One Hundred Years of Mormonism
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Nell Shipman
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Young Joseph Smith, who has studied the Bible since his childhood, experiences a vision in which the angel Moroni gives him a book of golden plates engraved with "reformed Egyptian" characters. Using an optical instrument, the young man translates the characters into the Book of Mormon , which provides the philosophical basis of a new faith. Joseph Smith and a small group of followers begin to establish the Mormon Church, but they are persecuted for their beliefs and forced to move from state to state. In 1844, Joseph Smith is murdered by an angry mob in Carthage, Missouri, but three years later, Brigham Young leads a group of believers across the plains to the "promised land," the valley of the Great Salt Lake.
Crew
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
According to "Moving Picture World" (January 18, 1913, p. 251) Nell Shipman wrote the script and received $2,500 for it, but in her autobiography she makes no mention of scripting this production.
Notes
The picture's working title was The Rise and Growth of Mormonism, and it was variously reviewed as five and six reels long. The Utah Moving Picture Co. at first distributed the film through its own companies throughout the United States, but in August 1913, more footage was added to the picture, and it was released on a touring rights basis. At that time, Norval MacGregor, a director and actor, lectured at the Los Angeles showings, and according to the 1920 MPSD, was involved in the film's production as well. Angeles showings. Harry A. Kelly claimed that he wrote the scenario, and that the Golden State Motion Picture Co. began the production of the film. Another article noted that it was begun by the Ellay Co. and completed by the Utah Moving Picture Co. The film was made with the "consent and assistance of the leaders of the Mormon Church."
