BIRTH OF A NATION, THE (MOTION PICTURE)

Summary

This program contains a restoration of the tinted original print of the 1921 reissue of "The Birth of a Nation," D.W. Griffith's controversial silent epic about Civil War- and Reconstruction-era America, based on the novel "The Clansmen" by Thomas Dixon, Jr. The story begins with Griffith's disclaimer about the film's aim to show "the dark side of wrong" and the evils of war. In Pennsylvania in 1860, the Stoneman brothers send a letter to their South Carolina friends, the Camerons, stating their intention to visit their home. Margaret Cameron is happy to receive them, particularly Phil Stoneman, with whom she shares a flirtation. The Stonemans tour the Camerons' plantation, observing their black servants during their two-hour dinner period. Eldest brother Ben Cameron falls for Elsie Stoneman's photograph, although he has never met her. Trouble plagues the families as well, however, as the South is considering secession from the Union because of the threats to their sovereign power stemming from Cornwallis' 1781 surrender. At the Stoneman house, patriarch Austin Stoneman meets with a Senate leader, Sumner, to discuss the matter, and Sumner is rude towards Austin's mixed-race servant, Lydia, who returns his contempt.

The Stonemans depart South Carolina, leaving Margaret pining after Phil. The war soon officially gets underway when President Lincoln enforces his rule over individual states, and the Stoneman and Cameron sons alike join their respective militias. In South Carolina, the town of Piedmont throws a farewell ball and bonfire for the soldiers. Phil leaves a Confederate flag to his beloved little sister Flora before heading off with his two brothers, and Elsie tells Austin that his sons have gone as well. Two and a half years pass and the war carries on, and Ben, now known as "the little colonel," exchanges letters with Flora and continues harboring his love for Elsie. Piedmont is overrun by guerillas and a number of black soldiers, led by a "scalawag" white captain, break into the Cameron home and ransack the place. The women hide under the floorboards and are soon rescued by Confederate soldiers. The Stonemans and Camerons are fatefully reunited on the battlefield, much to their shock, and the Cameron family soon receives word that their youngest has been killed. Nevertheless, they contribute to the war effort and Elsie becomes a nurse, while elsewhere Atlanta burns and people suffer.

The second Cameron brother is soon killed as well, and General Robert E. Lee mounts a daring charge when a food train is misled and his starving troops denied sustenance. The opposing armies are entrenched only a few hundred feet about during the lengthy artillery and mortar duel, and Colonel Ben is soon fighting against Captain Phil. Ben soon realizes that his side is losing, though the Union soldiers praise him when he shows kindness to a dying foe. Eventually the North wins and Ben, near death, is taken to a hospital. Flora is furious to hear of the South's loss, and she, Margaret and their mother continue to play their "women's part" in the effort. Ben is stunned to encounter Elsie at the hospital, admitting that he has long cared for her despite never meeting before, and she shows him a letter from Phil urging her to care for his friend. Mrs. Cameron visits Ben and learns from a surgeon that he is to be hanged as a guerilla, and she makes a personal plea to President Lincoln, the "great heart," to spare her son, and he agrees. Mrs. Cameron heads for home and tells her ailing husband the good news, and Lee eventually surrenders to General Grant on April 9, 1865 at Appomattox.

Having made a full recovery, Ben bids farewell to Elsie and heads for home, and Flora decorates her dress with ermine cotton and prepares a humble feast for his return. Stoneman meets with Lincoln and protests against his clemency towards the South, insisting that the traitors should be hanged, but Lincoln stands firm and the South begins to rebuild itself. On April 14, the Stonemans head for the theatre in Washington D.C. to see "Our American Cousin," also attended by Lincoln himself. The President's bodyguard abandons his post to watch the show, and John Wilkes Booth bursts into the box and assassinates Lincoln, much to the horror of the watching crowd. Stoneman hears the news and realizes that he is now in a much greater position of power, whereas the Camerons are crushed by the loss of their "best friend," knowing that Lincoln was the South's only hope of protection.

The second half of the film opens with quotes from Woodrow Wilson's "History of the American People," arguing that the white South was in danger of coming "under the heel of the black South," and that the Ku Klux Klan was thus created out of "a mere instinct of self-preservation." Stoneman, with the help of his mixed-race protégé Silas Lynch, issues edicts declaring the full equality of blacks with whites, which delights Lydia. Sumner argues against giving the blacks so much power, but Stoneman, undeterred, sends Lynch to the South to organize and secure the black vote. He heads to South Carolina, where the North's charity is being "misused" at the Freedman's Bureau, and arrives at the Camerons' home in Piedmont. He declares himself equal to Dr. Cameron, and maid Mammy is affronted at Lynch's "airs." Ben is offended as well as Lynch's condescending behavior, unaware that Lynch is a traitor and intends to build himself "a throne of vaulting power." Stoneman gives a speech at a Southern Union Rally, while elsewhere Lynch jealously observes Ben and Elsie's budding romance. On Election Day, the blacks overrun the polls and Lynch is made Lieutenant Governor, and Ben reports on an ensuing "series of outrages," including a white man's prosecution by an all-black jury and judge and the beating of Cameron's servant for not voting with the Southern Union.

