Rate this Movie

The Birth of a Nation   1915         N/R, 159 min. Genre: Drama / Adventure / Western / Romance aka: The Clansman Director: D.W. Griffith   Cast: Lillian Gish, Mae Marsh, Henry B. Walthall, Miriam Cooper, Mary Alden, Ralph Lewis, Donald Crisp, Raoul Walsh, Eugene Pallette, Elmo Lincoln, Robert Harron, John Ford, Joseph Henabery, Howard Gaye, Walter Long   With this epic film, Hollywood reached new heights in the production of extravaganzas. However, it is also an example of how filmmaking can be used as propaganda—in this case, glorifying the Ku Klux Klan. The film begins with lifelong friends the Camerons (Henry B. Walthall, Miriam Cooper, and Mae Marsh) being separated from the Stonemans (Lillian Gish, Ralph Lewis, and Robert Harron) by the Civil War and the Mason Dixon line. When the war ends, Ben Cameron (Walthall) organizes a secret group, the Ku Klux Klan, to "restore" order. Music and battle noises were added for a 1930 reissue. Cast Lillian Gish Elsie Stoneman Mae Marsh Flora Cameron Henry B. Walthall Col. Ben Cameron Miriam Cooper Margaret Cameron Mary Alden Lydia Brown Ralph Lewis Austin Stoneman Donald Crisp Gen. Ulysses S. Grant Raoul Walsh Raoul Walsh Eugene Pallette Union Soldier Elmo Lincoln Blacksmith Robert Harron Tod Stoneman John Ford Klansman Joseph Henabery Abraham Lincoln Howard Gaye General Robert E. Lee Walter Long Gus

Posters