The House Behind the Cedars

The House Behind the Cedars is a 1927 silent race film directed, written, produced and distributed by the noted director Oscar Micheaux. It was adapted from the 1900 novel of the same name by the AfricanAmerican writer Charles W. Chesnutt, who explored issues of race, class and identity in the postCivil War South. No print of the film is known to exist and it is considered lost. Micheaux remade the film in 1932 under the title Veiled Aristocrats.

Rena Shingzie Howard is a young woman of mixed race. Although she is romantically pursued by an upwardly mobile African American named Frank C.D. Griffith, Rena does not decide in his favor. Her appearance allows her to pass for white, as she is of majority European ancestry, although she has grown up in the black community.She meets and falls in love with George Tryon, a young white aristocrat Lawrence Chenault. But as their relationship deepens, Rena believes she has to acknowledge her African ancestry. She leaves John and returns to Frank, yet her decision creates great inner turmoil. As she accepts Frank as her life partner, she confesses Frank, I am miserable. ........

Source: Wikipedia