Lillian Diana Gish www.lilliangish1893.com

Mr. Griffith’s House with Closed Shutters: The Long-Buried Secret That Turned Lawrence Into D. W. – by William M. Drew (2012) Mr. Griffith’s House with Closed Shutters: The Long-Buried Secret That Turned Lawrence Into D. W. by William M. Drew (2012) Although volumes have been written about the great director D. W. Griffith, he remains one of the most enigmatic figures in cinema history. Even the biographers he chose to chronicle his life were denied access to many facts in his personal history. This book reveals a hereto-unexplored phase of the pioneer director’s life that the author maintains would have a profound influence on his work. Based upon solid research, the book not only presents a scholarly analysis of the nexus between Griffith’s life experience and his interpretation of women’s roles, it also contains within its pages a compelling mystery that will fascinate its readers. With many rare illustrations. Film historian Kevin Brownlow calls it “A great discovery ...

THE BATTLE OF THE SEXES (1914 – 1928) Photo: LILLIAN GISH (BATTLE OF THE SEXES 1914) with Donald Crisp, Lillian Gish,Robert Harron, scenario D. W. GRIFFITH THE BATTLE OF THE SEXES – 1914 Opened at Weber’s Theatre, New York, April 12, 1914. Based on The Single Standard by Daniel Carson Goodman. 5 reels. ; Cast: Donald Crisp as Frank Andrews Lillian Gish as Jane Andrews, the daughter Robert Harron as John Andrews, the son Mary Alden as Mrs. Frank Andrews Owen Moore as Cleo’s lover Fay Tincher as Cleo W.E. Lawrence made as a “quickie” before Griffith left for California, THE BATTLE OF THE SEXES served the purpose of raising money for the new company. Even the title was good box office. The story was the old one of the straying husband, the home-wrecker and the forgiving wife. Lillian Gish played the part of a daughter who was moved by her mother’s sufferings to the point of committing murder. Griffith re-made the film in 1928. (Iris Barry) Griffith Directing Battl...

A Tribute To “The Birth Of A Nation” – By Rupert  Hughes (United Artists Pressbook, 1915) A Tribute To “The Birth Of A Nation” By Rupert  Hughes United Artists Pressbook, 1915 When a great achievement of human genius is put before us, we can become partners in it, in a way, by applauding it with something of the enthusiasm that went into its making. It is that sort of collaboration that I am impelled to attempt in what follows. When I saw “The Birth of a Nation” the first time, I was so overwhelmed by the immensity of it that I said: “It makes the most spectacular production of drama look like the work of village amateurs. It reduces to childishness the biggest things the theatre can do.” For here were hundreds of scenes in place of four or five; thousands of actors in place of a score; armies in landscape instead of squads of supers jostling on a platform among canvas screens. Here was the evolution of a people, the living chronicle of a conflict of stat...