Within Our Gates (1920) review

Southern schoolteacher Sylvia Landry (Evelyn Preer) is visiting her cousin Alma (Floy Clements) in "the North" when her fiancé Conrad (James D. Ruffin) pops in, sees her in a "delicate situation" (set up by Alma) and tries to strangle her; back down South, Sylvia's place of work, the Piney Woods School, is on the verge of bankruptcy so she travels to Boston to secure a wealthy benefactor.  While it's historically important as the first feature film directed by an African American and some of its statements about race are worth noting (the preacher is "bought off" by the whites, the ending is surprising) the "final product" is too scrambled, poorly acted (sometimes laughably so) and difficult to follow, which may be due to the fact that it had to be re-assembled and footage is missing (I'd give it more of the benefit of the doubt if Micheaux's later efforts were better).  Individuals interested in the (obscene and depressing) history of racial relations in America might want to watch it, however, since there aren't many opportunities to see "The Land of the Free" from a non-Caucasian point-of-view.