The suppressed 1951 film version of Richard Wright’s 1940 novel
Native Son was released in virtual cinemas recently in a restoration presented by Kino Lorber in association with the Library of Congress, Fernando Martín Peña, and Argentina Sono Film. The film was also aired by Turner Classic Movies (TCM) this past weekend.
Shot primarily in Buenos Aires, Argentina with some exterior location shots done in Chicago, the movie was directed and co-written by Pierre Chenal, a Belgian-born director associated with French poetic realism.
Richard Wright in Native Son (1951)
In addition to co-adapting his own novel for the screen, Richard Wright performed the lead role as the ill-fated Bigger Thomas, a poor young black man in Chicago. Deeply oppressed and driven by intense fear, Bigger quickly becomes ensnared in a true American tragedy.