this film, including the 72-minute version nearly always screened on TV, the title reads merely "Emperor Jones" , in lowercase letters.
- ConnectionsEdited into SanKofa Theater: The Emperor Jones (2022)
The basic idea is that Brutus Jones, by a very improbable chain of events, goes from being a railway porter to a convict to the 'emperor' of a Caribbean island. The production is mediocre, and most of the other characters are routine, although the cast is fairly good under the circumstances. Robeson keeps it from falling apart by being convincing in the many different stages of his character's life - he shows quite a range of acting abilities in a short film.
And he is basically the only reason to watch. The talented Robeson apparently never had many chances at really good roles (whether that was because of his race, or for some other reason), and it's too bad that he never got the chance to show what he could do in a quality film, since he does quite a good job here without much to work with.
- Snow Leopard
- Jul 23, 2001
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- El emperador Jones
- Filming locations
- Eastern Service Studios, Astoria, Queens, New York City, New York, USA(Kaufman Astoria Studios since 1982)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $263,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 12 minutes
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1