Paul Robeson
– Brutus Jones
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Synopsis
A railway porter drawn into gambling and violence begins a journey away from his former life. His appetite for power leads toward a precarious new authority. The drama traces the ambitions and fears surrounding Brutus Jones, played by Paul Robeson.
Cast
DirectorsDudley Murphy
Inspirations
Robeson had already played the title role in Eugene O'Neill's drama on stage. The independently financed film adds an extended backstory and new characters before reaching material from the play, substantially changing its structure.
Sources and availability
The synopsis and editorial text were written for this collection. The references below were cross-checked to identify the film and its copy; each editorial section identifies its reference.
Work catalogued as public domain in the United States.
The reference concerns the original work. Restorations, colorization, translations and other territories may have different conditions. This site uses the player enabled by the channel.
Availability checked on September 10, 2026.
Photograph credit
Photographs cropped, resized and optimized as WebP, displayed in monochrome.
- Paul Robeson — Gordon Parks , Office of War Information; cropped by Beyond My Ken ( talk ) 07:13, 3 February 2011 (UTC) · Public domain
- Dudley Digges — Theatre Arts Inc., photograph by Francis Bruguiere · Public domain
- Frank H. Wilson — Florence Vandamm, photographer · Public domain
- Fredi Washington — Universal Pictures · Public domain
