Soldiers of the Cross (film)

Soldiers of the Cross was a 1900 illustrated lecture, combining photographic glass slides with short dramatised film segments and orchestral or choir music to relate the stories of Christ and the early Christian martyrs.[2][3]

Soldiers of the Cross
Produced byHerbert Booth
CinematographyJoseph Perry
Production
company
Distributed byThe Salvation Army
Release date
  • 13 September 1900 (1900-09-13) (Melbourne)
CountryAustralia
LanguageSilent
Budget£500[1]

Soldiers of the Cross was made in Australia by the Limelight Department of the Salvation Army.[4] It initially consisted of over 200 glass slides and 13 films, each film running for approximately 90 seconds.[5]

It is not classified as the world's first feature film, but it has been argued it is the first narrative drama film presentation.[6]

No motion picture film from Soldiers of the Cross is known to have survived.[5] However some glass slides of the production remain.[5]

Premiere

Soldiers of the Cross premiered at the Melbourne Town Hall on the 13th September 1900 to an audience of about four thousand people.[7] Soldiers of the Cross was a multi reel film interspersed with coloured lantern slides and accompanied by live music and a commentary by Herbert Booth.[8] The presentation took about two hours.[5]

Plot

Stories about Jesus and the early Christian martyrs.[5]

See also

References
  1. Rewind Australian Broadcasting Corporation
  2. "Advertising". The Age (14, 204). Victoria, Australia. 13 September 1900. p. 10. Retrieved 2 October 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. "THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 1900". The Argus (Melbourne) (16, 905). Victoria, Australia. 13 September 1900. p. 4. Retrieved 12 October 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. "OUR FILM JUBILEE". The Sunday Herald. Sydney. 9 September 1951. p. 9. Retrieved 29 June 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. Soldiers of the Cross article at National Film and Sound Archive
  6. Our history The Salvation Army in Australia
  7. Bertrand, Ina (1988). Perry, Joseph Henry (1863–1943). Volume 11: Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.CS1 maint: location (link)
  8. Howe, Renate (1979). Booth, Herbert Henry (1862–1926) (Australian Dictionary of Biography ed.). Volume 7: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.CS1 maint: location (link)


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