Lillian Gish Movies
"The First Lady of the Silent Screen," Lillian Gish was the movie industry's first true actress. A pioneer of fundamental film performing techniques, she was the first star to recognize the many crucial differences between acting for the stage and acting for the screen, and while her contemporaries painted their performances in broad, dramatic strokes, Gish delivered finely etched, nuanced turns carrying a stunning emotional impact. While by no means the biggest or most popular actress of the silent era, she was the most gifted, her seeming waiflike frailty masking unparalleled reserves of physical and spiritual strength. More than any other early star, she fought to earn film recognition as a true art form, and her achievements remain the standard against which those of all other actors are measured.Born Lillian de Guiche October 14, 1893, in Springfield, OH, Gish, her younger sister, Dorothy, and their mother, actress Mary Gish, soon relocated to New York. Beginning their acting careers not long after, the girls were in short time the family breadwinners. Among their colleagues was another child actress, Mary Pickford, who in 1909 traveled west to Hollywood to pursue a career in the movies. She found work with the famed director D.W. Griffith, and soon persuaded him to recruit the Gish sisters for his Biograph Studios' repertory company of actors. Lillian and Dorothy debuted together in 1912's An Unseen Enemy and over the next several years appeared both together and independently in dozens of the director's one- and two-reelers. While overshadowed by Pickford's fame, Lillian was the Griffith stable's most skilled actress, and she starred in many of his greatest works, including 1915's The Birth of a Nation, 1916's Intolerance, 1920's Way Down East, and 1922's Orphans of the Storm.
With her delicate, luminous beauty, Gish was perfect for Griffith's Victorian-styled melodramas; wide-eyed and restrained, her face a marvel of innocence and nuance, she was nothing less than ideal for Griffith's landmark use of close-up photography. Together, they worked from opposite sides of the camera to push the new medium from lowbrow entertainment into the realm of serious art. In 1920, under Griffith's tutelage, Gish even directed her own film, Remodeling Her Husband, a vehicle for her sister. She left Griffith in 1923, landing at MGM to star in such literary projects as 1926's La Boheme and The Scarlet Letter. In 1930, she made her first sound film, One Romantic Night. Longing to return to Broadway -- and considered a fading star around Hollywood -- she made only one film over the course of the next 13 years, 1933's His Double Life. Instead, she became a fixture of the stage in productions, including 1930's Uncle Vanya, 1936's The Old Maid, and 1937's The Star Wagon. She also played Ophelia opposite John Gielgud's titular Hamlet, and in 1932 published the book Life and Lillian Gish.
A supporting role in 1943's The Commandos Strike at Dawn signalled Gish's return to film. Four years later, she received her first Oscar nomination for her work in the acclaimed Duel in the Sun. However, after 1948's Portrait of Jennie, Gish again exited Hollywood for the stage, and did not return to movies prior to 1955's The Cobweb. Later that same year, she also co-starred in Charles Laughton's classic The Night of the Hunter and infrequently appeared on television. After 1967's The Comedians, Gish largely retired from acting, penning a second memoir, The Movies, Mr. Griffith and Me, two years later. In 1971, she won a special Academy Award for her "superlative artistry" and in 1977 co-starred in Robert Altman's A Wedding. After being honored in 1984 by the American Film Institute, in 1987, she accepted her final starring role, opposite Bette Davis, in The Whales of August. Lillian Gish died in New York City on February 27, 1993. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
Scripted by Irwin Shaw from a story by C. S. Forester (of "Captain Horatio Hornblower" fame), Commandos Strike at Dawn is a wartime morale-booster, largely set in coastal Norway. Paul Muni stars as Eric Toresen, an apolitical and basically pacifistic Norwegian fisherman who is galvanized into action when his village is occupied by the Nazis. With a group of courageous resistance fighters, Toresen first endeavors to sabotage and demoralize the German troops then escapes to Britain, there to help organize commando raids against his country's oppressors. The supporting cast includes Anna Lee as the hero's true love, Alexander Knox (two years away from his starring stint in the patriotic biopic Wilson) as an icy Nazi commandant, Cedric Hardwicke as a stiff-upper-lip British officer, and Lillian Gish (in her first film appearance since 1931) as an iron-willed Norwegian townsperson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1939
