Judith of Bethulia (1913)

Synopsis: Judith, an attractive widow (Blanche Sweet) of ancient Bethulia, undertakes a mission to kill the Assyrian conqueror (Henry B. Walthall), who has brutally oppressed her people. She disguises... Judith, an attractive widow (Blanche Sweet) of ancient Bethulia, undertakes a mission to kill the Assyrian conqueror (Henry B. Walthall), who has brutally oppressed her people. She disguises herself as a harlot and yields up her honor in order to have her chance at vengeance. Silent film maestro D.W. Griffith directed, combining this plot with the parallel story of a warrior (Robert Harron) and his damsel in distress (Mae Marsh), using a cross-cutting of concurrent narrative that works as an early predecessor to INTOLERANCE. Lionel Barrymore and Lillian and Dorothy Gish appear in the background throughout the film in various bit parts. While a little on the stately and slow side, JUDITH is a fascinating chunk of cinema history. Griffith made this expensive four-reel epic as his answer to the full-length features that were coming over from Europe at the time, particularly QUO VADIS (1912). His employers at Biograph were so outraged at the expense and length of the film that they prompted Griffith to quit and start working as a free agent for Mutual. His landmark BIRTH OF A NATION would soon follow. Biograph would gradually go out of business. [More]

Starring: Blanche Sweet, Lillian Gish, Dorothy Gish, Mae Marsh

Starring: Blanche Sweet, Lillian Gish, Dorothy Gish, Mae Marsh, Henry B. Walthall, Lionel Barrymore, Robert Harron, Kate Bruce, Harry Carey, J. Jiquel Lanoe

Director: D.W. Griffith

Director: D.W. Griffith
Screenwriter: Frank Woods, D.W. Griffith
Producer: D.W. Griffith

[See More Credits]