''From the Manger to the Cross or Jesus of Nazareth'' (often shortened to simply ''From the Manger to the Cross'') is a 1912 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

directed by

Sidney Olcott Sidney Olcott (born John Sidney Allcott, September 20, 1872 – December 16, 1949) was a Canadian-born film producer, director, actor and screenwriter. Biography Born John Sidney Allcott in Toronto, he became one of the first great direc ...

, written by Gene Gauntier (who also portrays

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

), and stars Robert Henderson-Bland as

Jesus of Nazareth Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

. Filmed on location in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

and in Palestine, it tells the story of Jesus' life, interspersed with verses from ''

The Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts o ...

''.

Kalem The Kalem Company was an early American film studio founded in New York City in 1907. It was one of the first companies to make films abroad and to set up winter production facilities, first in Florida and then in California. Kalem was sold to ...

released the film in October 1912 to critical acclaim. It saw a re-release in February 1919 following

Vitagraph Studios Vitagraph Studios, also known as the Vitagraph Company of America, was a United States motion picture studio. It was founded by J. Stuart Blackton and Albert E. Smith in 1897 in Brooklyn, New York, as the American Vitagraph Company. By 1907, ...

' acquisition of Kalem.

Cast

* Robert Henderson-Bland as

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...

*Percy Dyer as Boy Jesus * Gene Gauntier as the

Alice Hollister Alice Hollister (born Rosalie Alice Amélie Berger, September 28, 1886 – February 24, 1973) was an American silent film actress who appeared in around 90 films between 1910 and 1925. She is known for her roles in movies such as '' From the Ma ...

Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to his crucifixion and resurre ...

as Blind Man *Samuel Morgan as

Pontius Pilate Pontius Pilate (; grc-gre, Πόντιος Πιλᾶτος, ) was the fifth governor of the Roman province of Judaea, serving under Emperor Tiberius from 26/27 to 36/37 AD. He is best known for being the official who presided over the trial of ...

*James D. Ainsley as

John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

Robert G. Vignola Robert G. Vignola (born Rocco Giuseppe Vignola, August 7, 1882 – October 25, 1953) was an Italian- American actor, screenwriter, and film director. A former stage actor, he appeared in many motion pictures produced by Kalem Company and later mo ...

Judas Iscariot Judas Iscariot (; grc-x-biblical, Ἰούδας Ἰσκαριώτης; syc, ܝܗܘܕܐ ܣܟܪܝܘܛܐ; died AD) was a disciple and one of the original Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. According to all four canonical gospels, Judas bet ...

Helen Lindroth Helen Lindroth (December 3, 1874 – October 5, 1956) was a Swedish-born American screen and stage actress. Biography Lindroth acted on stage with the Boston Museum Stock Company and in New York City before entering motion pictures with the K ...

Martha Martha (Hebrew: מָרְתָא‎) is a biblical figure described in the Gospels of Luke and John. Together with her siblings Lazarus and Mary of Bethany, she is described as living in the village of Bethany near Jerusalem. She was witness ...

*George Kellog as Herod *

Jack J. Clark Jack J. Clark (September 23, 1879 – April 12, 1947) was an American director and actor of the early motion picture industry. Biography Clark was born on September 23, 1879, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was persuaded to enter motion pictur ...

John the Apostle John the Apostle ( grc, Ἰωάννης; la, Ioannes ; Ge'ez: ዮሐንስ;) or Saint John the Beloved was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Generally listed as the youngest apostle, he was the son of Zebede ...

J. P. McGowan John Paterson McGowan (February 24, 1880 – March 26, 1952) was a pioneering Hollywood (film industry), Hollywood actor and director and occasionally a screenwriter and Film producer, producer. McGowan remains the only Australian to have been ma ...

as a Wise Man *Montague Sidney as

Joseph Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the m ...

*F. Owen Sterling as Unknown *Thos J. Wentworth as a Wise Man *G. Howard Barton as a Wise Man *Frederic Bryson as Unknown *Leslie D. Thomas as

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

(Saint-Pierre) *Frank T. Gregory as

Andrew Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is frequently shortened to "Andy" or "Drew". The word is derive ...

*Harry Lennox as James *H. H. Kerr as

Bartholomew Bartholomew (Aramaic: ; grc, Βαρθολομαῖος, translit=Bartholomaîos; la, Bartholomaeus; arm, Բարթողիմէոս; cop, ⲃⲁⲣⲑⲟⲗⲟⲙⲉⲟⲥ; he, בר-תולמי, translit=bar-Tôlmay; ar, بَرثُولَماو� ...

