Judge Priest - Connection To Birth of A Nation

Connection To Birth of A Nation

Henry B. Walthall plays the role of Reverend Ashby Brand in Judge Priest. Twenty years before Judge Priest was released, Walthall starred as the Little Colonel in the D. W. Griffith film The Birth of a Nation (1915).

In Judge Priest, Rev. Brand recounts fighting in the Civil War with Bob Gillus, with both Brand and Gillus fighting for the Confederate Army. As Brand explains to the jury. the courage displayed by Gillus, scenes from the Civil War play in the film. Brand’s face is faintly crossed with battle scenes. The battle scenes displayed in the background resemble similar battle scenes in The Birth of a Nation. In both cases, the war was being presented from a Confederate perspective. The reason director John Ford paid tribute to Birth of a Nation is not known.