''The Fall of a Nation'' is a 1916 American silent

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. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by Thomas Dixon Jr., and a

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music, or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

to the 1915 film ''

The Birth of a Nation ''The Birth of a Nation'' is a 1915 American Silent film, silent Epic film, epic Drama (film and television), drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Lillian Gish. The screenplay is adapted from Thomas Dixon Jr.'s 1905 novel and ...

'', directed by

D. W. Griffith David Wark Griffith (January 22, 1875 – July 23, 1948) was an American film director. Considered one of the most influential figures in the history of the motion picture, he pioneered many aspects of film editing and expanded the art of the n ...

. Dixon, Jr. attempted to cash in on the success of the controversial first film. ''The Fall of a Nation'' is considered to be the first ever ''feature-length'' film

, though it was predated by ''short'' film sequels such as ''

The Little Train Robbery ''The Little Train Robbery'' is a 1905 American silent Western film directed by Edwin S. Porter. It is a parodic sequel/remake to Porter's 1903 film '' The Great Train Robbery'' with an all-child "cast as the robbers, and a miniature railroad ...

'' and ''Sherlock Holmes II: Raffles Escaped from Prison''. Based upon Dixon's novel '' The Fall of a Nation'', the film is now lost, although the complete score survives.

Plot

''The Fall of a Nation'' is an attack on the

pacifism Pacifism is the opposition to war or violence. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaigner Émile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress in Glasgow in 1901. A related term is ...

William Jennings Bryan William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925) was an American lawyer, orator, and politician. He was a dominant force in the History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, running three times as the party' ...

and

Henry Ford Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American Technological and industrial history of the United States, industrialist and business magnate. As the founder of the Ford Motor Company, he is credited as a pioneer in making automob ...

and a plea for American preparedness for war. America is unprepared for an attack by the "European Confederated Army", a European army headed by

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. The army invades America and executes children and war veterans. Charles Waldron, a millionaire collaborator, accepts a title as prince of a

puppet government A puppet state, puppet régime, puppet government or dummy government is a State (polity), state that is ''de jure'' independent but ''de facto'' completely dependent upon an outside Power (international relations), power and subject to its ord ...

. However, America is saved by pro-war Congressman John Vassar who raises an army to defeat the invaders with the support of the

suffragette A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to members ...

Virginia Holland. Holland forms the "Daughters of Jael," who seduce and then kill the soldiers of the occupation force. Eventually the

insurgency An insurgency is a violent, armed rebellion by small, lightly armed bands who practice guerrilla warfare against a larger authority. The key descriptive feature of insurgency is its asymmetric warfare, asymmetric nature: small irregular forces ...

gains the upper hand and drives out the Europeans.

Cast

* Lorraine Huling as Virginia Holland *

Percy Standing Percy Standing was an English film actor of the silent era. Selected filmography * '' Life Without Soul'' (1915) * ''My Four Years in Germany'' (1918) * ''To the Highest Bidder'' (1918) * '' Should a Husband Forgive?'' (1919) * ''The Great Da ...

as Charles Waldron / Prince Karl Von Waldron *

Arthur Shirley Arthur Shirley (31 August 1886 – 24 November 1967) was an Australian actor, writer, producer, and director of theatre and film. He experienced some success as a film actor in Hollywood between 1914 and 1920. Biography Early life Born Hen ...

as John Vassar * Flora Macdonald as Angela Benda *

Paul Willis Paul Willis (born 1945) is a British social scientist known for his work in sociology and cultural studies. Paul Willis' work is widely read in the fields of sociology, anthropology, and education, his work emphasizing consumer culture, sociali ...

as Billy * Phil Gastrock as Thomas *

Clarence Geldart Clarence Geldart (June 9, 1867 – May 13, 1935) was an American film actor. He appeared in 127 films between 1915 and 1936. He was sometimes credited as C.H. Geldart or Charles H. Geldart. He was born in New Brunswick, Canada, and died i ...

as General Arnold

Production

Some battle scenes were filmed in the same location as ''

'', at a cost of $31,000.

Soundtrack

The film had a musical score produced by

Victor Herbert Victor August Herbert (February 1, 1859 – May 26, 1924) was an American composer, Cello, cellist and conducting, conductor of English and Irish ancestry and German training. Although Herbert enjoyed important careers as a cello soloist and co ...

. The ''

Encyclopædia Britannica The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...

'' states that "this is probably the first original symphonic score composed for a feature film". An earlier music score was composed by

Camille Saint-Saëns Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (, , 9October 183516 December 1921) was a French composer, organist, conductor and pianist of the Romantic music, Romantic era. His best-known works include Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso (1863), the Piano ...

for the short (15-minute) film ''

The Assassination of the Duke of Guise ''The Assassination of the Duke of Guise'' ( 1908) (original French title: ''La Mort du duc de Guise''; often referred to as ''L'Assassinat du duc de Guise'') is a French ''film d'art'' silent film directed by Charles le Bargy and André Calmet ...

'' (1908); the complete soundtrack is available on YouTube.

Reception and aftermath

Anthony Slide argues that the film was largely a commercial failure. The film was widely shown as

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...

by Allied governments in Europe during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, especially the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. The production company, Dixon Studios, went bust in 1921, having produced only this film.

References

External links

*
Progressive Silent Film List: ''The Fall of a Nation''
at silentera.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Fall of a Nation 1916 films 1916 drama films Silent American drama films American silent feature films American black-and-white films Films based on American novels Films based on works by Thomas Dixon Jr. Lost American drama films American sequel films Films directed by Thomas Dixon Jr. 1916 lost films 1910s American films 1910s English-language films English-language drama films