Stan Lathan

(On Cable TV, July 2022) Everyone understands that history is a consensus summary of what happened, and that what’s taught in school leaves out plenty of odd pockets that may not fit in an overall narrative. Still, it’s always a surprise to find out about those bits of history that challenge what we think of history, especially when it has to do with minorities and oppressed groups. There’s even a double layer of discovery in A House Divided: Denmark Vessey’s Rebellion. Not only does it describe a failed slave rebellion in 1822 Charleston, the film itself is a now-obscure product of an endowment that led to a pair of black-cast historical films shown on PBS in the 1980s (the other being Solomon Northrup’s Odyssey in 1984). It’s fascinating enough to delve into the structures of nineteenth-century slavery in the American South, with its blend of free men, slaves, good masters and the terrible consequences of rebellion. Yaphet Kotto headlines the cast with a strong performance, and director Stan Lathan (father of actress Sanaa Lathan) ably leads a production bolstered by historical details but held back by TV budgets. Today, the film looks terrible—even TCM could only get ahold of a version scarcely above VHS-level audiovisual quality. But it’s absorbing viewing: it shines a light on a period that seldom gets attention, delves into the complexities of a slavery-based society and makes a damning indictment of American history by featuring an event that barely gets a mention unless you start looking for it. Cinema is often for comfort or entertainment, but A House Divided: Denmark Vessey’s Rebellion shows it’s a great venue for discovery as well.