A Nigger in the Woodpile

A Nigger in the Woodpile is a 1904 American silent film, with a runtime of four minutes. The title is derived from the idiom Nigger in the woodpile (or fence), meaning something is wrong or "off", akin to the Shakespeare-derived expression, "there's something rotten in the state of Denmark". It originates from the suspicion that, when a white woman gave birth to a dark-complexioned child, the father might be black. A copy is in the Black films section of the Library of Congress.