Oil and Water (1913)

Director:

D.W. Griffith

Writer:

Edward J. Montagne

Stars:

Blanche Sweet, Henry B. Walthall, Walter Miller

Cast

Credited cast:
Blanche Sweet	...	Mlle. Genova
Henry B. Walthall	...	The Idealist
Walter Miller	...	John - the Idealist's Brother, a Minister
Lillian Langdon	...	Mother of the Two Brothers
Clara T. Bracy	...	The Nurse
Harry Carey	...	Stage Manager / At Dinner
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Gertrude Bambrick	...	Among Dancers
Lionel Barrymore	...	In First Audience / In Second Audience / Visitor
Kathleen Butler	...	In First Audience / Among Dancers
William J. Butler	...	Among Dancers
John T. Dillon	...	In Second Audience / At Dinner
Frank Evans	...	In First Audience / In Second Audience
Dorothy Gish	...	In First Audience
Lillian Gish	...	In First Audience
Em Gorman	...	The Baby

Storyline

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Genres:

Short | Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 February 1913 (USA)

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Biograph Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

25 min 25 min

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

A print of this film survives in the UCLA Film and Television Archives.

User Reviews

Collapses at the End

This late Biograph Griffith starts out pretty well and develops into a very tense situation: Blanche Sweet Sweet plays a dancer and we get a five-minute Isadora-Duncan style production that I couldn't help snickering at -- Ben Model was playing the piano -- who falls in love with and marries Henry Walthall, 'The Idealist'. They have a daughter, but eventually she grows so bored with her new staid life that she signs over her daughter to Walthall and goes back on the stage .... and then one evening her daughter wanders away from home into her path....

The problem I have with this movie is that the ending is rushed and unsatisfactory. Having established a good dynamic story tension based on character, Griffith writes it off in half a minute, leaving me dissatisfied. Happily, except for the purpose of the story, Griffith is at the top of his form and his prime troupe is on view, with tiny parts being played by Lionel Barrymore and Harry Carey Sr.