The Essential Lillian Gish Canon
by phhicks2 | created - 19 Nov 2014 | updated - 19 Nov 2014 | Public- Instant Watch Options
- Genres
- Movies or TV
- IMDb Rating
- In Theaters
- Release Year
- Keywords
1. The Night of the Hunter (1955)
Not Rated | 92 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
A self-proclaimed preacher marries a gullible widow whose young children are reluctant to tell him where their real dad hid the $10,000 he'd stolen in a robbery.
Director: Charles Laughton | Stars: Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters, Lillian Gish, James Gleason
Votes: 97,275 | Gross: $0.65M
2. The Birth of a Nation (1915)
TV-PG | 195 min | Drama, History, War
The Stoneman family finds its friendship with the Camerons affected by the Civil War, both fighting in opposite armies. The development of the war in their lives plays through to Lincoln's assassination and the birth of the Ku Klux Klan.
Director: D.W. Griffith | Stars: Lillian Gish, Mae Marsh, Henry B. Walthall, Miriam Cooper
Votes: 26,329 | Gross: $10.00M
3. Intolerance (1916)
Passed | 163 min | Drama, History
The story of a poor young woman separated by prejudice from her husband and baby is interwoven with tales of intolerance from throughout history.
Director: D.W. Griffith | Stars: Lillian Gish, Robert Harron, Mae Marsh, F.A. Turner
Votes: 16,716 | Gross: $2.18M
4. Broken Blossoms or the Yellow Man and the Girl (1919)
Not Rated | 90 min | Drama, Romance
A frail waif, abused by her brutal boxer father in London's seedy Limehouse District, is befriended by a sensitive Chinese immigrant with tragic consequences.
Director: D.W. Griffith | Stars: Lillian Gish, Richard Barthelmess, Donald Crisp, Arthur Howard
Votes: 11,058
5. Duel in the Sun (1946)
Passed | 129 min | Drama, Romance, Western
Beautiful, biracial Pearl Chavez becomes the ward of her dead father's first love and finds herself torn between two brothers, one good and the other bad.
Directors: King Vidor, Otto Brower, William Dieterle, Sidney Franklin, William Cameron Menzies, David O. Selznick, Josef von Sternberg | Stars: Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotten, Gregory Peck, Lionel Barrymore
Votes: 9,478 | Gross: $20.41M
6. The Unforgiven (1960)
Approved | 125 min | Drama, Romance, Western
The neighbors of a frontier family turn on them when it is suspected that their adopted daughter was stolen from the local Kiowa tribe.
Director: John Huston | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Audrey Hepburn, Audie Murphy, John Saxon
Votes: 9,723
7. Portrait of Jennie (1948)
Approved | 86 min | Drama, Fantasy, Mystery
In Depression-era New York, an impoverished painter has a chance encounter with an enigmatic, old-fashioned little girl in Central Park who inspires him and changes his destiny.
Director: William Dieterle | Stars: Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotten, Ethel Barrymore, Lillian Gish
Votes: 7,581
8. The Wind (1928)
Not Rated | 95 min | Drama, Romance, Thriller
A frail young woman from the East moves in with her cousin in the West, where she causes tension within the family and is slowly driven mad.
Director: Victor Sjöström | Stars: Lillian Gish, Lars Hanson, Montagu Love, Dorothy Cumming
Votes: 7,155
9. Way Down East (1920)
Passed | 145 min | Drama, Romance
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.
Director: D.W. Griffith | Stars: Lillian Gish, Richard Barthelmess, Mrs. David Landau, Lowell Sherman
Votes: 5,893 | Gross: $4.50M
10. Orphans of the Storm (1921)
Not Rated | 150 min | Drama, History, Romance
Two orphaned sisters are caught up in the turmoil of the French Revolution, encountering misery and love along the way.
Director: D.W. Griffith | Stars: Lillian Gish, Dorothy Gish, Joseph Schildkraut, Frank Losee
Votes: 5,475 | Gross: $0.79M
11. The Whales of August (1987)
Not Rated | 90 min | Drama
Two aged sisters reflect on life and the past during a late summer day in Maine.
Director: Lindsay Anderson | Stars: Bette Davis, Lillian Gish, Vincent Price, Ann Sothern
Votes: 5,290 | Gross: $1.34M
12. Sweet Liberty (1986)
PG | 106 min | Comedy
After selling the rights of his book to a movie production company, a writer finds himself fighting the many egos and varying views around him.
