Mark Noble (April 18, 1881 â€" January 9, 1978), known as Noble
Johnson, was an American actor and film producer. He appeared in films
such as The Mummy (1932), The Most Dangerous Game (1932), King Kong
(1933) and Son of Kong (1933).Standing 6'2" at 215 pounds, his
impressive physique and handsome features made him in demand as a
character actor and bit player. In the silent era, he assayed a wide
variety of characters of different races in a plethora of films,
primarily serials, westerns and adventure movies. While Johnson was
cast as black in many films, he also played Native American and Latino
parts and "exotic" characters such as Arabians or even a devil in hell
in Dante's Inferno (1924).The old orthochromatic film stock of the
early days was less discriminating about a person's color, as were
black-and-white stocks in general, permitting some African-American
actors a break, as their color was washed out or less obvious when
photographed in black and white. As late as the early 1960s, there
were very few African-American members of the Screen Actors Guild.
Because there was a lack of opportunity for them as black performers,
they were confined mostly to race films until the 1960s.
Johnson, was an American actor and film producer. He appeared in films
such as The Mummy (1932), The Most Dangerous Game (1932), King Kong
(1933) and Son of Kong (1933).Standing 6'2" at 215 pounds, his
impressive physique and handsome features made him in demand as a
character actor and bit player. In the silent era, he assayed a wide
variety of characters of different races in a plethora of films,
primarily serials, westerns and adventure movies. While Johnson was
cast as black in many films, he also played Native American and Latino
parts and "exotic" characters such as Arabians or even a devil in hell
in Dante's Inferno (1924).The old orthochromatic film stock of the
early days was less discriminating about a person's color, as were
black-and-white stocks in general, permitting some African-American
actors a break, as their color was washed out or less obvious when
photographed in black and white. As late as the early 1960s, there
were very few African-American members of the Screen Actors Guild.
Because there was a lack of opportunity for them as black performers,
they were confined mostly to race films until the 1960s.
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