The Movies March On was Number 12, volume 9 of Louis de Rochemont's March of Time series. Narrated by the stentorian Westbrook Van Vorhees, this fascinating documentary manages to squeeze 40 years of filmmaking into a mere two reels. Beginning with the once scandalous The Kiss (1898), the film jumps ahead to one of the first "story" films, Edison's The Great Train Robbery (1903, directed by Edwin S. Porter). Next is offered a cross-section of the great D. W. Griffith's Biograph films followed by snippets of such past luminaries as Mary Pickford, William S. Hart, Charlie Chaplin, Theda Bara, Greta Garbo and John Gilbert. In 1927, The Jazz Singer ushers in the talkie era, which is represented by snippets from films as diverse as All Quiet on the Western Front and the Mickey Mouse vehicle Steamboat Willie. After a round-up of recent cinematic achievements, Van Vorhees signs off with his customary "Time?.MARCHES ON!" Though undeniably superficial, The Movies March On at least never adopts a condescending tone when reviewing the silent era, which sets it apart from most summaries of its kind. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mary Pickford, Lionel Barrymore, (more)
His Double Life is a sweet, charming adaptation of the venerable Arnold Bennett play Buried Alive. Roland Young plays Priam Farrell, a famous and reclusive artist who is loath to return to London to accept a knighthood. Hoping to drop out of sight, Farrell trades identities with his recently deceased valet. So far as the world is concerned, Farrell himself has died, allowing him to start life all over again with spinster Alice (Lillian Gish), whom he -- or rather the man he is pretending to be -- had been corresponding with through a matrimonial bureau. Complications arise when the dead valet's family pops up with the intention of accusing Young of bigamy! Filmed at the Astoria Studios in Long Island, His Double Life was for many years withdrawn from circulation because of its 1943 remake, Holy Matrimony. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lillian Gish, Roland Young, (more)
- 1930
The second of three versions of the Ferenc Molnar play The Swan, One Romantic Night represented the talkie debut of the great Lillian Gish. The star plays Alexandra, a mittel-European princess who falls in love with Dr. Hafler (Conrad Nagel), her brother's tutor. Alas, affairs of state demand that Alexandra marry Prince Albert (Rod La Rocque), whom she does not love despite his graciousness and affability. Our heroine's problem is twofold: she must let Dr. Hafler down gently -- then she must do the same for herself. Though about ten years too old for her role, Lillian Gish is as serenely regal as ever and does a nice job of modulating her stage-trained voice (which under normal circumstances was capable of reaching the last row of the balcony) for the more intimate demands of the microphone. For the record, the original Broadway production of The Swan starred Eva Le Galleine; the 1925 film version starred Frances Howard, while the 1956 remake top-billed Grace Kelly, who of course eventually became a real-life princess. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lillian Gish, Conrad Nagel, (more)
- 1928
The Wind, Victor Sjostrom's final American film, is a western only in its locale: its symbolism-laden story of physical and spiritual repression, culminating in a violent, hysterical outburst, has more in common with the European or Scandanavian cinema than with the usual MGM product. Lillian Gish plays a sheltered Virginia girl who heads to Texas to live with her male cousin and his family. Upon arriving at her new home-actually little more than a squalid shack-she is treated as an unwelcome interloper. Even worse is the omnipresecent wind, which howls ceaselessly all around. To quell the jealousy of her cousin's wife, Lillian marries cowboy Lars Hanson, but this impulsive union seems foredoomed from the start. During Hanson's absence, Lillian is visited by former suitor Montague Love. With rape on his mind, Love laughs derisively as Lillian aims a pistol at his midsection. His laughter ceases when she pulls the trigger (the killing is subtly conveyed by a cutaway to a sand-covered plate, which jiggles slightly from the impact of the shot). In near hysteria, she drags the dead man outside and buries him, the mercilessly wind whipping and buffetting her about. Locking herself in the shack, Lillian looks out the window--and, in fascinated horror, sees Love's body "emerging" from the constantly shifting sands. In the film's original ending, Lillian goes completely mad, wandering blindly into the desert. Preview audiences were revolted by this denoument, so the film now ends with Larson's return and a happy reconciliation (reportedly, director Sjostrom's original cut is still available from European sources). In later years, Lillian Gish recalled The Wind as the toughest, most unpleasant picture she ever worked on. The location scenes were shot in the Mojave Desert, where the combination of relentless heat and artificially induced windstorms made working conditions virtually intolerable. At one point, Ms. Gish absentmindedly clutched the metal handle of her car's door-immediately incurring a second-degree burn. Adapted by Frances Marion from a novel by Dorothy Scarborough, The Wind, despite its artistic merit, was a box-office disappointment, resulting in a parting of the ways between Lillian Gish and MGM. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lillian Gish, Lars Hanson, (more)
- 1927
