The Clan (1920 film)

The Clan (also known as The Clansman) is a 1920 American silent historical drama film directed by Tod Browning. It is based on the 1905 novel The Clansman: An Historical Romance of the Ku Klux Klan and the 1906 play The Clansman by Thomas Dixon Jr. Dixon also co-wrote the screenplay.

The film is a sequel to the controversial and highly successful 1915 film The Birth of a Nation, also based on Dixon's novel. The Clan continues Dixon's revisionist portrayal of the Reconstruction era, depicting the Ku Klux Klan as a heroic force restoring order to the South after the Civil War. It further perpetuates racist stereotypes and inaccuracies about African Americans.

The film features Charles Emmett Mack, Genevieve Hamper, and Ralph Lewis.

The Clan is considered a lost film, with no known copies surviving. Like its predecessor, it was met with protests and controversy upon its release due to its racist content. Its historical significance lies in its reflection of the racial attitudes prevalent in the United States during the early 20th century and its contribution to the romanticized narrative surrounding the Ku Klux Klan.