Way Down East
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| Way Down East | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical Poster |
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| Directed by | D. W. Griffith |
| Produced by | D. W. Griffith |
| Written by | Play: William A. Brady Screenplay: D. W. Griffith |
| Starring | Lillian Gish Richard Barthelmess Lowell Sherman Burr McIntosh |
| Music by | Louis Silvers |
| Cinematography | Billy Bitzer |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
| Release date(s) | Sept. 3, 1920 |
| Running time | 145 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | Silent film English intertitles |
| Budget | US$ 700,000 |
| Gross revenue | $5,000,000 |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Way Down East is a 1920 silent film directed by D.W. Griffith.
The picture stars Lillian Gish and Richard Barthelmess.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Plot
The rich, portrayed by Lennox, think only of their own pleasure.
Anna is a poor country girl whom Lennox tricks into a fake wedding. She believes that it is true. When she is pregnant, he leaves her and she has the baby, named Trust Lennox, on her own.
When the baby dies she wanders until she gets a job with Squire Bartlett. David falls for her, but she rejects him due to her past and then Lennox shows up lusting for Kate. Seeing Anna, he tries to get her to leave, but she doesn't, and she tells no one about his past.
When Squire Bartlett learns of her past from Martha, the town gossip, he tosses Anna out in a snow storm. But before she goes, she fingers the respected Lennox, as the father of her dead baby and the spoiler of herself.
[edit] Background
D.W. Griffith bought the film rights to the story, originally a stage play by a writer named Lottie Blair Parker.
Performed in the late 1800s, it soon became one of the most popular plays in the United States. It toured successfully across the country for ten years, but was considered outdated by the time of its cinematic production in 1920.
Although it was Griffith's most expensive film to date, costing him $175,000 more than the his 1915 classic The Birth of a Nation.
The silent was one of his most commercially successful films.[2]
Way Down East is the fourth highest grossing silent film in cinema history, taking in more than $5,000,000 at the box office in 1920.
[edit] Cast
- Lillian Gish as Anna Moore
- Richard Barthelmess as David Bartlett
- Lowell Sherman as Lennox Sanderson
- Burr McIntosh as Squire Bartlett
- Kate Bruce as Mother Bartlett
- Mary Hay as Kate (the Squire's niece)
- Creighton Hale as The Professor
- Emily Fitzroy as Maria Poole (landlady)
- Porter Strong as Seth Holcomb
- George Neville as The Constable
- Edgar Nelson as Hi Holler
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Way Down East at the Internet Movie Database.
- ^ Way Down East article.
[edit] External links
- Way Down East at the Greatest Films by Tim Dirks.
