From the iconic to the eclectic, relive the most memorable moments from the Oscars red carpet. The ice needed to be sawed or dynamited before filming could be done. In the climax, the unconscious Anna floats on an ice floe down a river towards a waterfall, until rescued at the last moment by David, who marries her in the final scene. When Squire Bartlett learns of her past from Martha, the town gossip, he tosses Anna out in a snow storm. During filming, a small fire had to be kept burning beneath the camera to keep the oil from freezing. Written by Title: The biggest thing about “Way Down East” is that it is lasting. Scenario by Anthony Paul Kelly, from the play adaptation Way Down East by Lottie Blair Parker and Joseph R. Grismer of the play Annie Laurie by Lottie Blair Parker. A young American soldier witnesses the horrors of the Great War. Featured Products TCM Annual Catalog: 2019 Edition. / Produced by D.W. Griffith. Two orphaned sisters are caught up in the turmoil of the French Revolution, encountering misery and love along the way. Way Down East (1920) A Silent Film Review Silent Movie Review by Movies Silently February 3, 2013 April 14, 2020 D irector D.W. Griffith dives back into country melodrama with this adaptation of a hoary stage smash. "Way Down East" (1920) is a poignant drama. It is one of four film adaptations of the melodramatic 19th century play Way Down East by Lottie Blair Parker. The movie is based on a 19th century play by Lottie Blair Parker. Anna is but a poor country girl whom Lennox tricks into a fake wedding. The story of a poor young woman, separated by prejudice from her husband and baby, is interwoven with tales of intolerance from throughout history. Way Down East is a 1920 American silent romantic drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Lillian Gish. Way Down East by D.W. Griffith. Way Down East, or, Portraitures of Yankee Life by Seba Smith A Dutch Wedding. 53 of 54 people found this review helpful. Art direction by Charles O. Seessel and Clifford Pember. The shot where the ice floes are filmed going over the waterfall was filmed out of season, so those ice floes are actually wooden. The Redhawks (4-3-4) were awarded a free kick on the right end line just outside the Lincoln-Way East penalty area. Directed by D.W. Griffith. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. A frail waif, abused by her brutal boxer father in London's seedy Limehouse District, is befriended by a sensitive Chinese immigrant with tragic consequences. There’s still a fair bit of outrageous mugging from the comic sidekicks, but in general the humour is more character-driven and less forced than in Griffith’s island pictures. Way Down East is a 1935 American romantic drama film directed by Henry King and starring Rochelle Hudson, Henry Fonda, Slim Summerville, Margaret Hamilton, Andy Devine and Spring Byington. Way Down East is a deceptive show -- it establishes a foundation of light drama in a bucolic setting, with comic characters like an old maid and a rube called Hi Holler (Edgar Nelson). She becomes lost in the raging storm while David leads a search party. The callous rich, portrayed by Lennox, think only of their own pleasure. Other cuts removed scenes where society women smoke cigarettes and an intertitle with the euphemism "wild oats. It’s an entertainment that people have gone to see again and again. After starting a new life, her past is exposed and she is evicted into a raging blizzard, … When she is pregnant, he leaves her and she must have the baby, named Trust Lennox, on her own. Seeing Anna, he tries to get her to leave, but she doesn't, and she tells no one about his past. Way Down East is a 1920 silent movie.It was directed by D. W. Griffith.The movie stars Lillian Gish as Anna and Richard Barthelmess as David. Anna is but a poor country girl whom Lennox tricks into a fake wedding. It's the kind of story that leaves itself open for spoofing, but Griffith approaches the story of a "mock marriage" and its aftermath with earnestness and a great eye for detail.Aiding Griffith in bringing this story to life are three great stars: Lillian Gish as Anna, Richard Barthelmess as David, and Lowell Sherman as caddish Lennox. 1920 It is a silent. The development of the war in their lives plays through to Lincoln's assassination and the birth of the Ku Klux Klan. (1920). Seeing Anna, he tries to get her to leave, but she doesn't, and she tells no one about his past. Barthelmess uses the breaking ice as a trail so that he can reach Gish before it's too late. Way Down East In her opening scene she is in her parlor with her mother making a broom, holding up the straw so that we see only her white cap and large expressive eyes. [7][8] It was her idea to put her hand and hair in the water, an image which would become iconic. The entire sequence is as thrilling today as it was in 1920.Gish once wrote that her long hair froze solid from being in the river water and snapped off with the ice.WAY DOWN EAST is a great film. Later, in 2007, in his comparison of this production to other works by Griffith, film reviewer Paul Brenner judged it to be one of the director's better, less "preachy" screen presentations: Many of Griffith's features suffer from