The Birth of a Nation
The Fiery Cross of the Ku Klux Klan!
1915
Rated
PG
193
minutes
Drama, History, War
Directed By:
D.W. Griffith
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.
Language
English
Release Date
February 8, 1915
Budget
$100,000
Revenue
$11,000,000
Cast
Henry B. Walthall
Col. Ben Cameron
Lillian Gish
Stoneman's Daughter Elsie
Miriam Cooper
Margaret Cameron
Mae Marsh
Flora 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
Joseph Henabery
Abraham Lincoln
Wallace Reid
Jeff, the Blacksmith
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
Charles Sumner
William De Vaull
Nelse
Willam Freeman
Jake / Sentry at Hospital
Tom Wilson
Stoneman's Servant
Fred Burns
Klansman
Allan Sears
Klansman
Elmo Lincoln
Blacksmith
Madame Sul-Te-Wan
Black Woman
Raoul Walsh
John Wilkes Booth
Robert Harron
Tod
Monte Blue
Harry Braham
Cameron's Male Servant
Bob Burns
Klan Leader
Edmund Burns
Klansman
Edward Burns
Klansman
Peggy Cartwright
Young Girl in Cabin
Dark Cloud
General
Leonore Cooper
Elsie's Maid
Charles Eagle Eye
Man Who Falls from Roof
John Ford
Klansman
Olga Grey
Laura Keene
Alberta Lee
Mrs. Lincoln
Betty Marsh
Child with Dr. Cameron
Donna Montran
Belle of 1861
Eugene Pallette
Union Soldier
Alma Rubens
Belle of 1861
Charles Stevens
Volunteer
Jules White
Confederate Soldier
Violet Wilkey
Young Flora Cameron
David Butler
Northern Soldier / Confederate Soldier
Show Full Crew
Camera
Karl Brown
Camera Operator
Billy Bitzer
Director of Photography
Joseph Carl Breil
Director of Photography
Editing
D.W. Griffith
Editor
Joseph Henabery
Editor
Raoul Walsh
Editor
James Smith
Editor
Rose Smith
Editor
Karl Malkames
Negative Cutter
Sound
D.W. Griffith
Original Music Composer
Carli Elinor
Conductor
Joseph Carl Breil
Music
Jon Mirsalis
Original Music Composer
Joseph Nurnberger
Music
Writing
D.W. Griffith
Writer
Frank E. Woods
Screenplay
Thomas F. Dixon Jr.
Novel
Thomas F. Dixon Jr.
Adaptation
Costume & Make-Up
Crew
D.W. Griffith
Presenter
Monte Blue
Stunts
Leo Nomis
Stunts
Charles Eagle Eye
Stunts
Jim Kidd
Security
Walter Hoffman
Special Effects
Shorty English
Carpenter
Fireworks Wilson
Special Effects
Production
Directing
Henry B. Walthall
Assistant Director
Erich von Stroheim
Assistant Director
D.W. Griffith
Director
Allan Dwan
Assistant Director
Monte Blue
Assistant Director
W.S. Van Dyke
Assistant Director
Christy Cabanne
Assistant Director
Joseph Henabery
Assistant Director
Raoul Walsh
Assistant Director
Donald Crisp
Assistant Director
Robert Harron
Assistant Director
Howard Gaye
Assistant Director
Tom Wilson
Assistant Director
Elmer Clifton
Assistant Director
Jack Conway
Assistant Director
Herbert Sutch
Assistant Director
Baron von Winther
Assistant Director
Thomas E. O'Brien
Assistant Director
Fred Hamer
Assistant Director
Art
Ralph M. DeLacy
Property Master
Frank Wortman
Set Designer
Hal Sullivan
Assistant Property Master
Cash Shockey
Painter
Visual Effects