The Birth of a Nation (1915)
The Fiery Cross of the Ku Klux Klan!
Overview
Two families, abolitionist Northerners the Stonemans and Southern landowners the Camerons, intertwine. When Confederate colonel Ben Cameron is captured in battle, nurse Elsie Stoneman petitions for his pardon. In Reconstruction-era South Carolina, Cameron founds the Ku Klux Klan, battling Elsie's congressman father and his African-American protégé, Silas Lynch.
- Frank E. WoodsScreenplay
- D.W. GriffithWriter
- Thomas F. Dixon Jr.Adaptation, Novel, Original Film Writer
- D.W. GriffithDirector
StatusReleased
Original LanguageEnglish
Original titleThe Birth of a Nation
Budget$100,000.00
Revenue$100,000,000.00
Casts
Lillian Gish
Stoneman's Daughter Elsie
Mae Marsh
Flora Cameron
Henry B. Walthall
Col. Ben Cameron
Miriam Cooper
Margaret Cameron
Mary Alden
Stoneman's Housekeeper Lydia
Ralph Lewis
Leader of the House Hon. Austin Stoneman
George Siegmann
Lieut. Governor Silas Lynch
Walter Long
Gus
Robert Harron
Tod
Wallace Reid
Jeff, the Blacksmith
Joseph Henabery
Abraham Lincoln
Elmer Clifton
Stoneman's Elder Son Phil
Josephine Crowell
Mrs. Cameron
Spottiswoode Aitken
Dr. Cameron
George Beranger
Wade Cameron
Maxfield Stanley
Duke Cameron
Jennie Lee
Mammy
Donald Crisp
Gen. U.S. Grant
Howard Gaye
Gen. Robert E. Lee
Sam De Grasse
Senator Charles Sumner (uncredited)
William De Vaull
Nelse (uncredited)
Willam Freeman
Jake / Sentry at Hospital (uncredited)
Tom Wilson
Stoneman's Servant (uncredited)
Fred Burns
Klansman (uncredited)
Allan Sears
Klansman (uncredited)
Elmo Lincoln
Blacksmith (uncredited)
Madame Sul-Te-Wan
Black Woman (uncredited)
Raoul Walsh
John Wilkes Booth (uncredited)
Monte Blue
(uncredited)
Harry Braham
Cameron's Male Servant (uncredited)
Bob Burns
Klan Leader (uncredited)
Edmund Burns
Klansman (uncredited)
Edward Burns
Klansman (uncredited)
Peggy Cartwright
Young Girl in Cabin (uncredited)
Dark Cloud
General (uncredited)
Leonore Cooper
Elsie's Maid (uncredited)
Charles Eagle Eye
Man Who Falls from Roof (uncredited)
John Ford
Klansman (uncredited)
Olga Grey
Laura Keene (uncredited)
Alberta Lee
Mrs. Lincoln (uncredited)
Betty Marsh
Child with Dr. Cameron (uncredited)
Donna Montran
Belle of 1861 (uncredited)
Eugene Pallette
Union Soldier (uncredited)
Alma Rubens
Belle of 1861 (uncredited)
Charles Stevens
Volunteer (uncredited)
Jules White
Confederate Soldier (uncredited)
Violet Wilkey
Young Flora Cameron (uncredited)
David Butler
Northern Soldier / Confederate Soldier (uncredited)
Mary Wynn
Minor Role (uncredited)