sententious moralizing, a sense of God speaking to the masses, and outright racism. She's stunning. The family son (Henry Fonda) eventually falls in love with Anna but she refuses to take his hand due to her secret but soon a nosy fool (Margaret Hamilton) finds out the … D. W. Griffith bought the film rights to the story, originally a stage play by Lottie Blair Parker that was elaborated by Joseph R. Grismer. The basic story concerns Anna Moore (Lillian Gish), a poor country girl sent by her mother to live with rich relatives in an unnamed New England city. [3], Although it was Griffith's most expensive film to date, it was also one of his most commercially successful. A naive country girl is tricked into a sham marriage by a wealthy womanizer, then must rebuild her life despite the taint of having borne a child out of wedlock. Seeing Anna, he tries to get her to leave, but she refuses to go, although she promises to say nothing about his past. There are several shots where he falls off the ice or the ice breaks under him and he plunges into that wintry river. The supporting cast includes New England "types" that almost parody Dickens. This has been proven by the famous old play, and this play never reached the public finished off as artistically and as powerfully as Griffith’s picture. When Squire Bartlett learns of her past from Martha, the town gossip, he tosses Anna out in a snow storm. Susie, a plain young country girl, secretly loves a neighbor boy, William. The play, an old-fashioned story that espoused nineteenth-century American and Victorian ideals, was considered outdated by the time of its cinematic production in 1920. [4] The Stoneman family finds its friendship with the Camerons affected by the Civil War, both fighting in opposite armies. Way Down East, or, Portraitures of Yankee Life by Seba Smith John Wadleigh's Trial. The callous rich, portrayed by Lennox, think only of their own pleasure. This movie is famous for its exciting climax. 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. In Way Down East, Griffith's psychotic nuttiness, for once, didn't get in the way of a good film. Get a sneak peek of the new version of this page. Before she goes, she names the respected Lennox as her despoiler and the father of her dead baby. Way Down East revels in all of this, from old men snoozing on the porch to the chatty sewing circle, to wintry carriage rides and a very rowdy barn dance. Way Down East (1920) is D.W. Griffith's classic, silent melodramatic film. An intrepid reporter and his loyal friend battle a bizarre secret society of criminals known as The Vampires. She believes in him and sacrifices much of her own happiness to promote his own ambitions, all without his ... See full summary ». When the baby dies she wanders until she gets a job with Squire Bartlett. Tony Fontana . The sudden fortune won from a lottery fans such destructive greed that it ruins the lives of the three people involved. Gish's hair froze, and she lost feeling in her hand from the cold. Certificate: Passed A con artist masquerades a Russian nobility and attempts to seduce the wife of an American diplomat. The basic plot of Way Down East has Lillian Gish playing Anna, a poor country girl who goes to visit her rich cousins for financial help, winds up getting seduced by a jerk-faced liar-pants named Lennox Sanderson, who fake-marries her, knocks her up, and then leaves her. Grismer's wife, the Welsh actress Phoebe Davies, became identified with the play beginning in 1897 and starred in over 4,000 performances of it by 1909, making it one of the most popular plays in the United States. As Anna she goes through the gamut of shy maiden, young lover, wronged woman, timid servant, and town jezebel. It then launches into a serious, heart-rending story of innocence spoiled and honor outraged. But before she goes, she fingers the respected Lennox, as the father of her dead baby and the spoiler of herself. Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? 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. Every movie should have Lillian Gish and an ice floe, fah real. WAY DOWN EAST was an old-fashioned melodrama even in 1920 when D.W. Griffith decided to film it. Anna is but a poor country girl whom Lennox tricks into a fake wedding. Great Falls Historic District, Paterson, New Jersey, USA. $4.52. But before she goes, she fingers the respected Lennox, as the father of her dead baby and the spoiler of herself. For example, the Pennsylvania film board required over 60 cuts in the film, removing the mock marriage and honeymoon between Lennox and Anna as well as any hints of her pregnancy, effectively destroying the film's integral conflict. Drama, Certificate: Passed Usage Attribution 3.0 Topics Griffith, silent, classic, One of D.W Griffith's better films. Way Down East is the fourth-highest grossing silent film in cinema history, taking in more than $4.5 million at the box office in 1920. (Even the film's seeming pioneering of feminism is hoary: the Leviticus-style titles would have us believe that Lillian Gish's tremulous ingenue fallen prey to a heavily mascaraed roue is "the story of Woman.") It is particularly noteworthy for the great scene of the rescue from the ice at the end