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OPEN CLASSIC CINEMA · 1524

The Cry of the Children

191229 minUnited States
Drama

Synopsis

A drama about child labour combines staged family scenes with images of children working in a textile mill. The young workers' vulnerability challenges the economic arrangements that put them in the factory.

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Video edition
Wikimedia Commons
Original language
No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: not identified.
This copy runs
25:54
Subtitles
No subtitle track in this language

No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: not identified. No subtitle track in this language.

Languages and subtitles

No subtitle track in this language

Wikimedia Commons · George Nichols · Public domain

This copy runs shorter than the reference runtime. Editing and playback speed can differ between editions.

Cast

DirectorsGeorge Nichols

Inspirations

Thanhouser's film draws on Elizabeth Barrett Browning's poem, quoting its lines in the intertitles. The use of actual mill footage gave its social argument a documentary dimension.

Sources and availability

General references identify the work and its copy. A reference beside an editorial section is linked to the claims checked in that section.

Wikipedia — film referenceWikidata — film identity and credits

Work catalogued as public domain in the United States.

The public-domain references concern the original films in the United States. Rights can differ for other countries, editions, restorations, music or translations. Sources are listed on each film page.

Availability checked on September 16, 2026.

Photograph credit

Photographs cropped, resized and optimized as WebP, displayed in monochrome.

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