By 1871, the House is dominated by blacks, and the first legislative session under Reconstruction is marred by their drinking, feasting and carousing. Laws are passed forcing whites to salute black officers and allowing interracial marriage, and Ben becomes suspicious of the "renegade" Gus, who spies on Flora and Margaret. Ben then observes several black youths fleeing from white children hiding under a ghost-like sheet and gets a brilliant idea to defeat "the anarchy of black rule." He and his associates don white costumes and visit a black troublemaker, shooting Lynch's associates when they fight back. When Elsie learns of Ben's actions, she breaks their engagement out of loyalty to her father. Flora heads to a spring by herself and is pursued by the lecherous Gus, who chases her through the woods. She dramatically jumps from a cliff rather than give in to his desires, and a panicked Ben arrives just in time to witness her death. The family is devastated and Ben argues with his father about his dangerous position, while elsewhere the Klansmen search for Gus. He is eventually discovered hiding at a saloon and is given a "fair trial," after which his body is left on Lynch's porch as a message.

Outraged, Lynch assembles a militia, and Stoneman, aware of the danger, quickly leaves town. Ben and his friends vow to avenge Flora and their "unconquered race," and Lynch sends out spies to find and kill Klansmen. Margaret is spotted hiding a Klan uniform in her home, and Dr. Cameron is soon arrested by the "scalawag" white captain. Margaret appeals to Elsie for help, and Elsie turns to her "faithful souls," her black servants. A chained Cameron is led through a mocking crowd, and the servants rescue him by pretending to join the group, though Elsie then hears that her brother has been killed in the effort. Cameron and the others seek refuge in a cabin belonging to Union veterans, and their former enemies unite "in defense of their Aryan birthright." Elsie, unaware of Lynch's treachery, seeks his help in rescuing Dr. Cameron, but he instead proposes to her and invites her to rule his "empire" alongside him. When she refuses, he restrains her and vows to force her into marriage. Stoneman arrives and is pleased to hear that Lynch intends to wed a white woman, though less so when he learns specifically whom. The town is overrun by Lynch's "crazed Negroes," but Klan spies overhear Elsie when she screams for help. Cameron's allies prevent him from giving himself up when the cabin is attacked, and after traveling an apparently great distance, Ben and the Klan army finally arrive to defeat the black mobs. They rescue Elsie and capture Lynch, and other soldiers arrive at the cabin just in time to save Cameron and the others.

Everyone is thrilled as the rebels are disarmed and the Klan is celebrated in a victory parade; the next election is then "monitored" by the white knights, who intimidate the blacks out of voting. Elsie and Ben marry, as do Margaret and Phil, and the two couples head off on a double honeymoon. The film concludes with a plea to end "bestial War" forever and to embrace peace, as well as a reminder to viewers that liberty and union are "inseparable forever."

Details

• NETWORK: N/A
• DATE: 1915 (restoration by Photoplay Productions)
• RUNNING TIME: 1:27:58
• COLOR/B&W: B&W
• CATALOG ID: B:64075
• GENRE: Drama, historical
• SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, historical; American culture; Racism
• SERIES RUN: N/A
• COMMERCIALS: N/A

CREDITS

• David Gill … Producer
• Kevin Brownlow … Producer
• D.W. Griffith … Producer, Director, Writer
• Patrick Stanbury … Associate Producer
• Frank E. Woods … Writer
• John Lanchbery … Music by
• Joseph Carl Breil … Music by, Original Score by
• Thomas Dixon … Based on the novel by
• Henry B. Walthall … Cast, Col. Ben Cameron
• Miriam Cooper … Cast, Margaret Cameron
• Mae Marsh … Cast, Flora Cameron
• Violet Wilkey … Cast, Flora as a child
• Spottiswood Aitken … Cast, Dr. Cameron
• Josephine Crowell … Cast, Mrs. Cameron
• G.A. Beranger … Cast, Wade Cameron
• Maxfield Stanley … Cast, Duke Cameron
• Jennie Lee … Cast, Mammy
• Ralph Lewis … Cast, Austin Stoneman
• Lillian Gish … Cast, Elsie Stoneman
• Elmer Clifton … Cast, Phil Stoneman
• Robert Harron … Cast, Tod Stoneman
• Mary Alden … Cast, Lydia Brown
• George Siegmann … Cast, Silas Lynch
• Walter Long … Cast, Gus
• Wallace Reid … Cast, Jeff, the blacksmith
• Joseph Henabery … Cast, Abraham Lincoln
• Raoul Walsh … Cast, John Wilkes Booth
• Donald Crisp … Cast, General U.S. Grant
• Howard Gaye … Cast, General Robert E. Lee