Eloyce King Patrick Gist facts for kids

Eloyce King Patrick Gist (born October 21, 1892 – died 1974) was an amazing American artist. She was a film director, writer, producer, author, and even a pianist! Eloyce made movies with her husband, James Gist. Some of their famous films include Hell Bound Train (1930) and Verdict Not Guilty (1933). They traveled all over the United States, showing their films and trying to inspire people to live good lives.

Eloyce Gist's Early Life

Eloyce King Patrick Gist was born on October 21, 1892, in Hitchcock, Texas. Her parents were Walter and Josephine King. Around the year 1900, her family moved to Washington D.C.. Eloyce stayed connected to this community for the rest of her life. She studied music and earned a degree from Howard University.

After college, Eloyce learned about beauty culture. She then started her own school called the Patrick School of Beauty Culture and Personal Improvements. Around this time, Eloyce met and married James Gist. They both loved religion very much. James was a dedicated Christian evangelist, and Eloyce was a member of the Baháʼí Faith. Even though their religious groups were different, they agreed on important Christian ideas. These ideas included morality, spirituality, helping people and communities, and believing in consequences for bad actions.

Making Movies with a Message

Eloyce and James started making films together. Their movies told stories about bad choices and divine judgment. They wanted to scare their audience into living a good and religious life. The Gists showed their films to church groups across the country. Eloyce would play the piano, and then James would give a sermon.

Their first film was called Hell Bound Train. It was their only long movie, lasting 50 minutes. We don't know exactly who did what in their filmmaking team. But we do know that James wrote the first script. Eloyce then rewrote it and managed the extra filming needed. The movie is about a train driven by The Devil heading to Hell. Each car on the train carries different types of sinners. Eloyce used religious symbols and ideas from African-American folktales. This helped make their films easier for audiences to understand. For example, the train itself often symbolizes a journey to salvation or, in this case, to damnation.

The film was shot using a handheld camera. It was made on 16mm black and white film. The Gists carried it with them as they traveled. Today, a restored version of Hell Bound Train is kept at the Library of Congress. This restored film was also shown in the Pioneers of African American Cinema collection.

The Gists' second film was Verdict Not Guilty. This was a short film, like their first one, focusing on religious ideas. In this movie, a woman who dies during childbirth faces judgment. Truth defends her against Satan. The Gists toured the country showing Verdict Not Guilty and Hell Bound Train. They also gave sermons. There might have been a third film, but its existence has never been proven.

Later, the NAACP helped sponsor their travels. Letters between Roy Wilkins and Irving S. Hammer, who worked for the NAACP, show how popular the Gists' films were. Hammer wrote about James:

"Mr. Gist is a producer of religious motion pictures which have an entire Negro cast and for the past four days we at the Harlem branch have done business with him and have found him a Negro of high caliber, also his picture “VERDICT NOT GUILTY” represents an ambitious effort and one worth while seeing."

Eloyce is not mentioned in these letters. However, James always referred to the films as "ours," not "mine." This suggests Eloyce was still a very important part of their work.

Later Years

After James died from pneumonia in 1940, Eloyce stopped making films. The huge amount of work involved in making, directing, editing, distributing, and showing movies was too much for her to do alone. Eloyce spent the rest of her life writing and being with her family. She wrote a novel and sometimes wrote articles for local newspapers in Washington D.C. She passed away suddenly in 1974 while on vacation.

Her Films