Civilization
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Thomas H. Ince
Herschel Mayall
Lola May
Howard Hickman
Enid Markey
George Fisher
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
To the delight of the King of Wredpryd, war-loving Count Ferdinand has developed a submarine capable of destroying the enemy, but then the count falls under the influence of peace activist Katheryn Haldemann and becomes a convert to her cause. In battle Ferdinand purposely sinks his own ship and then drowns himself as a sacrifice to peace. Finding Ferdinand's body, the king's scientists bring it back to life, but now it contains the soul of Christ, and the resurrected count tries to spread a message of love. Displeased that Ferdinand no longer wants to wage war, the king sentences him to death, but when the king enters Ferdinand's cell, the body is limp and Christ has materialized above it. He gives the king a vision of the horrors of war, and a sobered monarch declares that he will now devote his life to peace.
Cast
Herschel Mayall
Lola May
Howard Hickman
Enid Markey
George Fisher
J. Frank Burke
Charles K. French
J. Barney Sherry
Jerome Storm
Ethel Ullman
Fannie Midgley
Crew
Joseph August
Reginald Barker
Alfred Brandt
Dal Clawson
Clyde De Vinna
Walter Edwards
David M. Hartford
Jay Hunt
Thomas H. Ince
Thomas H. Ince
Robert S. Newhard
J. Parker Read
Victor Schertzinger
Le Roy Stone
C. Gardner Sullivan
Raymond B. West
Irvin Willat
Irvin Willat
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The pre-release title of the film was He Who Returned. The film had its premiere in Los Angeles on April 17, 1916. It opened in New York in early June 1916. Modern sources vary on the credits for Civilization. Some give West and Barker sole directing credit, while others include Ince, and both Ince and Le Roy Stone are cited as the film's editor. Some sources credit Joseph August and Clyde de Vinna as the principal assistants to Irvin Willat, whom Wid's refers to as "camera man in charge," while others list Dal Clawson.
Modern sources occasionally call the film a Kay Bee production, but this seems doubtful. Kay Bee was Ince's production company at the time of Civilization, but no contemporary sources mention it. Instead, they refer to the film as an Ince production. The distribution of the film further indicates that it was not a Kay Bee production: Civilization was distributed on a state rights basis, while the Triangle Film Corporation routinely distributed the Kay Bee films of the period. According to the 1918 MSPD, editor Le Roy Stone took an active part in the exploitation of this film.
