An account of the life of Jesus Christ according to the New Testament, told as a series of tableaus interspersed with Bible verses.An account of the life of Jesus Christ according to the New Testament, told as a series of tableaus interspersed with Bible verses.An account of the life of Jesus Christ according to the New Testament, told as a series of tableaus interspersed with Bible verses.
- Awards
- 1 win
R. Henderson Bland
- Jesus - the Man
- (as Robert Henderson-Bland)
Sidney Baber
- Thaddeus
- (uncredited)
G. Howard Barton
- Wise Man 3
- (uncredited)
F.T. Bostock
- Second Thief
- (uncredited)
Frederic Bryson
- St. John
- (uncredited)
J.J. Clark
- John
- (uncredited)
Ralph T. Duncan
- Simon
- (uncredited)
Lydia Gardebeau
- Salomé
- (uncredited)
Frank T. Gregory
- St. Andrew
- (uncredited)
Denton Harcourt
- St. Matthew
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIronically, R. Henderson Bland was selected for the role of Jesus in a silent film because star/director Sidney Olcott liked the way his voice sounded on the telephone.
- GoofsJesus is shown healing Bartimaeus from his blindness but the verse used was Matthew 20:34 where he heals 2 blind men instead of 1. Using the Mark or Luke passage would have made this scene accurate.
- Alternate versionsThe Vitagraph Co. of America released a six reel re-edited version of the film after it acquired Kalem's properties in 1919.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Great Christmas Movies (1998)
Featured review
FIRST AMERICAN FEATURE FILM WELL DONE
Director Sidney Olcott did not have a stunning career. If anything it was mediocre at best. But on this effort he played above his head, perhaps not even realizing it. "From the Manger to the Cross" is a beautiful film, rich in substance and well acted as well.
The story is well known and Olcott details all of Christ's shining biblical moments in a series of scenes that overcomes many setbacks of the early 1910's. Of particular note is the way he uses a large cast to still convey the emotions present during a particular scene. Christ's admittance to his disciples that his days on earth are numbered come to mind here. On location shooting, no easy task for its day considering the entire thing was done in Egypt and Palestine, would definitely be another.
Even with these tools, the film may have fallen flat were it not for Robert Henderson-Bland's portrayal of Jesus. When the most crucial aspects of the Messiah's personality are the things he said, how can a silent film succeed in showing his substance? Answer: facial expressions and body language. And Bland, without the as yet invented close-up, shines in showing Christ as a man of wisdom, gentleness, and courage. Bland's Jesus is still among the finest to ever grace a screen and we're closing in on a century of film following it. Robert Vignola's Judas also deserves a mention as well.
It also bares mentioning that Timothy Howard's organ score, added in 1994 upon the film's home release, is a beautiful addition. In 1998 "From the Manger to the Cross" was given the highest honor a film can receive: it was added to the National Film Registry, an accolade it well deserves. For now and all time it should be recognized not only as America's first feature film but as a testament to what can be accomplished in the name of art and love when all of the pieces fall into the right place at the right time. Olcott and Henderson-Bland forever have a much deserved home in film history's hall of fame.
The nutshell: required viewing for directing, acting, technological achievement, and artistic beauty...8/10.
The story is well known and Olcott details all of Christ's shining biblical moments in a series of scenes that overcomes many setbacks of the early 1910's. Of particular note is the way he uses a large cast to still convey the emotions present during a particular scene. Christ's admittance to his disciples that his days on earth are numbered come to mind here. On location shooting, no easy task for its day considering the entire thing was done in Egypt and Palestine, would definitely be another.
Even with these tools, the film may have fallen flat were it not for Robert Henderson-Bland's portrayal of Jesus. When the most crucial aspects of the Messiah's personality are the things he said, how can a silent film succeed in showing his substance? Answer: facial expressions and body language. And Bland, without the as yet invented close-up, shines in showing Christ as a man of wisdom, gentleness, and courage. Bland's Jesus is still among the finest to ever grace a screen and we're closing in on a century of film following it. Robert Vignola's Judas also deserves a mention as well.
It also bares mentioning that Timothy Howard's organ score, added in 1994 upon the film's home release, is a beautiful addition. In 1998 "From the Manger to the Cross" was given the highest honor a film can receive: it was added to the National Film Registry, an accolade it well deserves. For now and all time it should be recognized not only as America's first feature film but as a testament to what can be accomplished in the name of art and love when all of the pieces fall into the right place at the right time. Olcott and Henderson-Bland forever have a much deserved home in film history's hall of fame.
The nutshell: required viewing for directing, acting, technological achievement, and artistic beauty...8/10.
helpful•91
- Auburn668
- Feb 9, 2004
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Jesus of Nazareth
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 11 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
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Top Gap
By what name was From the Manger to the Cross (1912) officially released in Canada in English?
Answer