In this lavishly produced MGM production, the ethereal Lillian Gish is a bit more earthy than normal, due in part to the selection of her co-star, he-man Norman Kerry. "Suggested by" the well-known song, the story involves two feuding Scottish clans, the MacDonalds and the Camerons. Annie Laurie (Gish) tries to bring the two clans together peacefully at her home, Maxwelton, but winds up being the cause for even more enmity because both Ian MacDonald (Kerry) and Donald Cameron (Creighton Hale) love her. She throws her lot in with Ian when the vengeful Donald uses underhanded means to get rid of his foes. Annie battles the Camerons and climbs a mountain to light a warning beacon. After her ordeal, Ian carries her to a barge and they sail over the loch. The last part of the film was shot in two-strip Technicolor. Annie Laurie wound up losing 264,000 dollars, which certainly did not help the ever-worsening relationship between Gish and the studio. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lillian Gish, Norman Kerry, (more)
- 1927
The Enemy was based on the rabidly anti-war play by Channing Pollock. Lillian Gish plays Pauli Amdt, the granddaughter of August Behrend (George Fawcett), a pacifistic Viennese schoolteacher. Pauli marries student Carl Behrend (Ralph Forbes), who almost immediately thereafter marches off to World War I. We say "almost," because Pauli has been rendered pregnant. When her grandfather loses his job due to political pressure, poor Pauli is forced into prostitution to provide food for her baby. Things get darker when Carl is reported missing in action. A happy ending did not diminish the dramatic clout of the earlier scenes, though when The Enemy was first released, many critics complained that Lillian Gish's performance paled in comparison to that of Fay Bainter, who starred in the original Broadway production. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lillian Gish, Ralph Forbes, (more)
- 1926
Amidst much fanfare, Lillian Gish was signed to a fabulous MGM contract in 1925 which not only assured her $400,000 per picture but also gave her complete control over her productions, including choice of co-stars and directors. For her inaugural MGM effort, Gish selected La Boheme, the theatrical version of Henri Murger's 1851 novel The Latin Quarter. Thanks to copyright conflicts, MGM was unable to use the plot elements from the Giacomo Puccini opera based on the Murger book (there'd been plans to prepare a musical score based on Puccini's themes, but these fell through at the last moment), so scriptwriter Ray Doyle and Harry Behn relied almost exclusively on the original novel. Gish is cast as Mimi, the fragile little seamstress who takes up residence in Paris's "artists colony." Here she falls in love with aspiring painter Rodolphe (John Gilbert), who though professing undying devotion and dedication to Mimi cannot help but dally with other girls. To finance Rodolphe's artistic career, Mimi pawns all of her belongings and takes a series of back-breaking jobs, destroying her health in the process. Only when Mimi is on her deathbed does Rodolphe realize the extent of her sacrifices -- and of his love for her. Renee Adoree co-stars as the saucy Musette, whose double-entendre antics are toned down here, while Edward Everett Horton steals several scenes as Rodolphe's musician pal Colline. Though John Gilbert hams it up, Lillian Gish's brilliant performance is a model of restraint and subtlety. For her final scene, the actress went to appalling lengths to convincingly simulate death, going without water for three days and training herself to breathe without discernible movement (even when seen today, the effect is startlingly real). Available only for archival showings until the early 1970s, a restored version of La Boheme was reissued theatrically in 1978, while an even better restoration was made available to television in the 1990s through the auspices of the Turner Classic Movies cable service. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lillian Gish, John Gilbert, (more)
- 1926
Based on the classic American novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne, this silent period drama was put together by star Lillian Gish, who was forced by Louis B. Mayer to assure religious groups that the still-controversial material would not offend their sensibilities. Gish plays heroine Hester Prynne, who becomes the object of affection for Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale (Lars Hanson) in 17th century colonial Massachusetts. Hester is in a loveless marriage to Roger Prynne (Henry B. Walthall), who has not followed her to the colonies. After a trip home to England, Dimmesdale returns to discover that Hester has given birth to his daughter, Pearl, and has been branded with a scarlet letter "A" (for adultery) that she is forced to wear visibly on her person at all times. Hester forces the tortured Dimmesdale to keep the secret of Pearl's paternity, and the sudden appearance of Roger, who was shipwrecked and kidnapped by natives, further complicates matters. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lillian Gish, Lars Hanson, (more)
- 1925
