D.W. Griffith's Judith Of Bethulia (1914) and 50 similar items

Vintage 8 x 10 in. US single-weight glossy photograph from the classic teens silent film drama, JUDITH OF BETHULIA, produced by the Biograph Company and directed by D.W. Griffith. Released in 1914 by the General Film Company, the film is based on the deuterocanonical Book of Judith and the play of the same name by Thomas Bailey Aldrich. Set during the siege of the Jewish city of Bethulia by the Assyrians, a widow named Judith (Blanche Sweet) has a plan to stop the war as her people suffer starvation and are ready to surrender. The widow disguises herself as a harem girl and goes to the enemy camp, where she beguiles a general of King Nebuchadnezzar, whose army is besieging the city. Judith seduces Holofernes (Henry B. Walthall), then, while he is drunk, cuts off his head with a sabre. She returns to her city, a heroine. The cast includes Mae Marsh, Robert Harron, Kate Bruce, Lillian Gish, J. Jiquel Lanoe, Gertrude Bambrick, Dorothy Gish, and Harry Carey. The image depicts an interior scene as Mara, Judith's servant (Kate Bruce), prays for the safety of her mistress, Judith (Blanche Sweet), as she prepares herself for her seduction of the enemy's leader, in order to kill him. It is in fine+ condition as shown. Judith of Bethulia was the first feature-length film made by the pioneering Biograph Company, although it was the second that Biograph released (the first being The Battle at Elderbush Gulch). Filmed in Chatsworth, California (away from the watchful eyes of the New York headquarters) and completed in 1913, Biograph did not release it until March 8, 1914, as the top brass wanted to continue making one- and two-reel films vs. longer films. Shortly after the completion, Griffith had a disagreement with Biograph executives on making more future feature-length films (they were infuriated by the $35,500 production cost) and ultimately left Biograph, taking virtually the entire stock company with him. Biograph delayed the picture's release until 1914, after Griffith's departure, so that it would not have to pay him in a profit-sharing agreement they had. The reviews were favorable: Variety, March 27, 1914, wrote: "It is not easy to confess one's self unequal to a given task, but to pen an adequate description of the Biograph's production of Judith of Bethulia is, to say the least, a full grown man's job." The Moving Picture World, March 7, 1914, described it as: "A fascinating work of high artistry, Judith of Bethulia will not only rank as an achievement in this country, but will make foreign producers sit up and take notice." As Biograph began a decline after Griffith's departure and began re-releasing various of his one- and two-reel films, they altered Judith of Bethulia in 1917 without Griffith's input, adding unused scenes and removing the filmed cast introductions (considered old fashioned by then). This Biograph reissue (with white titles instead of the usual black) was originally 6 reels, but surviving prints are only 5 reels.