Echoes of Biblical teachings were prominent in Thomas Ince's filmmaking, as I outline in my biography of the producer. Civilization (initially titled He Who Returned), had a simple but sweeping purpose; as one newspaper notice headlined, "Aims Film to Shorten Life of War—Thomas Ince Contends Great Movie Spectacle 'Civilization' Is Excellent Peace Argument." Shot in 1915, it was released in April 1916. Even before the public saw it, Ince arranged a viewing by President Wilson and his cabinet, and sent another print to the Pope. The picture was directed by a team, and Ince secured Wilson's appearance in a prologue, photographed at his private home, Shadow Lawn, by Lambert Hillyer.
After the opening in Los Angeles in April, lack of anticipated business prompted additional recutting and new scenes shot before the New York premiere. Not only a "Peace Song," but also a march, both composed by Victor Schertzinger, were issued as sheet music for the film. For British release, Civilization was recut and scenes added to give it a patriotic flavor, and it was retitled Civilization, Or What Every True Britain is Fighting For. Once the United States joined the war, Ince would revise Civilization to bring it up to date. The movie was given a formal theatrical reissue at least as late as 1930.
While probably Ince's most famous movie, it violated one of his tenets. "I have learned, too, that there is a certain type of play that the public loudly demands, but never pays to see. In this class may be placed the allegorical, the symbolical, the diabolical, and those pictures which are so obviously moral that they cease to be interesting." Although advertised as a million dollar spectacle, Civilization actually cost approximately $100,000 and returned $800,000.
While achieving recognition, Civilization has often been derided in subsequent years for such sentiments as the king's conclusion, "During my reign it is my command that my subjects enjoy peace and good will." However, Civilization must be considered in the context of the time in which it was made. Even as Americans were dismayed at the war's slaughter on all sides, the sinking of the British passenger liner Lusitania, in which over 100 Americans drowned, nearly goaded the United States into participation. Less than a year into the conflict, the event signaled the increasingly antagonistic attitude toward Germany for adopting submarine warfare. This innovation which was to become a popular motion picture topic, appearing in other Ince productions in the next few years. Civilization accurately portrays the German motivation, knowing such ships carried war supplies, as well the appalling consequences of their tactics.
Civilization opens in a mythical European nation, where the king (Herschell Mayall) leads his eager people to war, in the name of nothing but conquest, disregarding the pacifists who lament abandoning Christ's teachings. Photoplay noted the absence of the personal element, with the appeal to the mind over the heart in making the spectacle secondary. "In the background are the deserted forge, the invalid mother, the tearful children, the shepherdless flocks, swiftly and graphically suggested in such juxtaposition that when the crash and flame of explosions leave the field strewn with bodies, there is a personal interest in the fate of the army, not weakened by futile guesses as to whether or not some handsome hero will stagger off the field to clasp to his bosom a beautifully damsel, but an interest which embarrasses all these men, compelled by the war power to abandon all that makes life lovely to engage in the business of destroying life." In this way, while Civilization is often historically compared to Griffith's Birth of a Nation, that movie had a direct historical appeal to American audiences and their emotions that Civilization never attempted in its more abstract approach.
A count (Howard Hickman) is the inventor of a deadly submarine and he is sent into combat, compelling him to leave his fiancée, despite protesting the conflict as a Christian. Given the order to sink a passenger liner carrying war material, the count complies, but it changes him. When he is rescued he is taken over by the spirit of Christ (George Fisher). The count leads the nation in protest, and the fearful king, a "modern Pilate," orders him tried. But the count dies before execution, and Christ's spirit leaves his body to show the king the true cost of war with death and starvation. The king also learns that he is condemned for the misery he has caused. Outside the palace, the crowds pray for peace, and the king finally acquiesces to peace at any price.
Despite the pacifist tone, the antagonists seem Teutonic, with spiked helmets and upturned moustaches, satisfying two potential viewpoints. Yet the capitol building of the country is also a domed structure clearly modeled on the United States Capitol; Ince seems to be indicating that warlike actions may well spring up in America. The submarine sequence and the count's reformation urge awaiting the retribution of a higher power, without going to war. Perhaps most effective is the final sequence of the soldiers return home and reunion with their families. As the intertitle notes, "The blare of the war bugle has died and in its place we hear the note of the shepherd's horn."