Dearest Mr. Robeson:
It was such a surprise and honor to learn that you had contracted with Universal Pictures to the film adaptation of Showboat and the Broadway role you had so marvelously fashioned. Please be assured that knowledge of your contract ultimately sealed the deal for me; your participation in this project means the very world. A man of your learning and background lends a certain erudition to an undertaking of this sort and I am happy to be aligned with a production to which you are seemingly so dedicated.
I pray that the legacy of this film is greater than the oft-noted trope of singing and dancing coloreds. It is my hope that Queenie and Joe can offer a brief, but sympathetic glimpse of the plight of Negroes in America and that both races will arrive at similar understandings --- that our mutual fates are intertwined.
Poverty, passing, prejudice, interracial union, the legacy of slavery – this is heady stuff Mr. Robeson. And our little film fearlessly confronts each confounding subplot without abandon. Is a solitary film – a musical – capable of such an ambitious order? I would offer a resounding, “Yes!” Sometimes the ‘seeing’ underscores the ‘imagining’ which fuels the ‘doing’. Wouldn’t you agree? If this film is nearly as successful as its Broadway run … well, I can only grin at the thought!
What enduring legacy will our characters impart? Perhaps a bit actress shouldn’t be concerned with such worldly matters – social commentary and justice may lie beyond the scope of my minute task – but I wonder about these matters indeed. I suspect that accepting any role whatsoever on the big screen may offer just the miniscule window that some inspired colored observer requires to conceiving another, more revered representation – another way of being. I don’t have your degrees and accolades, so this may be the only opportunity I have to communicate those possibilities to our own. But if a plain, middle-aged colored woman can acquire a contract with a Hollywood studio, acclaim on the silver screen and share a moment in time with Paul Robeson -- then certainly anything lies within the realm of likelihood.
I enthusiastically look forward to working with you and being privy to the exceptional mastery, reverence and legitimacy you bring to our craft.
So grateful for your acquaintance,
Ms. Hattie McDaniel
Questions:
Did Hattie McDaniel and Paul Robeson mutually enjoy the camaraderie that this film production facilitated or was Hattie’s participation dually subjugated by her gender and background in addition to their race?
Was the early 20th century entertainment industry particularly perceptive and sympathetic to the difficulties of race relations or did this industry simply mirror prominent American themes that were mirrored and of note societally?
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