The Scar of Shame

1929
Passed
1h 8m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

Harry Henderson, Norman Johnstone, Lucia Lynn Moses, and William E. Pettus in The Scar of Shame (1929)

A black musician marries a woman facing abuse from her stepfather to rescue her. After the marriage, he refuses to introduce her to his mother, fearing his mother's disapproval of her lower ... Read allA black musician marries a woman facing abuse from her stepfather to rescue her. After the marriage, he refuses to introduce her to his mother, fearing his mother's disapproval of her lower socioeconomic status.A black musician marries a woman facing abuse from her stepfather to rescue her. After the marriage, he refuses to introduce her to his mother, fearing his mother's disapproval of her lower socioeconomic status.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.2/10

481

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 1 nomination total

Photos6

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
This movie was considered lost until the original nitrate print was discovered decades later.

Goofs
After Alvin leaves his mother's house, the butler reaches down to pick up the dropped key with his left hand, the next shot is a closeup of him picking up the key with his right hand. The next shot he is standing up with the key in his left hand.

Quotes
Title Card: One half the world doesn't know how the other half lives.

Alternate versions
The Library of Congress Video Collection has a restored version of this film with a new piano score composed and performed by Philip Carli. Its running time is 76 minutes. A small missing section is summarized by an intertitle. Other restoration credits: Simmon, Scott ....... restoration producer Fleming, Dina T. .... restoration production co-ordinator McConnell, Allan .... restoration magnetic recording laboratory head Winther, James ...... restoration videotape transfer and editor Chrisman, Paul ...... restoration music recordist DeAnna, Gene ........ restoration titles

Connections
Featured in American Experience: Midnight Ramble (1994)

User reviews19

Review

Featured review

7/10

Pretty Good For It's Time

OK first of all let's face it. Some films during the silent era can be boring and painful to actually get into, but are more worth the watch for the visuals of what things were like back then. I personally like watching them because there aren't a crazy amount of them left and it is fun to fantasize what it would have been like back then. I always feel like there are not enough words to justify having words at all during the films. This film is a silent black film with a great story. It doesn't put you to sleep and it has some powerful silent acting along with a powerful story about class. (This movie is called a race film bc it was a film made for black people starring black people. It does not mean that this movie is about racial issues with other races, but about a couple who marries each other outside of their classes and how the female lead has a very difficult time adjusting to a higher class life.) It is definitely worth the watch. It is very sad how many very early films such as this did not make it through the years. Watch them and appreciate them.