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Pioneering African-American movie, directed by actor and film-maker Spencer Williams in 1941. Williams was best known for playing Andy, in the Amos 'n' Andy TV show. The Blood of Jesus was produced by Williams' own production company, Amnegro, on a $5,000 budget using non-professional actors for his cast. It was his directorial début, and was a major commercial success, being screened in cinemas and in black churches. It's considered as being one of the most successful "race films" of the period. Time magazine has listed it as one of the top 25 Most Important Films on Race.
The film tells the story of a woman accidentally shot by her husband. As she lays dying, an angel visits her to take her spirit on a journey to the after-life. She is brought to the Crossroads between Heaven and Hell, and initially she is tempted by the slick Judas, an agent of Satan. Eventually the angel arrives to save Martha from Satan, and she witnessed the crucified Christ on the cross. The blood of Christ falls on her face, and she is transported back home, where her godless husband has found Jesus. |
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Williams filmed and produced The Blood Of Jesus in Texas, for Sack Amusement Enterprises. It's success meant he was able to make two other religious themed films, Brother Martin: Servant of Jesus (1942) and Go Down Death (1944). For years, the film was considered a lost film until prints were discovered in the mid-1980s in a warehouse in Tyler, Texas. In 1991, The Blood of Jesus became the first race film to be added to the United States National Film Registry.
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