of the film. He bought the film rights to the story, originally a stage play of the same name by an inexperienced writer named Lottie Blair Parker. Davies died in 1912, having toured the play for well over ten years. A railway engineer adopts a young girl orphaned by a train crash. "[9], The film earned $1 million in profit. Abandoned by her fiancé, an educated black woman with a shocking past dedicates herself to helping a near bankrupt school for impoverished black youths. Was this review helpful to you? David falls for her, but she rejects him due to her past and then Lennox shows up lusting for Kate. Far from becoming Griffith's Folly as predicted, Way Down East was a huge moneymaker. From "Dexter" to The Suicide Squad, here are our picks for the reboots and remakes we're most excited for in 2021 and beyond. Finally, Squire Bartlett learns of Anna's past from Martha, the town gossip. That Touch of Mink DVD $14.96 The Ghost And Mrs. Muir DVD $11.21 Forbidden Hollywood: The Pre-Code Era (1930-1934): When Sin Ruled the Movies Book $22.95 Years later when she starts getting suitors, he grapples with whether or not to tell her the truth about her parentage. She believes that it is true, but secret, while he has his way with her. Way Down East's profile including the latest music, albums, songs, music videos and more updates. When she is pregnant, he leaves her and she must have the baby, named Trust Lennox, on her own. 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. Far from becoming Griffith's Folly as predicted, Way Down East was a huge moneymaker. In his anger, he tosses Anna out into a snow storm. What's amazing is that so much of Gish's tough, funny, intuitive performance, particularly in the film's middle section as she bears her illegitimate child, transcends time, place and technology. No stunt doubles were used at the time, so Gish and Barthelmess performed the stunts themselves. First performed in the late 1800s, it soon became one of the most popular plays in the US. Use the HTML below. Addeddate 2010-08-23 23:03:58 Ia_orig__runtime 2 minutes 44 seconds Identifier WayDownEast This film illustrates the work of cinematographer Billy Bitzer, a star of Silent Hall of Fame. Similar to other Griffith productions, Way Down East was subjected to censorship by some American state film censor boards. [3], Monday Morning in a Coney Island Police Court, The Death Disc: A Story of the Cromwellian Period, The Avenging Conscience: or "Thou Shalt Not Kill", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Way_Down_East&oldid=1017306489, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 12 April 2021, at 01:17. Showbiz History: Way Down East, Valerie Perrine, Kalifornia, Forgotten By Fox: Heaven, Hell, and Way Down East, Alfred Hitchcock's Favorites and Influences, Still Not in the Library of Congress National Film Registry, United Artists 100th Anniversary Poll Part I, Celebrating 100 Years Anniversary (1920-2020). She believes that it is true, but secret, while he has his way with her. Anna (Lillian Gish) is a poor country girl whom handsome man-about-town Lennox (Lowell Sherman) tricks into a fake wedding. Add the first question. As Gish lies exhausted on the piece of ice she may or may not know that it's heading for the falls. Kate Bruce is the staunch mother, Creighton Hale the ditzy professor, Vivia Ogden the town gossip, Burr McIntosh the intolerant squire, Emily Fitzroy runs the hotel, etc.The story of love, betrayal, tolerance, and redemption is slow moving and has (as usual in a Griffith film) subplots, but like the very river, all the actions and events slowly come together for the finale that left 1920 audiences in a frenzy. Anna’s ignorant plummet from grace is followed by a series of misfortunes; Lennox, with his lecherous eyebrows … A seemingly idiotic fop is really the courageous vigilante Zorro, who seeks to protect the oppressed. When the baby dies she wanders until she gets a job with Squire Bartlett. Set construction by Clark Robinson. Way Down East concerns the virtue of a penurious New Englander, Anna (Lillian Gish), and its nefarious compromising by a social interloper and ladies’ man, Lennox (a hammily androgynous Lowell Sherman), who seduces the innocent after staging a fraud marriage ceremony. At one point, Griffith was frostbitten on one side of his face. Her right hand would be somewhat impaired for the remainder of her life. It was adapted from a popular 1890s stage play by Lottie Parker. Indeed the ending is among the most famous in all silent films.Gish is quite beautiful here. Barthelmess is solid as the young and innocent David who falls in love with the servant girl.Their final scenes in the blizzard (filmed on Long Island in a real storm) on the icy river (filmed in White River Junction, VT) are totally amazing. There were two earlier silent versions and one sound version in 1935 starring Henry Fonda. And Way Down East’s aura of authenticity paid dividends: in the shape of $4,500,000 at the box office, and an unbeatable universal appeal. Just amazing. Equally amazing is Griffith's mighty striving, with his arty location shots, quirky close-ups and riskily staged set pieces, to forge a new and expressly cinematic style.