Director: Alan Alda | Stars: Alan Alda, Michael Caine, Michelle Pfeiffer, Bob Hoskins
Votes: 2,992 | Gross: $14.21M
13. Follow Me, Boys! (1966)
Approved | 131 min | Drama, Family
A man settles down in a small town and becomes the scoutmaster.
Director: Norman Tokar | Stars: Fred MacMurray, Vera Miles, Lillian Gish, Charles Ruggles
Votes: 2,607
14. The Comedians (1967)
Approved | 150 min | Drama
A cynical Welsh hotel owner secretly romances a diplomat's wife in Haiti, under the violent reign of the despot "Papa Doc" Duvalier.
Director: Peter Glenville | Stars: Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, Alec Guinness, Peter Ustinov
Votes: 2,305 | Gross: $5.20M
15. The Musketeers of Pig Alley (1912)
Not Rated | 17 min | Short, Crime, Drama
A tender young woman and her musician husband attempt to eke out a living in the slums of New York City, but find themselves caught in the crossfires of gang violence.
Director: D.W. Griffith | Stars: Elmer Booth, Lillian Gish, Clara T. Bracy, Walter Miller
Votes: 2,488
16. La Bohème (1926)
Passed | 95 min | Drama, Romance
A group of starving artists try to survive in 1830s Paris, including a seamstress and the would-be playwright she loves.
Director: King Vidor | Stars: Lillian Gish, John Gilbert, Renée Adorée, George Hassell
Votes: 1,674 | Gross: $1.01M
17. The Scarlet Letter (1926)
Passed | 115 min | Drama
After having a child out of wedlock, a young Puritan woman is pressured to reveal the name of her lover.
Director: Victor Sjöström | Stars: Lillian Gish, Lars Hanson, Henry B. Walthall, Karl Dane
Votes: 1,938 | Gross: $0.67M
18. True Heart Susie (1919)
Not Rated | 87 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Susie, a plain young country girl, secretly loves a neighbor boy, William. She believes in him and sacrifices much of her own happiness to promote his own ambitions, all without his ... See full summary »
Director: D.W. Griffith | Stars: Lillian Gish, Robert Harron, Wilbur Higby, Loyola O'Connor
Votes: 1,990
19. The Cobweb (1955)
Passed | 134 min | Drama
At a private psychiatric clinic, the daily dramas and interactions between the doctors, nurses, administrators, benefactors and patients are accentuated by the personal and family crises of these individuals.
Director: Vincente Minnelli | Stars: Richard Widmark, Lauren Bacall, Charles Boyer, Gloria Grahame
Votes: 2,091
20. Judith of Bethulia (1914)
Not Rated | 61 min | Drama
A religious woman seeks to save her people from destruction by seducing and murdering the enemy leader, but her plans get complicated once she falls for him.
Director: D.W. Griffith | Stars: Blanche Sweet, Henry B. Walthall, Mae Marsh, Robert Harron
Votes: 1,448
21. Hearts of the World (1918)
TV-PG | 117 min | Drama, War
Young lovers in a French village are torn apart with the coming of the Great War.
Director: D.W. Griffith | Stars: Lillian Gish, Dorothy Gish, Robert Harron, Adolph Lestina
Votes: 1,104
22. The Greatest Question (1919)
80 min | Drama
An orphan girl is given shelter by a farm family, but soon finds herself in the clutches of a murderous farmer and his wife.
Director: D.W. Griffith | Stars: Lillian Gish, Robert Harron, Ralph Graves, Eugenie Besserer
Votes: 752
23. The Mothering Heart (1913)
Not Rated | 29 min | Short, Drama
A young couple struggle to get ahead, the wife always assuaging the troubles of her melancholy husband. As he climbs the ladder of success, he abandons the homely values and takes up with ... See full summary »
Director: D.W. Griffith | Stars: Walter Miller, Lillian Gish, Kate Bruce, Viola Barry
Votes: 862
24. The Battle of Elderbush Gulch (1913)
Not Rated | 29 min | Short, Action, Western
The fact that an Indian tribe is eating puppies starts an action-packed battle in a Western town.
Director: D.W. Griffith | Stars: Mae Marsh, Leslie Loveridge, Alfred Paget, Robert Harron
Votes: 923
25. An Unseen Enemy (1912)
Not Rated | 17 min | Crime, Short, Thriller
A brother and his two younger sisters inherit a modest amount from their father. When the brother is away, their shady housekeeper decides to take it for herself.