* Jack Melville as James *Denton Harcourt as

Matthew Matthew may refer to: * Matthew (given name) * Matthew (surname) * ''Matthew'' (ship), the replica of the ship sailed by John Cabot in 1497 * ''Matthew'' (album), a 2000 album by rapper Kool Keith * Matthew (elm cultivar), a cultivar of the Chi ...

*J. M. Baber as

Thaddeus Thaddeus (Latin ''Thaddaeus'', Ancient Greek Θαδδαῖος ''Thaddaĩos'', from Aramaic תדי ''Ṯaday'') is a male given name. As of the 1990 Census, ''Thaddeus'' was the 611th most popular male name in the United States, while ''Thad' ...

*Ralph T. Duncan as

Simon Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...

*William Smiley as Lazarus *F. R. Payne as a leper *Huntley Roma as a palsied man *James H. Wilson as the son of the widow *Ruth Middelton as the widow *G. W. Martin as

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

*Carl Vincent as

Simon of Cyrene Simon of Cyrene (, Standard Hebrew ''Šimʿon'', Tiberian Hebrew ''Šimʿôn''; , ''Simōn Kyrēnaios''; ) was the man compelled by the Romans to carry the cross of Jesus of Nazareth as Jesus was taken to his crucifixion, according to all three ...

*Lydia Gardebeau as

Salome Salome (; he, שְלוֹמִית, Shlomit, related to , "peace"; el, Σαλώμη), also known as Salome III, was a Jewish princess, the daughter of Herod II, son of Herod the Great, and princess Herodias, granddaughter of Herod the Great, a ...

*H. L. Lumt as

Penitent Thief The Penitent Thief, also known as the Good Thief, Wise Thief, Grateful Thief, or Thief on the Cross, is one of two unnamed thieves in Luke's account of the crucifixion of Jesus in the New Testament. The Gospel of Luke describes him asking Jesus ...

*F. T. Bostock as

Impenitent thief The impenitent thief is a man described in the New Testament account of the Crucifixion of Jesus. In the Gospel narrative, two criminal bandits are crucified alongside Jesus. In the first two Gospels (Matthew and Mark), they both join the crowd ...

Production background

Herbert Reynolds has shown how Olcott used

James Tissot Jacques Joseph Tissot (; 15 October 1836 – 8 August 1902), anglicized as James Tissot (), was a French painter and illustrator. He was a successful painter of fashionable, modern scenes and society life in Paris before moving to London in 1871 ...

's illustrations for his ''The Life of our Saviour Jesus Christ'' (1896-1897) as the basis for numerous shots in the film. The head of Kalem,

Frank J. Marion Frank Joseph Marion (July 25, 1869 – March 28, 1963) was an American motion picture pioneer. He was born in Tidioute, Pennsylvania. He had a wife named Florence and 4 daughters and a son. He was married to Florence until her death. Career ...

, presented a copy to the troupe as they departed for the Middle East. According to

Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of ...

, the film cost $35,000 to produce (roughly between $690,000 and $19,400,000 adjusted to 2020 dollars); another source says that Olcott spent $100,000 of his own money on the project. Although the film's profits eventually amounted to almost $1 million (roughly $19,700,000 to $554,000,000), the Kalem directors refused to increase Olcott's basic salary and he resigned. In later years,

Louis B. Mayer Louis Burt Mayer (; born Lazar Meir; July 12, 1882 or 1884 or 1885 – October 29, 1957) was a Canadian-American film producer and co-founder of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios (MGM) in 1924. Under Mayer's management, MGM became the film industr ...

, head of

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

, would say this was the premiere film for his movie theater in

Haverhill, Massachusetts Haverhill ( ) is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. Haverhill is located 35 miles north of Boston on the New Hampshire border and about 17 miles from the Atlantic Ocean. The population was 67,787 at the 2020 United States Cen ...

and a major boost for him in the movie business. However, most sources place the release date of this film as 1912, long after the opening of Mayer's theater. At around 5,000 feet it was one of the longer films to be released to date, although the

Kinemacolor Kinemacolor was the first successful colour motion picture process, used commercially from 1908 to 1914. It was invented by George Albert Smith in 1906. He was influenced by the work of William Norman Lascelles Davidson and, more directly, E ...

documentary ''

With Our King and Queen Through India ''With Our King and Queen Through India'' (1912) is a British documentary. The film is silent and made in the Kinemacolor additive color process. The film records the 12 December 1911 celebrations in India which marked the coronation of Geor ...

