Judith of Bethulia
Encyclopedia
Judith of Bethulia is a film starring Blanche Sweet and Henry B. Walthall
. The film was produced and directed by D. W. Griffith
and was the first feature
-length film made by pioneering film company Biograph
, although the second that Biograph released.
Shortly after its completion and a disagreement Griffith had with Biograph executives on making more future feature-length films, Griffith left Biograph, and took the entire stock company with him. Biograph delayed the picture's release until 1914, after Griffith's departure, so that it would not have to pay him in a profit-sharing agreement they had. The film caused controversy with its inclusion of an orgy scene.
, whose army is besieging the city. Judith seduces Holofernes
(Henry Walthall), then while he is drunk cuts off his head with a sabre. She returns to her city, a heroine.
Variety
, March 27, 1914 wrote: "It is not easy to confess one's self unequal to a given task, but to pen an adequate description of the Biograph's production of 'Judith of Bethulia' is, to say the least, a full grown man's job."
The Moving Picture World
, March 7, 1914 described it as: "A fascinating work of high artistry, 'Judith of Bethulia' will not only rank as an achievement in this country, but will make foreign producers sit up and take notice."
Henry B. Walthall
Henry Brazeale Walthall was an American film actor.-Career:Walthall began his career as a stage actor, appearing on Broadway in a supporting role in William Vaughn Moody's The Great Divide in 1906–1908. His career in movies began in 1908, in the film Rescued from an Eagle's Nest, which also...
. The film was produced and directed by D. W. Griffith
D. W. Griffith
David Llewelyn Wark Griffith was a premier pioneering American film director. He is best known as the director of the controversial and groundbreaking 1915 film The Birth of a Nation and the subsequent film Intolerance .Griffith's film The Birth of a Nation made pioneering use of advanced camera...
and was the first feature
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
-length film made by pioneering film company Biograph
American Mutoscope and Biograph Company
The American Mutoscope and Biograph Company, was a motion picture company founded in 1895 and active until 1928. It was the first company in the United States devoted entirely to film production and exhibition, and for two decades was one of the most prolific, releasing over three thousand short...
, although the second that Biograph released.
Shortly after its completion and a disagreement Griffith had with Biograph executives on making more future feature-length films, Griffith left Biograph, and took the entire stock company with him. Biograph delayed the picture's release until 1914, after Griffith's departure, so that it would not have to pay him in a profit-sharing agreement they had. The film caused controversy with its inclusion of an orgy scene.
Synopsis
The story is from the Biblical Book of Judith. During the siege of the Jewish city of Bethulia by the Assyrians, a widow named Judith (Blanche Sweet) has a plan to stop the war as her people suffer starvation and are ready to surrender. The widow disguises herself as a harem-girl and goes to the enemy camp, where she beguiles a general of King NebuchadnezzarNebuchadnezzar
Nebuchadnezzar was the name of several kings of Babylonia.* Nebuchadnezzar I, who ruled the Babylonian Empire in the 12th century BC* Nebuchadnezzar II , the Babylonian ruler mentioned in the biblical Book of Daniel...
, whose army is besieging the city. Judith seduces Holofernes
Holofernes
In the deuterocanonical Book of Judith Holofernes was an invading general of Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar dispatched Holofernes to take vengeance on the nations of the west that had withheld their assistance to his reign...
(Henry Walthall), then while he is drunk cuts off his head with a sabre. She returns to her city, a heroine.
Cast
- Blanche Sweet - Judith
- Henry B. WalthallHenry B. WalthallHenry Brazeale Walthall was an American film actor.-Career:Walthall began his career as a stage actor, appearing on Broadway in a supporting role in William Vaughn Moody's The Great Divide in 1906–1908. His career in movies began in 1908, in the film Rescued from an Eagle's Nest, which also...
- Holofernes - Mae MarshMae MarshMae Marsh was an American film actress with a career spanning over 50 years.-Early life:...
- Naomi - Robert HarronRobert HarronRobert "Bobby" Harron was an American motion picture actor of the early silent film era. Although he acted in scores of films, he is possibly best remembered for his roles in the D.W. Griffith directed films Intolerance and The Birth of a Nation...
- Nathan - Lillian GishLillian GishLillian Diana Gish was an American stage, screen and television actress whose film acting career spanned 75 years, from 1912 to 1987....
- The young mother - Dorothy GishDorothy GishDorothy Elizabeth Gish was an American actress, and the younger sister of actress Lillian Gish.-Early life:...
- The crippled beggar - Kate BruceKate BruceKate Bruce was an American actress of the silent era. She appeared in 289 films between 1908 and 1931.She was born in Columbus, Indiana and died in New York, New York.-Selected filmography:* The Golden Louis...
