Paul continually walked a fine line between championing his people and succumbing to society’s bigotry. Every film was a personal struggle to create an unprejudiced future into which he dragged his audience and even himself, neither having ever experienced or really understood such a concept. Trapped in an industry that refused to offer an opportunity to create an absolutely unbiased image of black people for the entire world to see, Paul made the decision to settle for bits and pieces of this ideal.

Much of his success was due to an intensely personal connection with the characters he played, and an ability to understand them better, oftentimes, than the very playwrights who created them. This same connection, however, also proved problematic by inhibiting Paul’s ability to create the strong black image that he himself had not yet personally achieved. The resulting confusion of feelings and responses, as well as the extraordinary dimensions that Paul brought to the roles he played can be expressed and understood best by looking at specific performances.