Filmed on location in Italy, where director Henry King ruled over a huge set that covered 17 acres, Romola stars Lillian Gish in the title role. The daughter of a 15th-century Florentine aesthete, Romola becomes the bride of the caddish Tito Melema (William Powell). Using all the underhanded resources at his disposal, Melema finagles his way into the position of Chief Magistrate, taking every opportunity to abuse his powers. One of his most heinous acts is his betrayal of country girl Tessa (Dorothy Gish), who ends up drowning herself. Melema himself is consigned to a watery grave when the people revolt against his persecutions. This leaves Romola (who despite her title-character status has virtually nothing to do in the film other than stand around and look beautiful) free to marry artist Carlos Buccelini (Ronald Colman), who has loved her all along. The most spectacular setpiece in the film is Henry King's meticulous reconstruction of the execution of Savonarola (Herbert Grimwood). Romola was based on the novel by George Eliot. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1923
Lillian Gish plays the girl whose travails begin when her father dies and her conniving sister cheats her out of her inheritance. Gish is deeply in love with handsome army officer Ronald Colman, but when war erupts, he is sent to the front. Soon after he is listed among the dead. In her despair, Gish turns to God and enters a convent. The scene in which she assumes the veil and takes her final vows is particularly moving and was supervised by the chief ceremonial director for the Vatican so it is also accurate. Soon after the ceremony, Colman who didn't really die, shows up and begs her to leave the Church for him. When that fails, he tries to trick her into petitioning the Pope, but again she stands firm. Just as she says no, Mount Vesuvius erupts and the soldier saves his beloved from certain death. Her sister doesn't fare as well. Still, before she dies, she begs for Gish's and God's forgiveness. Colman heroically races toward town to warn them, but dies before he arrives. Gish is sad, but continues to live her life for God. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lillian Gish, Ronald Colman, (more)
Having turned the creaky old stage melodrama Way Down East into a money-spinning film, director D.W. Griffith set about to perform the same magic with the barnstorming theatrical piece The Two Orphans. Adolphe Philippe Dennery's play told the story of two orphaned girls, one blind, who are separated early on and undergo innumerable deprivations before their tearful reunion. Though the play took place in France, it had nothing whatsoever to do with the French Revolution; this didn't stop Griffith from plunking the storyline smack dab in the middle of that late-18th-century maelstrom, allowing him full scope for the spectacular scenes which had brought him worldwide fame. Lillian Gish plays Henriette, the sighted sister, while Dorothy Gish is cast as the visually impaired Louise. Henriette brings Louise to Paris, in search of a surgeon who might be able to restore her sister's sight. Henriette is kidnapped by a lascivious nobleman, leaving Louise to wander helplessly about until she too is "stolen" by a family of beggars. Rescued by kindhearted aristocrat Chevalier de Vaudrey (Joseph Schildkraut), Henriette begins the arduous search for her lost sister. Just before the film's intermission, Henriette hears Louise begging on the streets. Before they can be reunited, Henriette is arrested by minions of the evil nobleman who'd earlier tried to seduce her. Released from the Bastille by the revolutionaries, Henriette resumes her search, only to be arrested again--this time because she has consorted with the aristocracy, and is therefore a candidate for the guillotine. The stage is thus set for a thrilling "race to the rescue" climax, and of course the reuniting of the two orphans. Orphans of the Storm was filmed at Griffith's east coast studio in Mamaroneck, New York, which explains why the exteriors are always so overcast. In an effort to be topical, Griffith took every opportunity possible to equate the French revolution with the recent Bolshevik rebellion in Russia, and to warn his audience of the dangers of mob rule (this from a man who glorified the Ku Klux Klan in Birth of a Nation!) The film opened to excellent reviews and great business; Griffith, who always placed art above commerce, poured virtually every penny of profit into his "smaller" project, Isn't Life Wonderful, which died at the box office. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lillian Gish, Dorothy Gish, (more)
- 1920
As a child, Nellie Jarvis (Lillian Gish) witnessed a murder, but it only remains a shadowy memory. After the death of her parents, she is taken in by a poor but honest couple, the Hiltons (George Fawcett and (Eugenie Besserer). To help pay for her keep, she goes to work for a very nasty pair of neighbors, the Scrubbles (George Nichols and Josephine Crowell). The Hilton's oldest son is killed in World War I, but they are comforted when they visit his grave, and his spirit appears to them, insisting that they hang onto their farm. Nellie, meanwhile, is being brutalized by the Scrubbles; she's saved from an attack by Mr. Scrubble only because the jealous Mrs. Scrubble catches him. The second time Mr. Scrubble tries to have his way with Nellie, her memory of the murder comes back in sharp focus; the Scrubbles are the killers. This time she is saved by the Hilton's youngest son, Jimmie (Robert Harron). Oil is found on the Hilton's land, and Jimmie and Nellie promise themselves to each other. The picture, D.W. Griffith's first for First National, features beautiful pastoral photography, courtesy of cameraman G. W. "Billy" Bitzer. The spiritualist angle, with the dead son returning to visit his parents, was inserted because it was hot subject matter at the time; Sherlock Holmes author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and British physicist Sir Oliver Lodge had both brought spiritualism into temporary prominence. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1920
