Soldiers of the Cross marks 125 years since ‘extraordinary’ premiere
- deansimpson7
- 5 hours ago
- 3 min read
BY LINDSAY COX*
“A Christian woman, with a babe in her arms, was being pursued by Roman soldiers. The path lay across a series of wooden planks forming a narrow bridge. A comrade in the faith on the near side encourages her to cross, and receives her with a ready grasp and presses her on in hurried flight ...
... A soldier, who had outstripped his confederates, reached the plank and dashed across, forgetting to take into account the spring of the board under his weight and rapid movement. He suddenly loses his balance, and is seen flying through the air, and drops with a great splash in the stream. The tension of the audience thereat gave way to manifested gladness at the escape and the discomfiture of the poor woman’s pursuer.” (The War Cry, 18/5/1901. Page 9).
The stunned and shocked audience broke their breathless silence with applause and cheers as vivid moving images and brilliantly coloured magic-lantern slides filled the huge screen in front of them.
Soldiers of the Cross, a ground-breaking production by The Salvation Army’s Limelight Department, premiered on 13 September 1900 at the Melbourne Town Hall before an audience of more than 2000.
Melburnians were captivated by this production, which has been grandly claimed to be the world’s first feature film.
However, by the current definition, Soldiers of the Cross is not a feature film, but a two-and-a-half-hour multi-media event consisting of an ingenious mix of 16 90-second motion picture segments, some 220 magic-lantern slides, music from the Masses of Mozart by a 22-piece orchestra and choir, and rousing oratory by Commandant Herbert Booth.
Soldiers of the Cross was an extraordinary achievement for its time, a startling, stirring and often brutal portrayal of the sufferings of the early Christian martyrs.
The film segments of Soldiers of the Cross are among the earliest examples of using motion-picture film for narrative drama and are the first Australasian use of costumed actors performing on elaborate studio sets.
Herbert Booth wrote, “In some [scenes there] are as many as 50 characters at once. I have not been able to discover any such slides in the world.”
The cast of 150 officers and cadets acted on large film sets at the Murrumbeena Girls’ Home, with painted backdrops supported by the tennis court fencing. Smaller sets were erected in the Life Model Studio at 69 Bourke Street. Some scenes were shot on location; for example, the River Tiber clearly resembles the Richmond Baths.
Commandant Herbert Booth, The Salvation Army’s charismatic Australasian leader (and youngest son of the Founder William Booth) conceived, wrote and directed Soldiers of the Cross, while Major Joseph Perry, the head of the Limelight Department, produced it.
Film historian Eric Reade commented, “Perry covered huge crowd scenes with the dexterity of a seasoned producer. He was De Mille before his time.”
Booth was adamant that Soldiers of the Cross was not just entertainment. He wrote: “I am anxious that as a result of all the labour, ingenuity and anxiety, which have been followed by prayerful dedication to the cause of Jesus, hundreds will be drawn to the Cross ...”
*Lindsay Cox is The Salvation Army Australia Museum Manager based in Melbourne
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