The Burning Cross

The Burning Cross
Film poster
Directed byWalter Colmes
Written byAubrey Wisberg
Produced byWalter Colmes
Music byRaoul Kraushaar
Production
company
Somerset Pictures
Distributed byScreen Guild Productions
Release date
  • September 1, 1947 (1947-09-01)
Running time
77 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budgetless than $100,000[1]

The Burning Cross is a 1947 American drama film directed by Walter Colmes. It was written by Aubrey Wisberg and released by Screen Guild Productions.

The film depicts Ku Klux Klan activities and was censored in Virginia and Detroit.[2][3][4][5]

Plot

[edit]

A war veteran joins the Ku Klux Klan and comes to regard it as evil.

Cast

[edit]
  • Henry H. Daniels Jr. as Johnny Larrimer
  • Virginia Patton as Doris Greene
  • Dick Rich as Lud Harris
  • Joel Fluellen as Charlie West
  • John Fostini as Tony Areni
  • Betty Roadman as Agatha Larimer
  • Raymond Bond as Chester Larrimer
  • Matt Willis as Mort Dauson - the Grand Dragon
  • John Doucette as Toby Mason

Production

[edit]

The film was made by Somerset Pictures, established in 1947 by Walter Combes, Solly Levenstein and Jake Milstein. It was their first movie.[6] They signed an agreement with Screen Guild Productions to distribute. The New York Times called Screen Guild "a minor organization which can afford the risk of alienating the Southern market."[1]

Filming started in June 1947.[7] It was shot at a new studio at Cahuenga, where offices for the Metro organisation had been.[8]

Release

[edit]

The film was banned in Virginia and Detroit.[9]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b T. F. (Jun 1, 1947). "Big temblor staged for 'green dolphin, street' -- KKK expose -- addenda". New York Times. ProQuest 107926088.
  2. ^ Schallert, E. (Sep 22, 1947). "DRAMA AND FILM". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest 165803973.
  3. ^ THOMAS F BRADY (Sep 23, 1947). "LOW-BUDGET FILMS EXPANDING AT FOX". New York Times. ProQuest 108074960.
  4. ^ Ooten, Melissa (10 Apr 2013). "Censorship In Black And White: The Burning Cross (1947), Band Of Angels (1957) And The Politics Of Film Censorship In The American South After World War II". Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television. Vol. 33. pp. 77–98.
  5. ^ T.M.P. (Feb 20, 1948). "At the victoria". New York Times. ProQuest 108312513.
  6. ^ "FILMLAND BRIEFS". Los Angeles Times. May 21, 1947. ProQuest 165768143.
  7. ^ "Film exposes collaborator". Los Angeles Times. Jun 1, 1947. ProQuest 165762281.
  8. ^ Schallert, E. (May 23, 1947). "DRAMA AND FILM". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest 165775232.
  9. ^ "Protest ban on 'burning cross'". New York Times. Nov 4, 1947. ProQuest 108056373.
[edit]