Lillian Gish tried her hand at film-directing in this gentle comedy of marital infidelity. Dorothy Gish is Janie, the young and perky bride of Jack (James Rennie). Jack loves Janie, but he can't keep his eye from straying. Janie tries to curtail Jack's flirtatiousness, but Jack wants to have one last fling before he settles down to marital bliss. Finally, when he gives himself up to the ministrations of a flapper, Janie leaves him. Janie discovers that she doesn't need her husband at all and sets herself up in business. When Jack sees that Janie is no longer devoted or dependent on him, Jack has second thoughts and realizes what a wonderful girl Janie is. With hat in hand, Jack comes to see Janie, hoping that she will take him back. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dorothy Gish, James Rennie, (more)
"I'm not a bad businessman", filmmaker D.W. Griffith once protested, "Honestly I'm not!" Yet industryites were certain that Griffith had taken leave of his financial senses when he paid $175,000 for the screen rights to the old Lottie Blair Parker stage play Way Down East. Considered out of date even in 1920, the play told the story of Anna (Lillian Gish), the efficient yet secretive serving girl for a large farm family. Anna falls in love with David Bartlett (Richard Barthelmess), the family's son, but feels unworthy of him due to her checkered past. It seems that, years earlier, Anna had been duped into a sham marriage by city slicker Lenox Sanderson (Lowell Sherman). When she became pregnant, Sandson walked out on her. Shortly afterwards, her newborn child died, and Anna was shunned by her home community. These facts come to surface when Sanderson returns to Anna's life as the local squire. David's prudish father orders Anna out of the house and into a blinding snowstorm, but David, after settling accounts with the duplicitious Sanderson, goes after Anna and claims her as his bride. In adapting Way Down East for the screen, Griffith fleshes out the characters of Anna and Sanderson by adding a prologue, which included one of those poignant scenes ever filmed: Anna's tearful insistence that her dying baby be baptized. He also injected the weary old property with a jolt of sheer showmanship, added a "last minute rescue" sequences wherein Anna, lying exhausted on an ice floe, is rescued by David seconds before plunging over a precipitous waterfall. Even today's audiences, armed with the foreknowledge that Lillian Gish enjoyed 73 hale and hearty years after the completion of Way Down East, invariably gasp in fright and urge Richard Barthelmess to "hurry! hurry!"during the climactic scene. Far from becoming Griffith's Folly as predicted, Way Down East was a huge moneymaker. There is no better of Griffith's artistry than the fact that the 1930 talkie remake of Way Down East, though directed by the formidable Henry King, failed to match the pathos and power of the 1920 version. Our own quibble: why did Griffith retain so much of the original play's wheezy comedy relief, and why did he put that relief in the hands of the relentlessly unfunny Creighton Hale? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lillian Gish, Richard Barthelmess, (more)
- 1919
Since much of this film takes place in rural Kentucky, where director D.W. Griffith grew up, it no doubt has many autobiographical touches. Since the setting was so close to his heart, that may be why this simple and winsome picture is one of Griffith's most charming creations. With complete lack of pretension, it tells the story of John Logan Jr. (Robert Harron), an ambitious young inventor who is determined to be a success. So he heads for the big city to achieve his dream of making a toy frog that actually swims. Not that he hasn't had opposition -- his sweetheart, Jennie Timberlake (Lillian Gish, in a rare showing of her comic ability) and his parents (George Fawcett and Kate Bruce) have done everything they could to make him stay. Although he promises to return in a year's time, John gets caught up in the temptations of the city, including a flirtation with a spirited young lady (Carol Dempster in her first credited role). Eight years pass, and finally after much struggle, John's frog becomes a resounding success. He returns home to Happy Valley just in time -- his father is facing financial ruin and is desperate enough to commit robbery. John's presence saves the family, and he and Jennie are reunited. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
