The Birth of a Race

The Birth of a Race
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Directed by John W. Noble
Produced by Emmett Jay Scott
Music by Joseph Carl Breil
Cinematography Herbert Oswald Carleton
Distributed by Gardiner Syndicate
Release date
  • December 1, 1918 (1918-12-01)
Country United States
Language Silent (English intertitles)
Scene from the film.

The Birth of a Race is a 1918 American silent drama film directed by John W. Noble. It was made as a response to the 1915 film The Birth of a Nation, and was meant to discredit the negative stereotypes perpetuated by the film. Initially, it was intended to be a short answer film that could be appended to The Birth of a Nation in 1915 but a combination of weak financial backing and growing ambitions delayed its completion for more than two years. The Birth of a Race was released following the end of World War I[1][2][3] to great ballyhoo and a Chicago premiere, but was a commercial and critical failure.[4]

This film is preserved at the Library of Congress.[5]

Synopsis

Following the "Birth of the Human Race" section of the film, two brothers in a German-American family go to war in Europe, one ("George") fighting for the United States, and the other ("Oscar") fighting for Germany. George is wounded, and at the hospital defends it from a German attack, killing Oscar in the process. George is sent home to America, where he rescues his wife from a German spy.

Cast (in credits order)

  • Louis Dean as The Kaiser
  • Harry Dumont as Crown Prince
  • Carter B. Harkness as Adam
  • Doris Doscher as Eve
  • Charles Graham as Noah
  • Ben Hendricks, Sr. as Fritz Schmidt (credited as Ben Hendricks)
  • Alice Gale as Frau Schmidt
  • John Reinhardt as Pat O'Brien
  • Mary Carr as Mrs. O'Brien (credited as Mary K. Carr)
  • Jane Grey as Jane O'Brien
  • Edward Elkas as Herr Von H.
  • Anna Lehr
  • Philip Van Loan
  • George LeGuere (credited as George Le Guere)
  • Warren Chandler
  • Anita Cortez
  • Edwin Boring
  • Dick Lee
  • David Wall
  • Belle Seacombe

See also

References

  1. ↑ "The Birth of a Race". The New York Times.
  2. ↑ "The AFI Catalog of Feature Films: The Birth of a Race". AFI.
  3. ↑ "The Birth of a Race". silentera.com.
  4. ↑ Watkins, Mel, On the Real Side: A History of African American Comedy, Lawrence Hill Books, 1999, pg. 340
  5. ↑ "The Birth of a Race". The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog.


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