Length: 100 minutes
Director: D.W. Griffith
Cast: Lillian Gish, Richard Barthelmess, Lowell Sherman, Burr McIntosh
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0011841/
Eric's Impressions: One of Griffith's more conventional stories is based on two different plays. Again we see Griffith constant, Lillian Gish, playing the role of a naive young woman. There's so much sadness in her face and actions that at times you just want to climb through the screen, give her a big hug and tell her everything is going to be alright. Richard Barthelmess plays the hero who actually does it. Intermixed with the melodrama is a lot of slapstick comedy that made me wonder if Mr. Griffith was watching some Charlie Chaplin reels during production. The action sequence near the conclusion on the frozen river/waterfalls seems pretty elementary by today's standards, but you can tell that the director put a lot of thought and time into it to try and make it all seem real. I wonder how many times Griffith and Gish would've won if the Academy Awards had been around at this time.
Natalie's Impressions: Although not as good as Broken Blossoms, in my opinion, I did enjoy this film. One thing that sets this film apart from Griffith's other films is the slapstick comedy that starts about an hour into the film as a side story line develops. The main story line is very dark, serious and depressing and then there is this very silly lighthearted section that juxtaposes sharply with the rest of the film. I thought it was a little jarring. Another thing I thought was unnecessary was the preachy morals and values lecture Griffith does at the beginning of the film, which makes it seem like some Christian moral propaganda. Early films tended to do this I suppose because film was seen as a new way to propagate one's ideas to a large population but as a modern viewer, I just want to watch a good story with good acting and leave the moralizing up to the viewer to make his/her own conclusions.
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