A Romance of Happy Valley

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A Romance of Happy Valley
A-romance-of-happy-valley-lanternslide.jpg
Lantern slide
Directed by D. W. Griffith
Written by
  • Mary Castelman
  • D. W. Griffith
Produced byD. W. Griffith
Starring Lillian Gish
Cinematography G. W. Bitzer
Edited by James Smith
Distributed by Paramount Pictures / Artcraft
Release date
  • January 26, 1919 (1919-01-26)(U.S.)
Running time
60 minutes
CountryU.S.
Language Silent (English intertitles)
Full film

A Romance of Happy Valley is a 1919 American drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Lillian Gish. [1] Believed lost for almost 50 years, a print was discovered in 1965 in the State Film Archives of the Soviet Union, which donated it to the Museum of Modern Art. [2]

Contents

Plot

In a small Southern town, John L. Logan Jr. (Robert Harron) expresses a desire to leave for New York City in search of wealth. His deeply religious parents, John L. Logan Sr. (George Fawcett) and Mrs. Logan (Kate Bruce), disapprove and attempt to change his mind through prayer and churchgoing. Encouraged by his sweetheart, Jennie Timberlake (Lillian Gish), he initially agrees to stay but ultimately departs.

Seven years later, John Jr. returns as a wealthy man. Around the same time, a wounded bank robber hides near the Logan farm. Mistaking his returning son for the fugitive, John Sr. attempts to murder and rob him. The truth emerges in time, and John Jr. survives. He reunites with Jennie, and the two are married. [3]

Cast

Home media

A Romance of Happy Valley was released on VHS by Critics Choice Video in 1997,[ citation needed ] and was later released on Region 0 DVD-R by Alpha Video in 2015. [4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Progressive Silent Film List: A Romance of Happy Valley". Silent Era. Retrieved January 17, 2010.
  2. ↑ "Soviet Film Archive Provide Americana Two Missing Works of D.W. Griffith" (PDF). Museum of Modern Art. March 24, 1969. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
  3. ↑ Wietzel, Edward (February 8, 1919). "Critical Reviews and Comments: A Romance of Happy Valley". Moving Picture World. 39 (6). New York City: Chalmers Publishing Company: 804. Retrieved July 22, 2014. It tells of the simple folk in a small town down South, and how their narrow views of life almost wreck the future of young John L. Logan and his sweetheart, Jennie Timberlake. The first half of the story is a study in character that delights by its quaintness and truth. Then comes a change in the mood of the picture that is as unexpected as a snowstorm in June. And to many spectators it will be as unwelcome. From a well-balanced and consistent tale, it suddenly turns into a highly colored melodrama with a convenient bank robbery, the mortgage-on-the-farm motive, and an attempt on the part of the elder Logan to murder and rob a stranger who turns out to be his own son. The way this situation is juggled, and the wounded bank robber made to change places with the native son, who ran away seven years before to make his fortune in the city, will be accepted by a portion of moving picture patrons, but not by all. John Logan, sire, is very religious, and so is his wife. When their son hints that he wants to go to New York and get rich, both parents are shocked. Young John is marched off to church and prayed with until he sees the error of his ways and accepts religion. His sweetheart is afraid he will backslide, and he does. The lure of the city is too strong for him. He is gone seven years and returns a rich man. His father's attempt to murder him does not prove successful, and the young man marries the faithful Jennie, who was commencing to think she would be forced to remain an old maid.
  4. ↑ "Alpha Video - A Romance of Happy Valley" . Retrieved June 26, 2015.
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