In this film, Paul Robeson is Jericho, a black soldier who is condemned to die after accidently killing a superior officer whilst carrying out a heroic feat in rescuing fellow black soldiers trapped aboard the same ship that has been torpedoed. The army has no sympathy and he gets an unfair punishment. He has an ally in Henry Wilcoxon (Captain Mack) who allows him one last moment of freedom to attend a concert whereupon he escapes. Wilcoxon is held responsible and gets 5 years in jail. On his release, he is determined to seek out Robeson and arrest him so he can clear his name.
The film has a different setting as we find ourselves in the African desert following a salt caravan. It's basically a camel train of around 20,000.00 camels where different tribes meet up for a market place trading in salt. There are warring factions within these tribes and it's educational. I knew nothing about these salt caravans. I just thought a caravan was a dodgy home on wheels. No, this is the original caravan idea.
It is nice to see a black actor in a mainstream lead role - I can't think of any other film from this period that does this. It is a bit forced, though when Robeson says to his white desert companion "Look after the camels, boy" without any hint of humour. That's just tacky, I'm afraid - not revolutionary. It can be seen as petty racism that is what the film is trying to fight against. Very dumb thing to include in the dialogue.
The film loses its way for a bit in the 2nd half but the different setting makes it memorable and unfortunately, whilst Robeson has a good voice, the songs he sings aren't up to much. Watch out for the worst beginning to a film ever as news headlines are flashed quickly during the credits inducing epileptic fits and migraines for everyone watching and Kouka has the weirdest accent you will ever hear. She is the woman Robeson meets in the desert.