Based on "The Chink and the Child", a story by Thomas Burke, Broken Blossoms is one of D.W. Griffith's most poetic films. Richard Barthelmess plays a young Chinese aristocrat who hopes to spread the gospel of his Eastern religion to the grimy corners of London's Limehouse district. Rapidly disillusioned, Barthelmess opens a curio shop and takes to smoking opium. One evening, Lillian Gish, the waif-like daughter of drunken prizefighter Donald Crisp, collapses on Barthelmess' doorstep after enduring one more of her father's brutal beatings. Barthelmess shelters the girl, providing her with the love and kindness that she has never known. Crisp, offended that his daughter is living with a "heathen," forces the girl to return home with him. In a terrible drunken rage, Crisp beats Lillian to death. Barthelmess arrives on the scene, kills Crisp, then kneels beside Lillian's body and takes his own life. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lillian Gish, Richard Barthelmess, (more)
- 1919
True Heart Susie is one of D.W. Griffith's "pastoral" films, wherein plot takes second place to characterization and romance. Lillian Gish plays Susie May Trueheart, who so loves local boy William Jenkins (Robert Harron) that she secretly finances his education. Returning to his home town as a minister, Jenkins never catches on that Susie is crazy for him. While Our Heroine pines away, Jenkins marries The Wrong Woman, young temptress Betty Hopkins (Clarine Seymour). Betty begins indulging in affairs with other men, but Susie loyally keeps this information from the reverend Jenkins. Even when Betty dies of pneumonia, Susie refuses to reveal all she's done on Jenkins' behalf. Finally, Susie's Aunt (Kate Bruce) can stand no more: she tells Jenkins the whole story, whereupon he takes Susie in his arms and pledges eternal devotion. In the hands of a lesser director, True Heart Susie might have been impossibly maudlin (and unbelievable; after all, can anyone be as much of a blockhead as Reverend Jenkins seems to be?) As it stands, the film's dramatic and heart-tugging value has not diminished, not even after the passage of nearly eighty years. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lillian Gish, Loyola O'Connor, (more)
- 1918
On the heels of his masterpiece, Intolerance, which dramatized the futility of war born out of prejudice, director D.W. Griffith shifted gears for this film. Intolerance had proven a financial disaster for Griffith, so he signed with producer Adolph Zukor to release his next film. He came upon the subject matter on a trip to England to promote Intolerance. The British government, desperately looking to America for help in fighting the Germans in the first World War, persuaded Griffith to make a propaganda picture. Set in France, it's the portrait of a village overrun by the Germans during the hostilities. Griffith begins the story in 1912 with a slow developing romance between The Boy, Douglas Gordon Hamilton (Robert Harron) and The Girl, Marie Stephenson (Lillian Gish). A street singer known as The Disturber (Dorothy Gish) tries to come between them, but she settles for her own romance with Monsieur Cuckoo (Robert Anderson). In the summer of 1914, The Boy and M. Cuckoo answer the call to arms, forcing the postponement of The Boy and Girl's wedding. The film's second half cuts back and forth between the battlefield and the home front (which in this case are separated by only a few miles). By the time the film was completed, the United States had already entered the war, and over the years its extreme portrayal of German soldiers has been trimmed, the first time at the request of the wife of President Woodrow Wilson. In fact, Griffith included shots of American troops helping out in the story's final battle and then marching off to return home. The version viewed for this review, running 115 minutes, included a brief prologue with footage of Griffith touring the battlefields in France, where some documentary footage was shot, though most of the film was made in Southern California, and the director meeting with British prime minister David Lloyd George. Also notable is the appearance in small parts of future filmmaker Erich Von Stroheim as a German soldier, future character actor Ben Alexander as The Boy's youngest brother, and future entertainer Noël Coward as a young villager pushing a wheelbarrow. ~ Tom Wiener, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lillian Gish, Robert Harron, (more)
- 1918