Director: D.W. Griffith | Stars: Lillian Gish, Dorothy Gish, Elmer Booth, Robert Harron
Votes: 972
26. Commandos Strike at Dawn (1942)
Approved | 98 min | Drama, History, War
A gentle widower, enraged at German atrocities against his peaceful Norwegian fishing village, escapes to Britain and returns leading a commando force against the oppressors.
Director: John Farrow | Stars: Paul Muni, Anna Lee, Lillian Gish, Cedric Hardwicke
Votes: 968 | Gross: $1.30M
27. Warning Shot (1966)
Not Rated | 100 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
During a stakeout, an L.A. cop kills a doctor who presumably pulled a gun but the coroner's inquest finds no gun, forcing the cop to look for it to clear his name.
Director: Buzz Kulik | Stars: David Janssen, Ed Begley, Keenan Wynn, Sam Wanamaker
Votes: 1,021
28. One Romantic Night (1930)
Passed | 73 min | Comedy, Romance
A scheming mother wishes to make a successful match between her daughter and a prince, yet another man, a commoner, may stand in the way.
Director: Paul L. Stein | Stars: Lillian Gish, Rod La Rocque, Conrad Nagel, Marie Dressler
Votes: 466
29. Annie Laurie (1927)
90 min | Drama, Romance
The story of the famous battle between the Scots clans of Macdonald and Campbell, and the young woman who comes between them, Annie Laurie.
Director: John S. Robertson | Stars: Lillian Gish, Norman Kerry, Creighton Hale, Joseph Striker
Votes: 499 | Gross: $0.43M
30. The White Sister (1923)
143 min | Drama, Romance
A young woman becomes a nun when she believes her sweetheart has been killed, then things get complicated when he returns alive.
Director: Henry King | Stars: Lillian Gish, Ronald Colman, Gail Kane, J. Barney Sherry
Votes: 539 | Gross: $0.66M
31. A Romance of Happy Valley (1919)
Not Rated | 76 min | Drama, Romance
John Logan leaves his parents and sweetheart in bucolic Happy Valley to make his fortune in the city. Those he left behind become miserable and beleaguered in his absence, but after several years he returns, a wealthy man.
Director: D.W. Griffith | Stars: Lillian Gish, Robert Harron, George Fawcett, Kate Bruce
Votes: 440
32. Orders to Kill (1958)
93 min | Drama, Thriller, War
American agent faces an engrossing moral dilemma when he is parachuted into France to eliminate a suspected traitor in the French Resistance.
Director: Anthony Asquith | Stars: Eddie Albert, Paul Massie, Lillian Gish, James Robertson Justice
Votes: 736
33. The House of Darkness (1913)
17 min | Short, Drama
A potentially violent patient in an insane asylum is calmed when he hears a nurse playing the piano. But shortly afterwards he breaks free, eludes his pursuers, and acquires a gun. He soon ... See full summary »
Director: D.W. Griffith | Stars: Lionel Barrymore, Claire McDowell, Charles Hill Mailes, Lillian Gish
Votes: 364
34. His Double Life (1933)
Passed | 68 min | Comedy, Drama
Priam Farrel is a celebrated artist but a social recluse. When his valet dies of a sudden illness, a mix-up leads to the body being identified as Farrel's. The timid artist then assumes the... See full summary »
Director: Arthur Hopkins | Stars: Roland Young, Lillian Gish, Montagu Love, Lumsden Hare
Votes: 396
35. Hambone and Hillie (1983)
PG | 90 min | Comedy, Drama
A dog (Hambone) treks from New York City to Los Angeles to be reunited with his owner (Hillie), meeting a host of helpers along the way.
Director: Roy Watts | Stars: Lillian Gish, Candy Clark, O.J. Simpson, Robert Walker Jr.
Votes: 239
36. Hobson's Choice (1983 TV Movie)
100 min | Drama, Romance, Comedy
Daughter of the owner of a shoe store rebels against her father by marrying one of his employees.
Director: Gilbert Cates | Stars: Richard Thomas, Sharon Gless, Jack Warden, Lillian Gish
Votes: 138
37. Arsenic and Old Lace (1969 TV Movie)
Unrated | 90 min | Comedy
A drama critic learns on his wedding day that his beloved maiden aunts are homicidal maniacs, and that insanity runs in his family.
