Waller, Signe. Love and Revolution: A Political Memoir: People’s History of the Greensboro Massacre and Its Aftermath. Lanham, Md.: Rowman and Littlefield, 2002.
Walsh, Raoul. Each Man in His Time: The Life Story of a Director. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1974.
Booker T. Washington Papers, Microfilm and Paper, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Weinberg, Herman G. “American Film Directors and Social Reality.” Sight and Sound 7, no. 28 (Winter 1938–39): 168–69.
Weinberg, Julius. Edward Alsworth Ross and the Sociology of Progressivism. Madison: State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1972.
Weiss, Nancy J. “The Negro and the New Freedom: Fighting Wilsonian Segregation.” Political Science Quarterly 84, no. 1 (March 1969): 61–79.
Wertheimer, John. “Mutual Film Reviewed: The Movies, Censorship, and Free Speech in Progressive America.” The American Journal of Legal History 37, no. 2 (April 1993): 158–89.
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“Will Reservoir Dogs Be Next? After 80 years The Birth of a Nation Gets a Video Certificate …” Empire no. 63 (September 1994): 13.
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Index
abolitionism
blamed for Civil War, 182, 184
Abraham Lincoln (film), 267–8, 274
Abraham Lincoln’s Clemency (film), 188
Abrams, Hiram, 241
actors and actresses
Biograph repertory, 70–1
in blackface, 85, 87–8, 224
casting Birth, 83–9
extras’ payment, 89
rehearsals, 89–91
Adams, Henry, 212
Adams, Herbert Baxter, 32, 211
Addams, Jane, 138, 164
critique of film, 140, 141, 142
The Adventures of Dollie (film), 67–8
advertising and publicity
initial campaign for Birth, 115–25
promotion of Birth, 3
African-Americans. See National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP); race and racism
Afro-American Council, Des Moines, 158
After Many Years (film), 76
Age (newspaper), 237
Agee, James, 4–5, 279, 282
Ainslie, George, 161
Aitken, Harry, 78, 80, 92, 262
on Boston opening, 144
distribution, 118–20
later years and retirement, 261, 270–2
production costs and, 97–8
promoting Birth, 115
remake plans, 258, 259, 260–1
sound version, 242
Triangle distribution, 166
Aitken, Roy E., 7, 8, 78, 92
on cinema owners, 125
distribution, 118–20
effective minority protest, 249
later career, 270, 271
production costs, 97–8
promotion, 115
on a remake, 258
remake plans, 262
retirement, 261, 271–2
sound version, 242
Aitken, Spottiswoode, 274
cast in Birth, 87
alcohol prohibition, 219
Alden, Mary, 87, 273
Alexandra, Queen, 264
Allan, Robert E., 247–8
Allen, Cleveland G., 140
Allen, Henry J., 240, 241
Allen, Woody
Celebrity, 262
Aller, Joe, 71, 99, 101
Allinson, Thomas W., 153
Allston, Philip J., 144, 223, 224
America (Griffiths), 266
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), 247–8, 285
American Film Institute, 10
American Gigolo (film), 8
American Historical Association, 174
American Mutoscope and Biograph Company. See Biograph Company
Anderson, Benedict, 209
Anderson, Charles W., 138
Arbuckle, Roscoe “Fatty,” 231
Armstrong, Joseph G., 154
Arvidson, Linda Johnson (Griffith), 52
acting career, 67, 70
and Griffith’s writing, 65–6
marriage to Griffith, 64, 85
Asquith, Elizabeth, 264
L’Assassinat du Duc de Guise (film), 106
Association of School Film Libraries, 246
audiences
Birth’s declining appeal, 244–5
black response to Birth, 222–5
changing character of, 125–7
context for Birth, 206–16
first reception of Birth, 3
nickelodeons, 113–14, 125
passivity, 225
at premiere, 20, 25–6
southern states, 161
violence and Birth, 249–51
“Auld Lang Syne,” 107
The Avenging Conscience (film), 79, 89
Ayers, Edward, 214
Baker, Pete, 61
Baker, Ray Stannard, 214
Baldwin, James, 278
Baldwin, Roger, 247, 248
Baltimore Sun (newspaper), 175, 204
Bancroft, George, 211
Banzhof, Albert, 74, 119, 242
Banzhof, E. J., 98
Barcus, Robert B., 156–7, 157