This war-time D.W. Griffith film was literally filler -- some of the footage was left over from around the time he shot Hearts of the World. According to reports of the day (the film apparently no longer exists), its modest story and simple approach was a comedown from the director's other, far more impressive work. When World War I breaks out, Jim Young (Robert Harron), of Youngstown goes to Canada to enlist. While training in Britain, he becomes fired up by observing the Dowager Queen and Lady Diana Manners contributing to the war effort (these were actual members of the British royalty and nobility, and were filmed in 1917). He also meets Susie Broadplains (Lillian Gish), a reverend's daughter, but their romance is interrupted by intrigue. Sir Roger Brighton (Henry B. Walthall), who has deserted a girl (Gloria Hope) and come to town, is being courted by a group of German spies. Sir Roger gets interested in Susie when she inherits some money, and this angers Jim, who leaves for the front. Susie naively marries Sir Roger, but when she finds out about his former sweetheart, she spurns him. The spies are to light the way for some planes to bomb an arsenal, but when the driver is captured, Mademoiselle Cointee (Rosemary Theby) is pressed into service. She can't drive, so she convinces Sir Roger to help her. Jim, who has returned, chases after them and smashes their searchlight. Then he uses his own and leads the German fleet to bomb an empty field. In disgrace, Sir Roger takes his own life, leaving Jim and Susie to reunite in the war cause. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1918
In the sentimental world of filmmaker D.W. Griffith, the greatest thing in life is love. Obtaining it and understanding it, however, isn't so easy, as Jeanette Peret (Lillian Gish) learns. While working in her father's Greenwich Village cigar store, she meets an attractive but arrogant Southern youth, Edward Livingston (Robert Harron). She and her father (Adolphe Lestina) visit their country of origin, France, but unbeknownst to Jeanette, Edward has paid for the trip. While in France, Jeanette meets and marries an earthy and rather plodding grocer, Monsieur le Bebe (David Butler). The first World War begins, and both Jeanette's husband and Edward wind up enlisting. In battle, the insolent young Edward learns a lot about humanity while Monsieur le Bebe is killed. Edward returns from the war a changed man and finally finds a permanent place in Jeanette's heart. When The Greatest Thing in Life was released, much ado was made over a new photographic effect used in the film -- the soft-focus close-up. Also, notably, there is a touching scene between Harron's character and an African-American soldier. The soldier saves Edward's life, but is mortally wounded. When the dying man calls out for his mother, Edward pretends to be his mother, cradling him in his arms and even giving him a kiss. This is quite a difference in attitude toward blacks compared to The Birth of a Nation. Griffith was not a racist, he was merely a product of his Southern background. The Greatest Thing in Life, along with Griffith's other Artcraft-distributed features (there were seven), was underappreciated in its time. Other films from this period of Griffith's career (such as A Romance of Happy Valley) have grown in stature. Unfortunately, it is doubtful that the true value of The Greatest Thing in Life will ever be realized, as it remains a lost film. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1916
Lillian Gish shows almost as much spunk in this picture as her hoydenish sister Dorothy Gish usually did. Daphne La Tour (Gish), is the daughter of a destitute French nobleman in the early 18th century. Because he is the favorite at the king's court, Philip de Mornay (Elliot Dexter) can probably have any woman he wants, but he likes Daphne's audacity. So he orders his men to kidnap her and take her to the home of Franchette, a popular madam (Lucile Young). But before he can fetch her, he is forced to flee and is captured by pirates. Meanwhile, Franchette's place is overtaken by soldiers who are rounding up women to send to Louisiana, where wives are sorely needed. Daphne is among the young ladies captured, but the ship they are on is attacked by the pirates. Daphne helps save the day for the Frenchmen, and as a result, she saves Philip's life. Although she has been sold to Jamie D'Arcy (Walter Long), she nevertheless manages to marry Philip when they reach Louisiana. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
Sometime during the shooting of the landmark The Birth of a Nation, filmmaker D.W. Griffith probably wondered how he could top himself. In 1916, he showed how, with the awesome Intolerance. The film began humbly enough as a medium-budget feature entitled The Mother and the Law, wherein the lives of a poor but happily married couple are disrupted by the misguided interference of a "social reform" group. A series of unfortunate circumstances culminates in the husband's being sentenced to the gallows, a fate averted by a nick-of-time rescue engineered by his wife. In the wake of the protests attending the racist content of The Birth of a Nation, Griffith wanted to demonstrate the dangers of intolerance. The Mother and the Law filled the bill to some extent, but it just wasn't "big" enough to suit his purposes. Thus, using The Mother and the Law as merely the base of the film, Griffith added three more plotlines and expanded his cinematic thesis to epic proportions. The four separate stories of Intolerance are symbolically linked by Lillian Gish as the Woman Who Rocks the Cradle ("uniter of the here and hereafter"). The "Modern Story" is essentially The Mother and the Law; the "French Story" details the persecution of the Huguenots by Catherine de Medici (Josephine Crowell); the "Biblical Story" relates the last days of Jesus Christ (Howard Gaye); and the "Babylonian Story" concerns the defeat of King Belshazzar (Alfred Paget) by the hordes of Cyrus the Persian (George Siegmann).