[11]. When she becomes pregnant, he leaves her. The callous rich, portrayed by Lennox, think only of their own pleasure. The famous ice-floe sequence was filmed in White River Junction, Vermont. Griffith's version is particularly remembered for its climax in which Lillian Gish's character is rescued from doom on an icy river. Based on a popular 19th century play, "Way Down East" is a poignant melodrama about a poor country girl who is tricked into a fake marriage and has an illegitimate child who dies. Way Down East is a 1920 Tearjerker Melodrama film, directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Lillian Gish. This FAQ is empty. Way Down East (1935) * 1/2 (out of 4) Watered-down, lame and at times laughable remake of D.W. Griffith's 1920 epic has Rochelle Hudson playing Anna Moore, a woman who goes to live with a family in Maine and hiding a secret. By Mae Tinee “Way Down East,” as elaborated by David Wark Griffith from the stage play by Lottie Blair Parker, as personally supervised by Mr. Griffith, and as presented under the special direction of Mr. Griffith at Woods theater, which does not happen to belong to Mr. Griffith, is a vurr’ good movie. Anna Moore (Gish) is a simple country girl who lives with her mother. Lennox then shows up lusting for another local girl, Kate. When the baby dies she wanders until she gets a job with Squire Bartlett (Burr McIntosh). A naive country girl is tricked into a sham marriage by a wealthy womanizer, then must rebuild her life despite the taint of having borne a child out of wedlock. Subplots relate the romances and eventual marriages of some of the picaresque characters inhabiting the village. Cinematographically, the ice floe scene is an early example of parallel action. Directed … David (Richard Barthelmess), Squire Bartlett's son, falls for her, but she rejects him due to her past. Clarine Seymour, who had appeared in four previous Griffith films, was hired to play Kate, the squire's niece. And they will continue to do so. And they did not use stunt doubles. Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. It was released by 20th Century Fox and produced by Fox Film Corporation. Way Down East is the fourth highest grossing silent film in cinema history, taking in more than $4,500,000 at the box office in 1920. View production, box office, & company info. There were two earlier silent versions and one sound version in 1935 starring Henry Fonda.[2]. [9] The resulting film may have surprised viewers in that state when a child suddenly appears shortly before its death. With Lillian Gish, Richard Barthelmess, Mrs. David Landau, Lowell Sherman. There are scenes were her hand and hair trail in the icy river. However, when Seymour died after surgery, her role was given to Mary Hay, and Seymour's footage was reshot. But Way Down East highlights the greatness of Griffith without having to sit through the Sermon on the Mount or the Ride of The Klan. She has the baby, named Trust Lennox, on her own. Adventure. It is one of four film adaptations of the melodramatic 19th century play Way Down East by Lottie Blair Parker. An actual waterfall was used, though it was only a few feet high; the long shot where a large drop is shown was filmed at Niagara Falls. Way Down East is chiefly remembered today for its stunning conclusion, when an unconscious Anna is swept downstream on an ice floe while David … Griffith had calculated that audiences would enjoy his terrifying action sequence in the same way that they thrilled to … [10], After viewing the drama at a public screening in 1994, film critic Mark Adamo of The Washington Post was especially impressed with Gish's performance and with Griffith's highly innovative "cinematic style":.mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 40px}.mw-parser-output .templatequote .templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;padding-left:1.6em;margin-top:0}, What's astounding about the film is not that the rickety conventions of 1890s stage melodrama dog its every frame. They are dirt poor, so she goes to the city to ask her wealthy relatives, the Tremonts, for help. David falls for her, but she rejects him due to her past and then Lennox shows up lusting for Kate. Some sources, quoting newspaper ads of the time, say a sequence was filmed in an early color process, possibly Technicolor or Prizmacolor.[5][6]. Way Down East is an adaptation of both a novel and a stage play of the same title, although Griffith greatly elaborated on both by adding an action climax that is 100% pure cinema. Way Down East is a 1920 American silent romantic drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Lillian Gish. In four previous Griffith films, was hired to play Kate, the ice needed to kept. A Dutch wedding, heart-rending story of innocence spoiled and honor outraged Lennox then shows up lusting for local... District, Paterson, New Jersey, USA to share IMDb 's rating on your own?! Toured the play for well over ten years learns of Anna 's past Martha. Young country girl whom Lennox tricks into a fake wedding famous ice-floe sequence was filmed in White river Junction Vermont... 1890S stage play by Lottie Blair Parker, and Seymour 's footage was.. 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