The “Photo-Drama” premiered on January 11, 1914, in New York City.

Most of the film footage and many of the glass slides came from commercial studios. Professional artists in Philadelphia, New York, Paris, and London hand painted the glass slides and the films, frame by frame. Teams of workers in Bethel’s Art Room also did much of the painting, often making replacements for broken slides. In addition to the purchased films, Bethel family members were filmed in nearby Yonkers, New York, as they played the parts of Abraham, Isaac, and the angel who prevented Abraham from actually sacrificing his son.​—Gen. 22:9-12.

An associate of Brother Russell told the press that this medium would “interest countless thousands in Scripture, more than anything that [had] been done for religious advancement in the past.” Would the clergy applaud such an innovative effort to reach the spiritually hungry masses? On the contrary, Christendom’s ministers as a whole denounced the “Photo-Drama,” some even using sly or brazen tactics to prevent the public from seeing it. In one venue, a ministers’ union had the electricity cut off.

Nevertheless, audiences packed out theaters to view the “Photo-Drama” free of charge. In the United States, up to 80 cities each day hosted the “Photo-Drama.” Many amazed viewers were seeing their first ‘talking movie.’ Time-lapse photography enabled them to watch a chick peck its way out of its shell and a blossom gracefully unfold. Scientific information of the day highlighted the marvelous wisdom of Jehovah. As mentioned at the outset, seeing Brother Russell on-screen introducing the “Photo-Drama,” one viewer even thought that the speaker looked “more like Brother Russell than Brother Russell himself!”