Barker, Edwin L., 166
Barrett, W. A., 135
Basic Instinct (film), 8
The Battle at Elderbush Gulch (film), 21, 73, 74, 83
The Battle (film), 68
The Battle of the Sexes (film), 78, 267
Battles and Leaders of the Civil War (Century Company), 91
Baustead, Annie H., 61
Beach, Rex, 116
Beethoven, Ludwig van, 105, 107
Belasco, David, 76
Men and Women, 62
Bellows, Barbara, 178
Benét, Stephen Vincent, 267
Benshoff, Harry M., 281
Bentley, Dr. Charles E., 151, 165
Berg, Charles, 107
Bernardini, Daniel, 80
Bernhardt, Sarah, 61, 106
Bernstein, Matthew, 7
Beveridge, Albert J., 212
Bigelow, Anson O., 159
Biograph Company
actors for, 70–1
competition with Edison, 68–9
Griffith directs for, 66–7, 67–74
Griffith leaves, 74
technical and editorial, 71
wor
king relations within, 71–2
Birth of a Nation: 4*29*1992 (documentary), 10
The Birth of a Nation (film)
anti-communist/communist argument, 254–8
anxiety about sex, 217, 217–19, 221–2
audience response, 3, 13, 125–7, 222–5
battlefield sequences, 92–3
black actors in, 87–8
black characters, 224
as The Clansman, 15–16
context of, 206–16, 227–30
continuing controversy, 277–8
copyright in public domain, 262
critical view of, 3–6, 245–6, 249
deleted scenes, 104–5
design and costume, 174–7
distribution to cheaper theatres, 241
DVD release of, 277
editing of, 102–5, 281
eminent supporters, 141–2
emotional appeal, 116
film project set up, 79–80
finances, 3, 92, 97–8, 118
first release of Birth, 118–20
Griffith’s direction, 98–101
Hampton epilogue, 145, 153, 224–5
as history, 14, 171–7, 204–6
length of, 3
myth of the Lost Cause, 178–86
negatives of, 16–17, 101–2
plot of, 6
premiere of, 13, 15–17
preparation and filming of, 89–96
private screenings in Washington, 111–13
protests against, 6–11, 9–11
publicity and promotion, 13, 115–25, 120
from protest, 133, 248–9
remake considered, 9, 258–63
revival of Klan, 231–5
scenario for, 81–3
social effects of, 249–53
sound version, 242–9, 244
still photos from
Flora Cameron, 18
Gus’s trial, 23
hospital scene, 19
story of, 17–25
style-substance dichotomy, 278–85
title change, 115
See also censorship; Dixon Jr., Thomas; Griffith, David Wark; Ku Klux Klan; NAACP; race and racism
The Birth of a Race (film), 166–7
Bitzer, G. W. (Billy), 67
aiming for Brady photographs, 177
film development, 101–2
first screenings, 117
on Griffith, 99, 100, 101
Griffith’s cameraman, 71
production costs, 97
on rehearsals, 90
on shooting Birth, 93, 94–5
techniques and innovations, 75–6
Black, Hugo, 245
The Black Hood (Dixon), 269
Blankenburg, Rudolph, 155
Blassingame, John, 213
Bledsoe, Benjamin Franklin, 272–3
Blight, David W., 178–9
Bogle, Donald, 11, 163, 281
Bolshevism, 230
Bolshevism on Trial (film), 269
Booth, John Wilkes, 20, 88
editing scene with, 103
historical detail, 189
historical reference, 174, 176
portrayal in Birth, 96
Bounty (film), 8
Bowers, Claude G.
The Tragic Era, 191
Bowling for Columbine (Moore), 262–3
Bowser, Eileen, 13, 75, 76, 77, 181
Brady, Matthew, 91, 96, 174, 176
Brandt, Joe, 166
Breen, Joseph, 269
Breil, Joseph Carl, 106–9, 124, 242
“The Motif of Barbarism,” 12
Breitinger, J. Louis, 154
Brennan, George H., 48, 53–4
Brenon, Herbert, 123
Bring Him In (film), 269
British Film and Video Council, 10
Brocj, Henry, 250
Broken Blossoms (film), 242, 265, 274
Brooks, Dr William H., 137
Brown, Karl, 16, 87, 281
on editing Birth, 102–5
on Griffith, 99, 100
on historical detail, 177
invents the “slate,” 102
Klan and audiences, 224
on the premiere, 20–1, 25
on rehearsals, 89–90
on sets, 91
on shooting Birth, 92, 94–5
Brown, Katherine, 261
Brown, S. Joe, 158
Brownlow, Kevin, 5, 281
Brunson, R. J., 202
Brutality (film), 72
Bryan, William Jennings, 34
Bush, W. Stephen, 4–5, 104, 108, 281
Bussey, Harriet. See Dixon, Harriet
Butler, David, 275
Cabiria (film), 106, 114–15, 122
Cameron, Lucille, 220–1
Camille (film), 106
Campbell-Copeland, T.
