Uncle Tom's Cabin (film adaptations)

A number of film adaptations of Uncle Tom's Cabin have been made over the years. Most of these movies were created during the silent film era (with Uncle Tom's Cabin being the most-filmed story of that time period). Since the 1930s, Hollywood studios have considered the story too controversial for another adaptation (although one foreign film and a made-for-TV movie have been created). Characters, themes and plot elements from Uncle Tom's Cabin have also influenced a large number of other movies, including The Birth of a Nation (1915), while also inspiring numerous animated cartoons.

Uncle Tom's Cabin was the most-filmed story of the silent film era with at least nine known adaptations between 1903 – 1927. This popularity was due to the continuing popularity of both the book and "Tom shows", meaning audiences were already familiar with the characters and the plot, making it easier for the film to be understood without spoken words.

A number of movies have utilized characters, plots, and themes from Uncle Tom's Cabin, including An Uncle Tom's Cabin Troupe (1913); the Duncan Sisters' Topsy and Eva (1927); "Uncle Tom's Uncle," a 1926 Our Gang episode which has the kids creating their own "Tom Show" and 1938's Everybody Sing (which features Judy Garland in blackface). But for several decades after the end of the silent film era, the subject matter of Stowe's novel was judged too sensitive for further film interpretation. In 1946, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer considered filming the story, but ceased production after protests led by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Edwin S. Porter’s 1903 film production, Uncle Tom’s Cabin; or, Slavery Days, was based largely off of the theatrical productions of the same story common during that time. The movie lived up to racial stereotypes in wide circulation, and scenes were included to showcase slave dances. While African-American extras made appearances, white actors in blackface played the main slave characters. The film storyline strays widely from the plot of the novel, as exemplified by a scene completely independent of the novel depicting a steamboat race. The film assumes the audience is generally familiar with the plot due to the story’s long running popularity.

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