Film critic Roger Ebert has said that Griffith "moves the camera with greater freedom and has a headlong narrative and an exciting use of cross-cutting that Pastrone does not approach." but never seeks to exploit possibilities of the genuinely mobile camera created by the 'Cabiria' shot, although such camera movement can very occasionally be seen used to dramatic effect in other US films at this time, notably Allan Dwan's "David Harum" (1915). The film also marked the debut of the Maciste character, who went on to have a long career in Italian sword and sandal films.