Soldiers of the Cross (film)



Soldiers of the Cross was a 1900 illustrated lecture, combining photographic glass slides with short dramatised film segments and orchestral or choir music to relate the stories of Christ and the early Christian martyrs.

Soldiers of the Cross was made in Australia by the Limelight Department of the Salvation Army. It initially consisted of 200 glass slides and 15 films, each film running for approximately 90 seconds. The presentation took slightly over two hours.

It is not the world's first feature film, but it has been argued it is the first narrative drama film presentation.

No motion picture film from Soldiers of the Cross is known to have survived. However some glass slides of the production remain.