The Soldier in Our Civil War (with Mottelay), 177
Capehart, H. J., 230
Capitol Theater, New York City, 236–7
Capper, Arthur, 157–8, 240
Carli, Philip C., 13
Carruthers, William Alexander, 179
Carter, Everett, 283
Casey, John S., 143
Catholicism, 234, 237–8
Celebrity (film), 262
censorship
ACLU’s argument, 247–8
Arbuckle case, 231
Birth banned, 6
Boston cuts, 143–4
cuts to Birth scenes, 138–40
fight against principle of, 238–9
freedom of expression and, 133
Lusk Bill, 235–6
Mutual Film precedent, 132–3
National Board approves Birth, 129–31
official structures for, 70, 131
Spirit of ’76, 272–3
studying Birth, 245–6
sum of NAACP efforts, 168–9
See also NAACP; National Board of Censorship
The Century (magazine), 187
Ceruti, E. Burton, 130, 238
Chadwick, Bruce, 12–13, 179, 279
Chalmers, David M., 234, 241
Chambers, Robert W., 266
Chandler, James, 12
Chaplin, Charlie, 265
Chattanooga Daily Times (newspaper), 51
Chinese immigrants, 214–15
cinemas
music in, 124, 242
sexual morality and, 6
cinematography. See Bitzer, G. W.; film and filmmaking
Civil War
Birth’s portrayal of, 17–21
depiction of war in Birth, 208–9
Dixon family experience of, 27–9
effect on Griffith family, 57–9
as a film genre, 181–2
Griffith researches, 91–2
as “Lost Cause,” 178–86, 255
recent historiography, 184–5
theme in Griffith films, 68
veterans in audiences, 126
See also Reconstruction
The Clansman: An Historical Romance of the Ku Klux Klan (Dixon), 258
adaptation for film, 81
first attempts to film, 53–4
Griffith sets up film project, 79–80
original title of Birth, 3
plot summary of, 43–7
publication of, 43
The Clansman (play), 12
banned, 132, 142
different reception from film, 162
play version, 47–51
reception of play, 51–3
riots in Philadelphia, 154
Clarke, Edward Young, 234–5
class
changing audiences, 126–7
nickelodeon audiences, 4, 113–14
Classmates (film), 67
Clifton, Elmer, 85, 88, 275
Clune, William H.
audience figures, 125
Dixon’s Fall of a Nation, 269
financial contribution, 97, 119
offers to destroy film, 238
premiere at Clune’s Auditorium
, 13, 15–17, 103
publicity material, 120
Cobleigh, Rolfe, 146
The Color Purple (film), 262
Columbia Theater, Detroit, 4
Comagor, C. W., 240
Commission on Interracial Cooperation, 242–3
Committee on Industrial Organization (CIO), 254
Communism and anti-communists
black support, 254
Dixon and, 270
Greensboro Massacre, 10
protests against Birth, 14
Stern’s attack on critics, 256–7
Comrades (Dixon), 52, 269
film version, 269
Confederate Veteran (magazine), 179
Connelly, Thomas, 178
Considine Jr., John, 267–8
Cook, Raymond Allen, 47, 81
Cooke, John Esten, 179
Cooper, Judge William Fenimore, 152–3
Cooper, Lenore, 87
Cooper, Margaret, 83, 93
Cooper, Miriam, 85, 94, 273
Corbett, Jim, 219
Cosmopolitan (magazine), 66
Coulter, E. Merton, 191
Courtney, Samuel Edward, 147, 223
Courtney, Susan, 12
Cox, Dr. Alexander W., 144, 223, 224
Cox, James M., 228
Crabbe, Charles C., 241
Cranstone, E. L., 256–7
Creel, George, 227
The Cricket on the Hearth (film), 75
Cripps, Thomas, 6, 132, 169, 254
The Crisis (journal), 131
Crisp, Donald, 88, 174, 275
Criterion Theatre, New York City, 114
Crowell, Josephine, 19, 273
Cukor, George, 268
Cuniberti, John, 11, 103
Cupid’s Pranks (film), 67
Curley, James Michael
NAACP Boston campaign and, 141–6, 149–50
photograph of, 143
Cushing, Grafton D., 147, 148
Cusick, John F., 142, 150
The Daily Worker (newspaper), 254
Damrosch, Margaret Blaine, 149
Daniel, Pete, 51–2, 249
Daniels, Jonathan, 258–9
Daniels, Josephus P., 112
Daugherty, Harry M.
The Inside History of the Harding Administration (with Dixon), 270
Davies, Marion, 267
Davis, Jefferson, 58, 178
Davis, Jonathan M., 240
Davis, Natalie Zemon, 213
Davis, Richard Harding, 116
Day, Caroline Bond, 251
De Grasse, Sam, 88
De l’esprit des lois (Montesquieu), 211
De Vaull, William, 87
Dearborn, Ned H., 245
DeLacey, Ralph, 90
Delluc, Louis, 264
DeMille, Cecil B., 273
King of Kings, 7
remake talk, 259
Dempster, Carol, 265, 266, 274
Dharamputra (film), 8
Diawara, Manthia, 225, 262
Directors Guild of America, 10–11
Dix, Dorothy, 205
Dixon, Amanda, 27–9, 31
Dixon, Clarence, 30, 31
Dixon, Harriet (née Bussey, first wife), 34
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