The Fall of a Nation
{{short description|1916 film by Thomas Dixon, Jr.}}
{{For|the novel by Thomas Dixon Jr.|The Fall of a Nation (novel)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox film
| name = The Fall of a Nation
| image = The Fall of a Nation 2.jpg
| caption = Print advertisement
| director = Thomas Dixon, Jr.
| producer =
| screenplay = Thomas Dixon, Jr.
| based_on = {{based on|The Fall of a Nation|Thomas Dixon, Jr.}}
| starring = Lorraine Huling
Percy Standing
| music = Victor Herbert
| cinematography = John W. Boyle
| editing =
| studio = Dixon Studios
| distributor = V-L-S-E
| released = {{Film date|1916|6|6}}
| runtime = 7–8 reels
| country = United States
| language = Silent
English intertitles
| gross =
}}
The Fall of a Nation is a 1916 American silent drama film directed by Thomas Dixon Jr., and a sequel to the 1915 film The Birth of a Nation, directed by D. W. Griffith. Dixon, Jr. attempted to cash in on the success of the controversial first film.{{cite book |last=Stokes |first=Melvyn |title=D.W. Griffith's the Birth of a Nation: A History of the Most Controversial Motion Picture of All Time |year=2007 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=268 |isbn=978-0-19-533678-8}} The Fall of a Nation is considered to be the first ever feature-length film sequel, though it was predated by short film sequels such as The Little Train Robbery{{cite book |title=The Story of Hollywood: An Illustrated History|first=Gregory Paul |last=Williams |year= 2005|page=87 |publisher=www.storyofhollywood.com |isbn= 9780977629909|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9W4R_CZtFe8C&q=the+fall+of+a+nation+first+sequel&pg=PA87}} 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.{{cite web |url=http://muse.jhu.edu/books/9780813171913 |title=American Racist: The Life and Films of Thomas Dixon (review) |first=Anthony |last=Slide |publisher=Project MUSE |year=2004 |access-date=March 2, 2013}}
Plot
The Fall of a Nation is an attack on the pacifism of William Jennings Bryan and Henry Ford and a plea for American preparedness for war.{{cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9D06E1D6163BE633A25754C0A9609C946796D6CF |title=AMERICA IS INVADED AGAIN IN THE FILMS|work=The New York Times |date= 1916-06-07|access-date=2009-10-30}} America is unprepared for an attack by the "European Confederated Army", a European army headed by Germany. The army invades America and executes children and war veterans. Charles Waldron, a millionaire collaborator, accepts a title as prince of a puppet government. However, America is saved by pro-war Congressman John Vassar who raises an army to defeat the invaders with the support of the suffragette Virginia Holland. Holland forms the "Daughters of Jael," who seduce and then kill the soldiers of the occupation force. Eventually the insurgency gains the upper hand and drives out the Europeans.
Cast
- Lorraine Huling as Virginia Holland
- Percy Standing as Charles Waldron / Prince Karl Von Waldron
- Arthur Shirley as John Vassar
- Flora Macdonald as Angela Benda
- Paul Willis as Billy
- Phil Gastrock as Thomas
- Clarence Geldart as General Arnold
Production
Some battle scenes were filmed in the same location as The Birth of a Nation, at a cost of $31,000.
Soundtrack
The film had a musical score produced by Victor Herbert. The Encyclopædia Britannica 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 for the short (15-minute) film The Assassination of the Duke of Guise (1908); the complete soundtrack is available on YouTube.{{cite web |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/200811/The-Fall-of-a-Nation |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090923215158/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/200811/The-Fall-of-a-Nation |url-status=dead |archive-date=2009-09-23 |title=The Fall of a Nation (film) – Britannica Online Encyclopedia |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica Online |date=2009-05-25 |access-date=2009-10-30 }}
Reception and aftermath
Anthony Slide argues that the film was largely a commercial failure.{{cite book |title=American Racist: The Life and Films of Thomas Dixon |first=Anthony |last=Slide |year=2004 |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |page=102 |isbn=0-8131-2328-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ng_fyVJVMz4C }} The film was widely shown as propaganda by Allied governments in Europe during World War I, especially the Russian Empire.{{Cite web|title=The Fall of a Nation|url=https://catalog.afi.com/Film/1850-THE-FALLOFANATION?sid=2e45c983-f2ac-49ac-a8ef-230ddd714de1&sr=0.10834439&cp=1&pos=1|access-date=2021-12-08|website=catalog.afi.com}} The production company, Dixon Studios, went bust in 1921, having produced only this film.
See also
References
{{Reflist|27em}}
External links
{{commons category}}
- {{IMDb title|0006664}}
- [http://www.silentera.com/PSFL/data/F/FallOfANation1916.html Progressive Silent Film List: The Fall of a Nation] at silentera.com
{{Authority control}}
{{Thomas Dixon Jr.}}
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Category:Silent American drama films
Category:American silent feature films
Category:American black-and-white films
Category:Films based on American novels
Category:Films based on works by Thomas Dixon Jr.
Category:Lost American drama films
Category:American sequel films
Category:Films directed by Thomas Dixon Jr.