AustLit

Advertised in local newspapers under the heading 'Lectures, Sermons, &', Heroes of the Cross was, like its predecessor, Soldiers of the Cross, a film produced by and largely for the Salvation Army. Advertisements indicated that it was 'Beautiful still pictures and thousands of feet of film, depicting the struggles and persecutions of the early Christians' (see image). Screenings also included an orchestra and singing.

A contemporary review noted:

The congress of Salvation Army delegates was inaugurated this evening by a display at the Town Hall of a series of moving pictures, entitled "Heroes of the Cross," and illustrating chiefly the persecution and martyrdom of the early Christians. The pictures, which had been locally produced by the Army, were of a realistic character, and made a profound impression on the audience, mostly composed of Salvationists, who thronged the building. The introduction of lions, which bounded about as if in high glee at the anticipation of a meal about to be made on Christian flesh, constituted a rather startling feature of one of the pictures.

Source:

'Salvation Army Congress', Geelong Advertiser, 12 May 1909, p.3.