Uncle Tom's Cabin poster & wallpaper

Virginia Grey

Harry Pollard's epic 1927 version of Harriet Beecher Stowe's landmark novel Uncle Tom's Cabin was one of the most expensive silent films ever made. James B. Lowe, whose composure, dignity...( read more  read more... ), and gentleness suggest a silent-era Danny Glover, stars as kindly Tom, the slave ripped from his family to pay his master's debt, but the film favors the more sensational melodrama of the married light-skinned couple Eliza and George and their son Harry (all played by white performers), split up and sold to the highest bidder. Pollard, a Southerner himself, maintains an uneasy balance between a sentimental portrayal of a happy Dixie with smiling slaves and a land where humans are bought and sold like cattle to wicked, money-grubbing masters. The exaggerated performances and stereotypes have not aged well and Pollard shows a weakness for broad Victorian melodrama, but the film boasts many moving moments and nail-biting sequences, highlighted by Eliza's harrowing escape across the ice floes as hounds literally nip at her heels. (A staple of the many touring stage productions of the play, D.W. Griffith borrowed the scene for the climax of Way Down East.) Uncle Tom's Cabin is more interesting as a product of its era than any serious attempt to explore the evils of slavery, but it's an exciting, handsomely mounted picture. Kino's restored edition features the original Movietone score by Erno Rapee, complete with sound effects and songs.

The DVD also features a detailed and informative essay by historian David Pierce, an extensive collection of stills, promotional materials, and music cue sheets, and details of cuts made to the film, including two deleted scenes that are among the best moments the film has to offer. --Sean Axmaker

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72% liked it

118 ratings

Unrated, 112 min.

Directed by: Harry A. Pollard

Release Date: November 4, 1927

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DVD Release Date: November 23, 1999

Stats: 37 reviews

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Poster George Siegmann and Margarita Fischer Uncle Tom's Cabin
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Flixster Reviews (37)

  • JasonDennis91786
    September 15, 2009
    JasonDennis91786
    this is very much in the blockbuster style. not an artsy film at all. very one-note characters and ridiculous sequences throughout. and it looks about five years older than it is, which is significant in the silent film era. but the film is very entertaining. let me put it this w...( read more)ay. i was not planning to watch this movie, but flipped to it and kept watching. and this is a silent movie we're talking about here! the plot is a bit disingenuous because of the slightly positive depiction of slavery and the choice of mulatto slave protagonists for the audience to relate to. also, many of the african americans in the film verify stereotypes of them. but tom's character, the best acted part in the film, redeems most of that latent racist pathos with his excellent demeanor. so while it is a bit shallow on the literary front, it is entertaining for a silent film.
  • aifuyukiss
    July 4, 2008
    aifuyukiss
    it was so amazing
    touching,,,,,,,
  • glamourina1
    August 19, 2007
    glamourina1
    This is a very touching story (that you may have read) and is surprisingly advanced for it's time.
  • spicemommy
    August 10, 2007
    spicemommy
    Love the movie & the book, which was my favorite when I was a child ... reading it every summer - loved New Orleans - and everything else about this place, my man and my child ...
  • chapstickman
    April 14, 2007
    chapstickman
    i luv this movie..even though its sad & cruel. it shows u how slaves really were treated!!
  • addoesonly
    March 30, 2007
    addoesonly
    My heart goes out to all the slaves like Uncle Tom a must see
  • Horseloverforever
    March 7, 2007
    Horseloverforever
    VERY VERY WONDERFUL!!!!
  • ragdollz
    November 6, 2006
    ragdollz
    this sounds like an interesting film

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  • spicemommy
    August 10, 2007
    spicemommy
    I'm proud to be the first one posting a comment about this wonderful book & the movie. If more people would read this book or see this movie, there will be less racism in the world. Everything's very touching ...
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