Way Down East (1920)

User Rating:

8.3/10   

Director:

D.W. Griffith

Writers:

William A. Brady (play)
Joseph R. Grismer (play)

Release Date:

3 September 1920 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Country Girl | Fake Wedding | Party | Summer | Melodrama

Cast

Lillian Gish	...	Anna Moore
Richard Barthelmess	...	David Bartlett
Lowell Sherman	...	Lennox Sanderson
Burr McIntosh	...	Squire Bartlett
Kate Bruce	...	Mother Bartlett
Mary Hay	...	Kate (the Squire's niece)
Creighton Hale	...	The Professor
Emily Fitzroy	...	Maria Poole (landlady)
Porter Strong	...	Seth Holcomb
George Neville	...	The Constable
Edgar Nelson	...	Hi Holler

Runtime:

145 min | Spain:165 min | USA:107 min (1931 re-release) | 126 min (Alpha Video)

Country:

USA

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

Portugal:M/6 (DVD rating) | Finland:S (1965)

Filming Locations:

Farmington, Connecticut, USA

Company:

D.W. Griffith Productions

Trivia:

The ice floes seen at the climax drifting above and going over the waterfall were actually wood constructions, as the scene was shot out of season. The waterfall itself was only a few feet high, going no further down than what is seen at the bottom of the film frame.

Movie Connections:

Version of Way Down East (1935)

Griffith knew his stuff

I just finished watching Way Down East. It was extremely powerful and moving. Gish is at her best, and while she may take getting used to if you've never seen her before, because she is a bit twittery, she is also a unique beauty with enormously expressive eyes and nervous mannerisms that make her perfect in this role as the poor innocent done wrong by the sophisticated older man. Like they say, the story's as old as the hills, and I was surprised but pleased at the happy ending, considering she had a baby out of wedlock--usually women were punished in the old films, even if it wasn't their fault. Little things like Richard Barthelmess petting a pigeon on the head, blossoms bouncing gently in the breeze, the play of light at sunset through Gish's hair as she stands by the river.... There's an appreciation of the beauty of nature and the gentle aspects of the human soul that's not much seen anymore. Just watching the men haying in the fields, the old barn dance, a horse and sled heading down a long avenue of tall trees is a pleasure, a record of days gone by that we don't get much chance to see anywhere else. Of course Gish floating down the river on the ice in the denouement is a classic. I highly recommend this film to any sensitive movie-lover.