The Crisis | |
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Directed by | Colin Campbell |
Written by | Colin Campbell (scenario) |
Based on | The Crisis by Winston Churchill |
Starring | George Fawcett Matt B. Snyder Marshall Neilan |
Cinematography | G. McKenzie |
Music by | Michel Mowschine |
Distributed by | Selig Polyscope Company |
Release dates |
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Running time | 100 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | Silent (English intertitles) |
The Crisis is a 1916 American silent historical drama film produced by William N. Selig and directed by Colin Campbell. The film is based on the American Civil War novel The Crisis by American novelist Winston Churchill. The novel was adapted into a play and produced on Broadway in 1902. [1]
A copy of this film is preserved at the Library of Congress. [2] [3] [4] [5]
The Crisis sought to mine the success of 1915's The Birth of a Nation . [6] It was popular in theatres, but the United States' entry into World War I in April 1917 effectively ended interest in another Civil War film in light of the new war. [7]
The production was shot in part in Mississippi and St. Louis, Missouri. Actor Matt B. Snyder was a real-life Civil War veteran having served in the Union Navy on the gunship USS Essex. Snyder and Sam D. Drane, who portrayed Abraham Lincoln in the film, died prior to its general release in 1917. [ citation needed ]
William Nicholas Selig was a vaudeville performer and pioneer of the American motion picture industry. His stage billing as Colonel Selig would be used for the rest of his career, even as he moved into film production.
Hobart Van Zandt Bosworth was an American film actor, director, writer, and producer. Bosworth began his career in theater, eventually transitioning to the emerging film industry. Despite a battle with tuberculosis, he found success in silent films, establishing himself as a lead actor and pioneering the industry in California. Bosworth started his own production company, Hobart Bosworth Productions, in 1913, focusing on Jack London melodramas. After the company closed, Bosworth continued to act in supporting roles, surviving the transition to sound films. He is known as the "Dean of Hollywood" for his role in shaping the California film industry. In 1960, Bosworth was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions to the film industry.
Thomas B. Ricketts was an English-born American stage and film actor and director who was a pioneer in the film industry. He portrayed Ebenezer Scrooge in the first American film adaptation of A Christmas Carol (1908), and directed one of the first motion pictures ever made in Hollywood. After directing scores of silent films, including the first film to be released by Universal Pictures, Ricketts became a prominent character actor.
Hands Up! is a 1926 American silent comedy film directed by Clarence Badger, co-written by Monte Brice and Lloyd Corrigan, and starring Raymond Griffith, one of the great silent movie comedians. The film features fictional incidents involving actual historical figures such as Abraham Lincoln, Brigham Young, and Sitting Bull.
George MacQuarrie, was an American actor of the silent era.
Barbara Frietchie is a 1924 American silent war drama film about an old woman who helps out soldiers during the American Civil War. It is based on the play of the same name by Clyde Fitch that had starred Julia Marlowe at the turn of the century which in turn was taken from the real-life story of Barbara Fritchie. There were two silent film versions, a 1915 version and 1924 version. The 1915 version, directed by Herbert Blaché, starred Mary Miles Minter and Anna Q. Nilsson. The 1924 version, directed by Lambert Hillyer, starred Florence Vidor and Edmund Lowe.
The Crisis is an historical novel published in 1901 by the American novelist Winston Churchill. It was the best-selling book in the United States in 1901. The novel is set in the years leading up to the first battles of the American Civil War, mostly in the divided state of Missouri. It follows the fortunes of young Stephen Brice, a man with Union and abolitionist sympathies, and his involvement with a Southern family.
The Heart of Maryland (1927) is a silent film costume Vitaphone drama produced and distributed by Warner Bros. and directed by Lloyd Bacon. The film stars Dolores Costello as the title character, and features Jason Robards, Sr. It is based on David Belasco's 1895 play The Heart of Maryland performed on Broadway. The film is the last silent version of the oft-filmed Victorian story, other versions having been produced in 1915 and 1921.
Baby Mine is a 1928 silent film comedy produced and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. This film is a remake of the 1917 film Baby Mine both being based on Margaret Mayo's 1910 Broadway comedy Baby Mine. This film stars Karl Dane, George K. Arthur and Charlotte Greenwood and is her third feature film, she having made two previous films in 1916 and 1918.
The Tongues of Men is a 1916 silent film drama produced by the Oliver Morosco Company and distributed by Paramount Pictures. Frank Lloyd directed and English stage actress Constance Collier stars in her debut film. The story is based on a 1913 Broadway play, The Tongues of Men, by Edward Childs Carpenter and starring Henrietta Crosman.
Fighting Odds is a 1917 American silent drama film produced and distributed by Goldwyn Pictures and starring stage beauty Maxine Elliott. The film is based on the play Under Sentence by Irvin S. Cobb and Roi Cooper Megrue. The picture was amongst Goldwyn's first productions as an independent producer. It was directed by veteran Allan Dwan and is a surviving film at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and Gosfilmofond in Russia.
Matt B. Snyder was an American stage and silent screen actor and a Civil War veteran.
Outcast is a 1928 American synchronized sound drama film produced and distributed by First National Pictures. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using the sound-on-disc Vitaphone process. It was directed by William A. Seiter and stars Corinne Griffith, often considered one of the most beautiful women in film. This story had been filmed in 1917 as The World and the Woman with Jeanne Eagels. In 1922 a Paramount film of the same name with Elsie Ferguson reprising her stage role was released. Both films were based on a 1914 play, Outcast, by Hubert Henry Davies which starred Ferguson. The Seiter/Griffith film was an all silent with Vitaphone music and sound effects. In the sound era the story was filmed once again as The Girl from 10th Avenue starring Bette Davis. According to the Library of Congress database shows a print surviving complete at Cineteca Italiana in Milan.
The Awakening of Helena Richie is a surviving 1916 silent film produced by B. A. Rolfe and distributed by Metro Pictures. It is based on the 1906 novel, The Awakening of Helena Richie, by Margaret Deland and the 1909 Broadway play based on the novel starring Margaret Anglin and then child actor Raymond Hackett.
Tom Mix (1880–1940) was an American motion picture actor, director, and writer whose career spanned from 1910 to 1935. During this time he appeared in 270 films and established himself as the screen's most popular cowboy star. Mix's flair for showmanship set the standard for later cowboy heroes such as Gene Autry and Roy Rogers. His horse Tony also became a celebrity who received his own fan mail.
The Commuters is an extant 1915 silent film comedy directed by George Fitzmaurice and starring Irene Fenwick in film debut. It is based on a 1910 Broadway play, The Commuters, by James Forbes.
Broken Hearts of Broadway is a 1923 silent film drama produced and directed by Irving Cummings and starring Colleen Moore, Johnnie Walker and Alice Lake. It is based on a 1917 play Broken Hearts of Broadway by James Kyrle McCurdy.
Madam Who? is a 1918 American silent drama film directed by Reginald Barker and starring Bessie Barriscale. It was produced by Paralta Plays and distributed through W. W. Hodkinson Corporation and the General Film Company.
Rosetta Dewart Brice, known professionally as Betty Brice, was an American actress in many silent films.
Alberta Lee (1860–1928) was an American stage and film actress of the silent era. In 1915, she appeared as Mary Todd Lincoln in The Birth of a Nation.