The Horitz Passion Play (1897 Freeman), short film

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The Horitz Passion Play (United States, 1897) is a short film (silent, B&W) directed by Walter W. Freeman.

Abstract

Filmed in the town of Horice [Czech Republic], it was the first Passion play to be shown in the United States.

"The Horitz villagers had performed miracle plays for centuries, and their passion play, first mounted in 1816, had become a major touristic attraction ... The Lumières’ American representative, Charles Smith Hurd, negotiated a contract with the theater group and placed Walter W. Freeman in charge of the project ... The HORITZ PASSION PLAY was presented in an hour-and-a-half exhibition that also included projected slides, a lecture, organ music, and sacred hymns ... The American premiere occurred on 22 November 1897 at the Philadelphia Academy of Music ... Unfortunately, neither prints nor frame enlargements exist to tell us any more about this ambitious project."--see The Horitz Passion Play

Cast

Editions

Produced in the United States (1897) by Mark Klaw & Abraham Lincoln Erlanger Prod.-International Film Company.

Premiered in Philadelphia, PA and Boston, MA, before opening in New York, NY on March 14, 1898.

External links