The Emperor Jones

Robeson is a magnetic presence throughout, single-handedly elevating the material beyond B-movie mediocrity. The final act however very much mirrors the protagonist, losing its way in the jungle and limping to a disenchanting finish free of excitement or catharsis.

Robeson's performance is nothing short of incredible.

I am in ignorance or this is some anomaly. Rather quaint and eccentric, and, as others note, its all really held together so well on account of Robeson, whose presence and bearing are about as remarkable as Orson Welles'. One of the most interesting of the pre-code pictures I've seen.

A heavy role for the great deep voice of Paul Robeson. And at times it looked like it could be a cool movie, but it never vitalized. The long and spiritual end bored me to death for some reason. I was unable to capture the magic in it and with that the movie just faded away for me....

Flawed but fascinating, with a commanding lead performance from Robeson. The story of Brutus Jones turns out to be an interesting character study, but at only 76 minutes the twists and turns of the first half feel rushed and it can neither hide it's theatrical origins nor give the text the attention it needs. Also, it's liberal use of the N-word is enough to make Tarantino feel a bit uncomfortable.

Robeson is astonishing.