The Emperor Jones (1933) review

Ambitious Brutus Jones (Paul Robeson) leaves his girlfriend behind as he goes to work as a Pullman porter, kills his "friend" Jeff (Frank H. Wilson) over a craps game, is sent to prison and made a part of a chain gang, escapes and ends up on a small island in the Caribbean where he, with the help of slave trader Mr. Smithers (Dudley Digges), declares himself "Emperor."  Apparently Robeson wasn't happy with this version because it changed too much from the original play by Eugene O'Neill, and while I'd agree that the first section is quite a bit choppy (there are large gaps of time missing between scenes), the second half contains some of the best acting that I've seen from him on screen, with an especially haunting conclusion in which Jones succumbs to regret and paranoia once he's lost in the woods and desperate to escape.  It also brings up compelling questions regarding "race" (despite the repeated use of slurs): what does it say about former slave Jones when he orders imprisoned slaves to be beaten?  Is it that "power," regardless of the skin color of the individual who wields it, renders men equal in their brutality?