Biblical Films in 1907

I've talked quite a few times in the past about the period from 1908-13 when an incredible 90 or so different biblical films were made. This was particularly due to the work of Louis Feuillade at Gaumont, J. Stuart Blackton at Vitagraph and Henri Andréani at Pathé. However, I've not talked much about the year before, 1907, aside from to discuss the third iteration of Pathé's The Life and Passion of Jesus Christ (Ferdinand, Zecca).

It was a relatively quiet year. Perhaps it was the success of The Life and Passion of Jesus Christ or perhaps Alice Guy's La naissance, la vie et la mort du Christ (1906) the year before that ignited the 1908-13 rush. Nevertheless there were a handful of biblical films or Bible adjacent films that year, so perhaps I should write a little about each.

La Vie et Passion de N.S. Jésus Christ (Ferdinand Zecca, Pathé)

See my previous posts on this film (and similar ones) including my initial write up which laboured under the misapprehension that this was the 1902-05 version.

Ben-Hur (Sidney Olcott, Kalem)

I wrote a bit about this back in the very early days. Lew Wallace's nineteenth century novel was a smash hit upon its release in 1880, as was the stage show adaptation that first opened in 1899. Kalem sought to cash-in and do an unofficial cinematic version, but were then sued by the Wallace estate in a case that established that copyright law applied to movies (despite the fact that everyone was at it). The two producers who did seek copyright before adapting the film went on to make major, significant films, despite, in both cases, significant financial outlay.  In reality Kalem's version is little more than some chariot race footage with an effective, if legally actionable, marketing hook. It starred future Westerns superstar William S. Hart as Messala.

L'Enfant prodigue (The Prodigal Son; Michel Carré, Gaumont)

This too was an adaptation not directly from the Bible, but of a stage-play/pantomime which modernises the story and set it in the (then) modern era. Carré would release another film with the same title nine years later. Some claim this as the first European feature length movie (a claim also made for Life and Passion) as it ran to ninety minutes, being essentially a filmed version of the play. There's a good write up of the play and the film here.

Samson moderne (A Modern Samson;  Pathé)

(Pictured above)

This too was a modernised take on a biblical story, this time the story of Samson. Although the film is now presumed lost, the IMDb preserves a sizeable plot synopsis from Moving Picture World. It sounds like the finale from the biblical story is missing as are other elements and details, but it seems like it's just about a modernised take on the story rather than just a riff on the name.

Eine moderne Ehe (A Modern Eve; Johann Schwarzer, Saturn)

If Samson moderne retains just enough of the original story to be classed as a modernisation, then this Austrian movie, which is available on YouTube, crosses that line: essentially it's little more than the story of a woman who leads a man into temptation. There's a bit more detail at A Cinema History including the fact that whereas Schwarzer typically made erotic films, this one did not include any nudity it was nevertheless censored by the authorities who ordered the scenes showing Eve's infidelity, but allowing those of her husband to pass through unscathed. I suppose this is perhaps the closest the film gets to the Bible: both parties guilty, but its the woman who suffers the greatest retribution...