The Crisis is a 1916 American silent historical drama film produced by William N. Selig and directed by Colin Campbell. The film is based on the American Civil War novel The Crisis by American novelist Winston Churchill. The novel was adapted into a play and produced on Broadway in 1902.The Crisis as produced on Broadway at Wallack's Theatre, Nov-Dec 1902; IBDb.com
A copy of this film is preserved at the Library of Congress.The American Film Institute Catalog Feature Films: 1911-20 by The American Film Institute, c.1988Progressive Silent Film List: The Crisis at silentera.comCatalog of Holdings The American Film Institute Collection and The United Artists Collection at The Library of Congress by The American Film Institute, c.1978The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Archive:The Crisis
Plot
Cast George Fawcett - Judge Silas Whipple Matt B. Snyder - Col. Comyn Carvel Bessie Eyton - Virginia Carvel Tom Santschi - Stephen Brice Eugenie Besserer - Mrs. Brice Marshall Neilan - Clarence Colfax Frank Weed - Eliphalet Hopper Will Machin - Lige Brent Sam D. Drane - Abraham Lincoln Cecil Holland - Gen. W. T. Sherman Leo Pierson - Jack Brinsmade George Snyder - Frank Green - Alfred E. Green - Carl Richter Tom Mix - stunts (uncredited)
Reception
The Crisis sought to mine the success of 1915's The Birth of a Nation.Reinhart, Mark S. Abraham Lincoln On Screen, pp. 69-70 (2009) It was popular in theatres, but the United States' entry into World War I in April 1917 effectively ended interest in another Civil War film in light of the new war.Erish, Andrew A. Col. William N. Selig, the Man Who Invented Hollywood, pp. 142-46 (2012) (detailed discussion of the film and its reception)
Production notes The production was shot in part in Mississippi and St. Louis, Missouri. Actor Matt B. Snyder was a real-life Civil War veteran having served in the Union Navy on the gunship USS Essex. Snyder and Sam D. Drane, who portrayed Abraham Lincoln in the film, died prior to its general release in 1917.
See also List of films and television shows about the American Civil War
References
External links
The Crisis; Mississippi's First Civil War Film