Oscar Polk, keeping black dignified in stereotype roles.

 I have only seen Mr Oscar Polk in two films; Gone with the Wind (1939) and Reap the Wild Wind (1942).

He played a slave in Gone with the Wind and a slave sailor in Reap the Wild Wind. Both roles had nick names synonymous with enslaved black men. Pork and Salt Meat. 

I admire the way Polk played both parts as quiet obedient men with dignity. Previously he had appeared in several stage productions. It is a shame he was killed in a road traffic accident in 1949 as he could have given us so much more in his promising career.





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