- Judith's maid - J. Jiquel Lanoe - Eunuch Attendant
- Harry CareyHarry CareyHarry Carey was an American actor and one of silent film's earliest superstars. He was the father of Harry Carey Jr., who was also a prominent actor.-Early life and career:...
- Assyrian Traitor - W. Chrystie MillerW. Chrystie MillerW. Chrystie Miller was an American silent film actor. He appeared in 139 films between 1908 and 1914. He was born in Dayton, Ohio and died in Staten Island, New York.-Selected filmography:...
- Bethulian - Gertrude RobinsonGertrude RobinsonGertrude Robinson was an American actress of the silent era. She appeared in 164 films between 1908 and 1925...
- Charles Hill MailesCharles Hill MailesCharles Hill Mailes was a Canadian actor of the silent era. He appeared in 290 films between 1909 and 1935.He was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia and died in Los Angeles, California...
- Bethulian Soldier - Edward Dillon
- Gertrude BambrickGertrude BambrickGertrude Bambrick was an American actress of the silent era. She appeared in 60 films between 1912 to 1916.-Biography:...
- Lead Assyrian Dancer - Lionel BarrymoreLionel BarrymoreLionel Barrymore was an American actor of stage, screen and radio. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in A Free Soul...
- Extra - Clara T. BracyClara T. BracyClara T. Bracy was an English stage and silent film actress.-Life and career:Bracy was born Clara Thompson in London, England. Her father was Philip Thompson , and her mother was Eliza . Her father owned the Sheridan Knowles, a public house in London...
- Bethulian - Kathleen Butler - Bethulian
- William J. ButlerWilliam J. ButlerWilliam J. Butler was an Irish silent film actor. He appeared in 262 films between 1908 and 1917.Butler, an Irish immigrant to the United States, moved his family from Ohio to Hollywood, California, in 1908. At the age of 48, he wanted to get involved in a new industry called motion pictures. He...
- Bethulian - Christy CabanneChristy CabanneChristy Cabanne , born William Christy Cabanne, was an American film director, screenwriter and silent film actor. Christy Cabanne was, along with Sam Newfield and William Beaudine, one of the most prolific directors in the history of American film.-Biography:Cabanne graduated from the U.S...
- William A. CarrollWilliam A. CarrollWilliam A. Carroll , was an American silent film actor.Entering films with the Selig and Vitagraph film company, Carroll starred in 140 films between 1911 and 1927, including such works as 1916's The Twinkler....
- Assyrian Soldier (as William Carroll) - Frank Evans - Bethulian Soldier
- Mary Gish
- Harry Hyde - Bethulian Soldier/Assyrian Soldier
- Thomas Jefferson
- Jennie LeeJennie Lee (actor)Jennie Lee was an American actress of the silent era. She appeared in fifty-eight films between 1912 and 1924, working especially under the famous directors John Ford and D.W. Griffith....
- Bethulian - Adolph Lestina - Bethulian
- Elmo LincolnElmo LincolnElmo Lincoln was an American film actor.Born Otto Elmo Linkenhelt, the barrel-chested actor is best known in his silent movie role as the first Tarzan in 1918's Tarzan of the Apes as an adult --...
- Antonio MorenoAntonio MorenoAntonio "Tony" Moreno was a notable Spanish-born American actor and film director of the silent film era and through the 1950s.- Biography :...
- Extra - Marshall NeilanMarshall NeilanMarshall Ambrose Neilan was an American motion picture actor, screenwriter, film director, and producer.-Early life:...
- Frank Opperman - Bethulian
- Alfred PagetAlfred PagetAlfred Paget was an English silent film actor. He appeared in 239 films between 1908 and 1918.-Selected filmography:-External links:...
- Bethulian/Assyrian Soldier - W. C. RobinsonW. C. RobinsonW. C. Robinson was an American actor of the silent era. He appeared in 177 films between 1910 and 1932. He died in Maywood, California.-Selected filmography:* Daredevil Jack * Brute Force * Judith of Bethulia...
- Bethulian Soldier - Kate ToncrayKate ToncrayKate Toncray was an American actress of the silent era. She appeared in 178 films between 1905 and 1925. She was born in St...
- One of Judith's Servants
Reviews
The reviews were favorable:Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
, March 27, 1914 wrote: "It is not easy to confess one's self unequal to a given task, but to pen an adequate description of the Biograph's production of 'Judith of Bethulia' is, to say the least, a full grown man's job."
The Moving Picture World
The Moving Picture World
The Moving Picture World was an influential early trade journal for the American film industry, from 1907 to 1927. By 1914, it had a reported circulation of approximately 15,000.The publication was founded by James Petrie Chalmers, Jr...
, March 7, 1914 described it as: "A fascinating work of high artistry, 'Judith of Bethulia' will not only rank as an achievement in this country, but will make foreign producers sit up and take notice."