'' released in February 1912 ran to 16,000 feet; and another religious film '' The Miracle'' (the first full-colour feature film) - was released in the UK at 7,000 feet in December 1912."Film show in Covent Garden"
''New York Times'', 9 December 1912

Reception in Britain

The five-reel film showed at the

Queen's Hall The Queen's Hall was a concert hall in Langham Place, London, Langham Place, London, opened in 1893. Designed by the architect Thomas Knightley, it had room for an audience of about 2,500 people. It became London's principal concert venue. Fro ...

, London, for eight months (a relatively lengthy run for the time). A statement by

Israel Zangwill Israel Zangwill (21 January 18641 August 1926) was a British author at the forefront of cultural Zionism during the 19th century, and was a close associate of Theodor Herzl. He later rejected the search for a Jewish homeland in Palestine and be ...

(founder of the

Jewish Territorialist Organization The Jewish Territorial Organisation, known as the ITO, was a Jewish political movement which first arose in 1903 in response to the British Uganda Offer, but which was institutionalized in 1905. Its main goal was to find an alternative territory ...

) hailing it as "An artistic triumph — the kinema put to its true end" appeared on advertising bills outside the Queen's Hall. ''From the Manger to the Cross'' gained considerable publicity from an outcry in the ''

Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...

'': "Is nothing sacred to the film maker?" it demanded, and waxed indignant about the profits for its American investors. Although the clergy were invited and found little to be affronted by, the controversy resulted in the voluntary creation of the

British Board of Film Censors The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC, previously the British Board of Film Censors) is a non-governmental organization, non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national clas ...

, which began operating on 1 January 1913.

Rediscovery

The film disappeared from cinema screens for a number of years until Reverend Brian Hession, vicar of Holy Trinity Church in

Walton, Aylesbury Walton (perhaps formerly known as Walcot) is a hamlet in the parish of Aylesbury, in Buckinghamshire, England. Although Aylesbury has grown to such an extent that it completely surrounds Walton by a couple of miles in each direction, the hamlet ...

, Buckinghamshire, went on a quest to the US to find a copy of the film for re-issue in Britain. Although initially disappointed, he eventually discovered a set of negatives after searching in the vaults and cellars of old film concerns. Hession added a musical sound track and spoken commentary, and ''From the Manger to the Cross'' was re-released in 1938.

Critical reception

TCM host Robert Osborne and the

National Film Preservation Foundation The National Film Preservation Foundation (NFPF) is an independent, nonprofit organization created by the U.S. Congress to help save America's film heritage. Growing from a national planning effort led by the Library of Congress, the NFPF began o ...

consider this film to be the most important silent film to deal with the life of Christ. In 1998, the United States

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The libra ...

deemed the film "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and selected it for preservation in the

National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation, each selected for its historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions since the NFPB’s inception ...

. A history of cinemas and film-making published in 1947 had this to say: "To-day it appears to be somewhat overacted, and the camera work is stilted, the camera being merely a recording instrument and not part of the pattern of the exposition of the story itself. Its pace is slow by modern standards, doubtless an attempt to obtain dignity, and Bland's performance is so sedately remote as to be not so much an acting performance at all but a series of dignified poses."

References

;Notes ;Sources * * Michel Derrien
''Aux origines du cinéma irlandais: Sidney Olcott, le premier oeil''
TIR 2013. * Philippe Baron

documentaire sur ''From the Manger to the Cross'', France, 2009, 55 minutes, produit par Vivement lundi !

External links

*''From the Manger to the Cross'' essay by Daniel Eagan at

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*
''From the Manger to the Cross'' at SilentEra
* *

website dedicated to Sidney Olcott * {{DEFAULTSORT:From The Manger To The Cross 1912 films American silent feature films American black-and-white films 1912 drama films Films directed by Sidney Olcott United States National Film Registry films Kalem Company films Biographical films about Jesus Films set in Jerusalem Films shot in Israel Portrayals of the Virgin Mary in film Cultural depictions of John the Baptist Silent American drama films Articles containing video clips Portrayals of Jesus in film 1910s rediscovered films Portrayals of Saint Joseph in film Portrayals of Mary Magdalene in film Rediscovered American films 1910s American films