Rather than being related chronologically, the four stories are told in parallel fashion, slowly at first, and then with increasing rapidity. The action in the film's final two reels leaps back and forth in time between Babylon, Calvary, 15th century France, and contemporary California. Described by one historian as "the only film fugue," Intolerance baffled many filmgoers of 1916 -- and, indeed, it is still an exhausting, overwhelming experience, even for audiences accustomed to the split-second cutting and multilayered montage sequences popularized by Sergei Eisenstein, Orson Welles, Jean-Luc Godard, Joel Schumacher, and MTV. On a pure entertainment level, the Babylonian sequences are the most effective, played out against one of the largest, most elaborate exterior sets ever built for a single film. The most memorable character in this sequence is "The Mountain Girl," played by star on the rise Constance Talmadge; when the Babylonian scenes were re-released as a separate feature in 1919, Talmadge's tragic death scene was altered to accommodate a happily-ever-after denouement. Other superb performances are delivered by Mae Marsh and Robert Harron in the Modern Story, and by Eugene Pallette and Margery Wilson in the French Story. Remarkably sophisticated in some scenes, appallingly naïve in others, Intolerance is a mixed bag dramatically, but one cannot deny that it is also a work of cinematic genius. The film did poorly upon its first release, not so much because its continuity was difficult to follow as because it preached a gospel of tolerance and pacifism to a nation preparing to enter World War I. Currently available prints of Intolerance run anywhere from 178 to 208 minutes; while it may be rough sledding at times, it remains essential viewing for any serious student of film technique. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Rather than being related chronologically, the four stories are told in parallel fashion, slowly at first, and then with increasing rapidity. The action in the film's final two reels leaps back and forth in time between Babylon, Calvary, 15th century France, and contemporary California. Described by one historian as "the only film fugue," Intolerance baffled many filmgoers of 1916 -- and, indeed, it is still an exhausting, overwhelming experience, even for audiences accustomed to the split-second cutting and multilayered montage sequences popularized by Sergei Eisenstein, Orson Welles, Jean-Luc Godard, Joel Schumacher, and MTV. On a pure entertainment level, the Babylonian sequences are the most effective, played out against one of the largest, most elaborate exterior sets ever built for a single film. The most memorable character in this sequence is "The Mountain Girl," played by star on the rise Constance Talmadge; when the Babylonian scenes were re-released as a separate feature in 1919, Talmadge's tragic death scene was altered to accommodate a happily-ever-after denouement. Other superb performances are delivered by Mae Marsh and Robert Harron in the Modern Story, and by Eugene Pallette and Margery Wilson in the French Story. Remarkably sophisticated in some scenes, appallingly naïve in others, Intolerance is a mixed bag dramatically, but one cannot deny that it is also a work of cinematic genius. The film did poorly upon its first release, not so much because its continuity was difficult to follow as because it preached a gospel of tolerance and pacifism to a nation preparing to enter World War I. Currently available prints of Intolerance run anywhere from 178 to 208 minutes; while it may be rough sledding at times, it remains essential viewing for any serious student of film technique. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lillian Gish, Mae Marsh, (more)
- 1916
One might be inclined to dismiss the title of this film as a contradiction in terms -- but with Lillian Gish in the lead, how could the heroine be anything else but innocent? Based on a story by D.W. Griffith, writing pseudonymously as "Granville Warwick," the story concerns a Kentucky belle named Dorothy Raleigh (Gish), who impulsively marries big-city gambler Forbes Stewart (Sam De Grasse). As a result, Dorothy's grim, taciturn father Colonel Raleigh (Spottiswood Aitken) declares that, so far as he is concerned, his daughter is dead. Inexplicably abandoned by Stewart, the pregnant Dorothy returns home, only to be denied entrance by her unforgiving father. The girl moves to the "colored" section of town, where she gives birth to her baby. Compounding Dorothy's woes is the sudden appearance of Stewart's current mistress (Mary Alden), who claims that she has married Stewart. Disconsolately, Dorothy prepares to take her own life, when Stewart returns, explaining that he has been detained by a trumped-up prison term, and begging his wife's forgiveness. Lillian Gish seldom mentioned An Innocent Magdalene in later years, preferring instead to discuss the concurrently produced Griffith production Intolerance, in which she played a much smaller but far more memorable role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1916
Marfa (Lillian Gish), a Russian peasant girl, is in love with Jan (Frank Bennett). However, her uncle and aunt (A.D. Sears and Pearl Elmore) want her to marry an older, wealthy man. Colonel Griegoff (Walter Long) wants her, but Marfa will have nothing to do with him. When he tries to have his way with her, she knocks him out with a club and runs off. Along with her uncle and aunt, she emigrates to America. Jan, who wants to make his fortune, is on the same ship. They all settle in the Russian district of Los Angeles. Once again, Marfa's pushy relatives try to force her into an arranged marriage, but they are foiled by Jan and the police. A quick glance at this plot shows why Lillian Gish preferred to downplay many of the films she made with directors other than D.W. Griffith. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