Director: Robert Scheerer | Stars: Helen Hayes, Bob Crane, Lillian Gish, Fred Gwynne
Votes: 279
38. Romola (1924)
Not Rated | 102 min | Drama, History
In Renaissance Florence, Tito, a no-good young man pretending to be a scholar, wins the admiration of a blind man who has long looked for someone to finish his scholarly work. He has a ... See full summary »
Director: Henry King | Stars: Lillian Gish, Dorothy Gish, William Powell, Ronald Colman
Votes: 249 | Gross: $0.50M
39. Home, Sweet Home (1914)
Passed | 55 min | Drama
John Howard Payne at his most miserable point in life, writes a song which becomes popular and inspires other people at some point in their lives.
Director: D.W. Griffith | Stars: Henry B. Walthall, Josephine Crowell, Lillian Gish, Dorothy Gish
Votes: 283
40. Sold for Marriage (1916)
Passed | 50 min | Drama, Romance
A poor Russian girl's beauty leads her unscrupulous uncle to bring her to the United States. There he is going to sell her into a marriage with a rich old man she has never met. But her ... See full summary »
Director: Christy Cabanne | Stars: Lillian Gish, Frank Bennett, Walter Long, Allan Sears
Votes: 118
41. Enoch Arden (1915)
40 min | Short, Drama
Seamen Enoch Arden returns home after a long absence marooned on a desert island. At home he finds his wife married to another, and though he loves her, he cannot bear to disrupt her current happiness.
Director: Christy Cabanne | Stars: Alfred Paget, Lillian Gish, Wallace Reid, Francis Carpenter
Votes: 127
42. Top Man (1943)
Approved | 74 min | Comedy, Music, Romance
Musical in which a family puts on a show to boost the morale of the local factory workers.
Director: Charles Lamont | Stars: Donald O'Connor, Susanna Foster, Lillian Gish, Richard Dix
Votes: 70
43. The Battle of the Sexes (1914)
50 min | Drama
Frank Andrews is a successful businessman. He has always found pride and joy in the company of his wife, son and daughter. He suddenly finds himself enthralled by the advances of a gay ... See full summary »
Director: D.W. Griffith | Stars: Donald Crisp, Lillian Gish, Robert Harron, Mary Alden
Votes: 102
44. The Enemy (1927)
Passed | 90 min | Drama, Romance, War
Carl Behrend, son of a wealthy businessman, marries Pauli Arndt, daughter of a pacifist professor. When World War I breaks out, Carl is drafted. Pauli and her family and friends are left ... See full summary »
Director: Fred Niblo | Stars: Lillian Gish, Ralph Forbes, Ralph Emerson, Frank Currier
Votes: 129 | Gross: $0.47M
45. The Trip to Bountiful (1953 TV Movie)
60 min | Drama
A woman has to live with a daughter in law who hates her and a son who does not dare take her side. While the unhappy family lives in a Houston apartment, Carrie Watts dreams of returning to Bountiful, where she was raised.
Director: Vincent J. Donehue | Stars: Lillian Gish, Eileen Heckart, Dennis Cross, Will Hare
Votes: 77
46. The Spiral Staircase (1961 TV Movie)
60 min | Thriller
Based on the screenplay by Mel Dinelli, this story revolves around Helen Warren, a beautiful mute girl, who becomes the target of a mysterious killer who preys on young handicapped women.
Director: Boris Sagal | Stars: Elizabeth Montgomery, Lillian Gish, Gig Young, Edie Adams
Votes: 45
47. The Greatest Thing in Life (1918)
70 min | Drama, Romance, War
Jeannette Peret, daughter of a cigar-store owner, leaves her Greenwich Village home for France in hopes of finding there the love which eludes her at home. She becomes enamored of le Bebe, ... See full summary »
Director: D.W. Griffith | Stars: Lillian Gish, Robert Harron, Adolph Lestina, David Butler
Votes: 88
48. The Lady and the Mouse (1913)
17 min | Short, Drama
The question is, would the young tramp really have fallen in love with the groceryman's daughter if he had not caught her in the heart struggle. Be that as it may, she could not find it in ... See full summary »
Director: D.W. Griffith | Stars: Lillian Gish, Dorothy Gish, Lionel Barrymore, Robert Harron
Votes: 59
49. Sparrow (1978 TV Movie)
Crime, Drama, Mystery
Director: John Berry | Stars: Randy Mark Herman, Catherine Hicks, Lillian Gish, Don Gordon
Votes: 17
50. Miss Susie Slagle's (1946)
Passed | 88 min | Drama
A student nurse falls in love with a young intern in 1910 Baltimore, but tragedy ensues when he contracts a fatal disease.
Director: John Berry | Stars: Veronica Lake, Sonny Tufts, Joan Caulfield, Ray Collins
Votes: 155
Tell Your Friends