I have to preface my remarks by stating that BROKEN BLOSSOMS, for all of its worth, is suitable only for fans of silent films who can forgive all the excesses of silent melodrama.
I'm not an aficionado of silent films, but BROKEN BLOSSOMS is noteworthy for what Griffith was able to achieve on film as early as 1919. And surprisingly, the most over-the-top performance comes from an amazing character actor, DONALD CRISP, who went on to become an unforgettable player in "talkies" years later, notably as the father in films like NATIONAL VELVET and LASSIE COME HOME. Crisp gives a wild-eyed, mouth-twisting performance that has him gnashing his teeth and looking like he's Mr. Hyde in his angry close-ups.
Here, he's the meanest of the mean, a father who abuses his daughter and then becomes fiercely protective when she dares to seek shelter elsewhere from a Chinese man who wants to spread the peaceful message of Buddha to Anglo-Saxons when he travels to "the great nation across the sea".
The scene shifts to the Limehouse district of London where his dreams are tested by the sordid realities of life--like opium dens. Enter Battling Burrows (DONALD CRISP) as the gorilla-like prizefighter who is the villain of the piece, in full swaggering mode and chewing the scenery with relish. Forlorn looking and frail, LILLIAN GISH wanders into the story at this point and we're told she's been badly treated by her brute of a father. Since she's treated no better than a doormat, we can tell where the story is going.
Naturally, she ends up in a dead faint near the Chinaman's store and he takes her in, giving her shelter, warmth and kindness that she never had before. Truthfully, Gish never manages to look like the fifteen year old girl she's supposed to be playing and her wan performance seems rather one note. Looking forlorn seemed to be her staple.
As with most silent films, the pacing is very slow and it's a good thirty-five minutes before Gish and Barthelmess even meet and the story picks up more interest. And let me say that by today's standards, the scenes of mistreatment in "the house of suffering" are ludicrous before Gish retreats to the streets and is taken in by Barthelmess.
A tender moment in the film has a title card sure to provoke some chuckles when Gish says to Barthelmess: "What makes you so good to me, Chinky?" Close-ups of Gish are not the most flattering, as others here seem to think. Instead, her tiny mouth and pinched face give her a look much older than her years that cannot be softened by soft focus photography. Barthelmess, on the other hand, has the looks and bearing of a romantic star even in his Oriental make-up and gives the film's most natural performance--at least until the last fifteen minutes.
***** POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD ***** The melodramatic ending has Battling Burrows seeking revenge, outraged that his daughter is living under the same roof with her Chinaman protector. Unfortunately, the last fifteen minutes of the film reek of unabashed melodramatic excesses as the story delves into even darker territory with Gish's death at the hands of her abusive father and the Chinaman's eventual suicide after killing the brute.
The excesses are so over-the-top that you almost expect the characters to sing an operatic aria before dying.
Summing up: If you're a silent film fan, you may find this one worth watching. Everyone else, beware. It's not for every taste.
I'm not an aficionado of silent films, but BROKEN BLOSSOMS is noteworthy for what Griffith was able to achieve on film as early as 1919. And surprisingly, the most over-the-top performance comes from an amazing character actor, DONALD CRISP, who went on to become an unforgettable player in "talkies" years later, notably as the father in films like NATIONAL VELVET and LASSIE COME HOME. Crisp gives a wild-eyed, mouth-twisting performance that has him gnashing his teeth and looking like he's Mr. Hyde in his angry close-ups.
Here, he's the meanest of the mean, a father who abuses his daughter and then becomes fiercely protective when she dares to seek shelter elsewhere from a Chinese man who wants to spread the peaceful message of Buddha to Anglo-Saxons when he travels to "the great nation across the sea".
The scene shifts to the Limehouse district of London where his dreams are tested by the sordid realities of life--like opium dens. Enter Battling Burrows (DONALD CRISP) as the gorilla-like prizefighter who is the villain of the piece, in full swaggering mode and chewing the scenery with relish. Forlorn looking and frail, LILLIAN GISH wanders into the story at this point and we're told she's been badly treated by her brute of a father. Since she's treated no better than a doormat, we can tell where the story is going.
Naturally, she ends up in a dead faint near the Chinaman's store and he takes her in, giving her shelter, warmth and kindness that she never had before. Truthfully, Gish never manages to look like the fifteen year old girl she's supposed to be playing and her wan performance seems rather one note. Looking forlorn seemed to be her staple.
As with most silent films, the pacing is very slow and it's a good thirty-five minutes before Gish and Barthelmess even meet and the story picks up more interest. And let me say that by today's standards, the scenes of mistreatment in "the house of suffering" are ludicrous before Gish retreats to the streets and is taken in by Barthelmess.
A tender moment in the film has a title card sure to provoke some chuckles when Gish says to Barthelmess: "What makes you so good to me, Chinky?" Close-ups of Gish are not the most flattering, as others here seem to think. Instead, her tiny mouth and pinched face give her a look much older than her years that cannot be softened by soft focus photography. Barthelmess, on the other hand, has the looks and bearing of a romantic star even in his Oriental make-up and gives the film's most natural performance--at least until the last fifteen minutes.
***** POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD ***** The melodramatic ending has Battling Burrows seeking revenge, outraged that his daughter is living under the same roof with her Chinaman protector. Unfortunately, the last fifteen minutes of the film reek of unabashed melodramatic excesses as the story delves into even darker territory with Gish's death at the hands of her abusive father and the Chinaman's eventual suicide after killing the brute.
The excesses are so over-the-top that you almost expect the characters to sing an operatic aria before dying.
Summing up: If you're a silent film fan, you may find this one worth watching. Everyone else, beware. It's not for every taste.