Cornell Cinema will present "Performing Race on Screen," a series of five films from the 1920s and 1930s featuring Paul Robeson, Anna May Wong and Josephine Baker, all performers of color who became internationally famous for their talents as musicians, dancers, singers and actors, despite the racism of the time.

The series, with screenings on Mondays in April in Willard Straight Theatre, is presented in conjunction with a course, Race and Performance in U.S. Cinema, 1895-1930s, taught by visiting professor of Africana studies Michele Wallace. She will introduce the backstage musical "Zouzou" (1934), starring Baker and directed by Marc Allegret, on April 17 at 9:30 p.m.

Oscar Micheaux's 1924 silent classic "Body and Soul," screening April 3 at 7 p.m., stars a young Robeson making his film debut as an ex-convict masquerading as an evil clergyman who turns out to be the figment of a woman's imagination. Charles Musser, professor of film and American studies at Yale University, will introduce the film, which also features musical accompaniment by pianist Philip Carli. Musser has written and lectured on Robeson and is co-editor of "Oscar Micheaux and His Circle: African-American Filmmaking and Race Cinema of the Silent Period" (2001).

Chinese-American actress Wong stars in "The Toll of the Sea" (1922) and "Piccadilly" (1929), screening April 10 at 6:45 and 7:30 p.m., respectively. Wong also co-stars with Marlene Dietrich in director Josef von Sternberg's "Shanghai Express" (1932), showing April 24 at 7 p.m.

For more information, call (607) 255-3522 or visit http://cinema.cornell.edu.