The ‘Reol’ Story: Race Authorship and Consciousness in Robert Levy's Reol Productions, 1921–1926

Abstract

Robert Levy, manager of Harlem’s Lafayette Players, founded Reol Productions in 1921. One of the earliest race film producers, Reol attempted to differentiate itself in this market by specializing in ‘high class’ productions featuring well-known actors from the Lafayette company and adaptations of work by Paul Laurence Dunbar, Wallace Johnson, and other noted race authors. The paper focuses on Levy’s medial position as a Jewish entrepreneur operating in an African American market, with particular attention to The Call of His People (1921), Levy’s adaptation of Aubrey Bowser’s passing narrative, The Man Who Would Be White.

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