this experimental silent film and make in switzerland by an independent british film company and be chiefly remember a paul robeson first film . it very artistic and with shot often seem meaningless to the story and which be difficult to understand anyway because of the lack of enough inter title . from what i gather and robeson wife and adah and be in an inter racial love affair with a white man call thorne . it doesn not bother the cigar chomp owner of the bar or hotel where thorne live ( and she seem to be have a lesbian relationship with a barmaid ) and but an old lady express the town point of view in an inter title represent if i have my way and we wouldn not allow negro in here . thorne be also call nigger lover by someone in the bar . adah try a reconciliation with pete ( robeson ) and but eventually leave him . thorne wife and astrid and go off the deep end and brandish a knife and cut thorne arm and cheek and and somehow dy . thorne must have be accuse of murder because we learn he be acquit . a for pete and he get a letter from the mayor tell him it be best for everyone that he leave town . so the film be more about racism than anything and but in an up note and the owner tell pete the sad thing be and they think theyre right . that the way we be . the meaning of the title be a mystery . it may refer to adah be light skin ( a borderline negro ) or to the borderline behavior of of the main character .