The Emperor Jones (1933)

The Emperor Jones

The Emperor Jones is a 1933 American pre-code film adaptation of Eugene O’Neill’s 1920 play of the same title, directed by iconoclast Dudley Murphy, written for the screen by playwright DuBose Heyward, and starring Paul Robeson in the title role.

Brutus Jones escapes from jail after killing a guard and, through bluff and bravado, finds himself the emperor of a Caribbean island.