Way Down East (1920)

Director:

D.W. Griffith

Writers:

Lottie Blair Parker (from the play by)
William A. Brady (play)
(more)

Release Date:

3 September 1920 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

A simple story for plain people.

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:

Fake Wedding | Country Girl | Dead Mother | River Rescue | Last Second Rescue

Cast

Lillian Gish	...	Anna Moore
Josephine Bernard	...	Mrs. Emma Tremont
Mrs. Morgan Belmont	...	Diana Tremont
Lowell Sherman	...	Lennox Sanderson
Burr McIntosh	...	Squire Bartlett
Richard Barthelmess	...	David Bartlett
Kate Bruce	...	Mrs. Bartlett
George Neville	...	Constable Rube Whipple
Porter Strong	...	Seth Holcomb
Vivia Ogden	...	Martha Perkins
Edgar Nelson	...	Hi Holler
Mary Hay	...	Kate Brewster - the Squire's Niece
Creighton Hale	...	Professor Sterling
Emily Fitzroy	...	Maria Poole - Landlady
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Louise Lawson II	...	Bit Player
Carol Dempster	...	Barn Dancer (uncredited)
Patricia Fruen	...	Diana's Sister (uncredited)
Mrs. David Landau	...	Anna Moore's Mother (uncredited)
Athole Shearer	...	Barn Dancer (uncredited)
Edith Shearer	...	Barn Dancer (uncredited)
Norma Shearer	...	Barn Dancer (uncredited)
Florence Short	...	The Eccentric Aunt (uncredited)
Frank Walsh	...	Barn Dancer (uncredited)

Directed by
D.W. Griffith

Writing credits
Lottie Blair Parker		(from the play by)
William A. Brady		(play) (as Wm. A. Brady)
Joseph R. Grismer		(elaborated by) (as Jos. R. Grismer)
Anthony Paul Kelly		(scenario)
D.W. Griffith		uncredited

Produced by
D.W. Griffith	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
William Frederick Peters		(musical accompaniment) (uncredited)
Louis Silvers		(musical accompaniment) (uncredited)

Cinematography by
Paul H. Allen		(uncredited)
G.W. Bitzer		(camera) (uncredited)
Charles Downs		(uncredited)
Hendrik Sartov		(uncredited)

Film Editing by
James Smith		(uncredited)
Rose Smith		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
Clifford Pember		(uncredited)
Charles O. Seessel		(uncredited)

Costume Design by
Henri Bendel		(uncredited)
O'Kane Cornwell		(uncredited)
Lady Duff Gordon		(uncredited)
Otto Kahn		(uncredited)
Madame Lisette		(gowns: Lillian Gish) (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Elmer Clifton	....	second unit director (uncredited)
Herbert Sutch	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Frank Walsh	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Clark Robinson	....	set builder (uncredited)

Stunts
Elmer Clifton	....	stunt double: long shots of Lillian Gish on ice floe (uncredited)
Allan Law	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Paul H. Allen	....	camera operator (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Lady Duff Gordon	....	costume designer: gowns in prologue (uncredited)

Other crew
Elmer Clifton	....	associate director (uncredited)
Elmer Clifton	....	photo double: Richard Barthalmes (uncredited)
Victor Georg	....	art titles (uncredited)
D.W. Griffith	....	presenter (uncredited)
Katherine Johnston	....	photo double: Lillian Gish (uncredited)
Una Merkel	....	stand-in: Lillian Gish (uncredited)
Leigh Smith	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Frank Wortman	....	technical director (uncredited)

Production Companies

• D.W. Griffith Productions

Distributors

• United Artists (1920) (USA) (theatrical)
• Sfinks (1922) (Poland) (theatrical)
• Universum Film (UFA) (1923) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Alpha Video Distributors (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Divisa Home Video (2011) (Spain) (DVD)
• FilmAnnex (2006) (worldwide) (all media)
• Grapevine Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Image Entertainment (1998) (USA) (DVD)
• Kino International (????) (USA) (TV) (as A Kino International Release)
• Kino Video (1993) (USA) (VHS)
• Punto Zero (2007) (Italy) (DVD)
• Reel Media International (2004) (worldwide) (VHS)
• Reel Media International (2007) (worldwide) (all media)
• Reelclassicdvd.com (2005) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• O'Kane Cromwell  gowns worn by Miss Gish in prologue (uncredited)
• Otto Kahn Inc.  furs in prologue (uncredited)

Also Known As:

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:

Finland:S (1965) | Portugal:M/6 (DVD rating) | USA:Not Rated

Filming Locations:

Farmington, Connecticut, USA

Company:

D.W. Griffith Productions

Trivia:

The waterfall seen in long shot at the climax is Niagara Falls, a site unrelated to, and far from, where the ice floe rescue scenes were shot.

Quotes:

Anna Moore:This man, an honored guest at your table, why don't you find out what HIS life has been?

Movie Connections:

Featured in Star Power: The Creation of United Artists (1998) (V)

Gish's Best

As Gish once said, ".......Silent movies were well on their way to developing an entirely new art form. It was not just pantomime, but something wonderfully expressive." It is that expressive ability, which in Talking Movies and still today, more than any other characteristic, defines the success of an actor or actress. As it was back then referred to as "The Look", this ability was Gish's trademark, and has never been done better by anyone. In Way Down East, she set the benchmark for this ability. In my opinion, the best work of her career. If you haven't seen it, do, and you'll wonder who in screen history can rival "Her Look".