Dream Street | |
---|---|
Directed by | D. W. Griffith |
Written by | Roy Sinclair |
Based on | "Gina of Chinatown" and "Song of the Lamp" by Thomas Burke |
Starring | Carol Dempster Charles Emmett Mack Ralph Graves Tyrone Power, Sr. |
Narrated by | D. W. Griffith |
Cinematography | Henrik Sartov |
Edited by | James Smith |
Music by | Louis Silvers Irving Berlin |
Distributed by | United Artists |
Release date |
|
Running time | 135 minutes (original film length 10,100 feet) [1] |
Country | United States |
Languages | Silent (with sound sequences) English intertitles |
Budget | $337,000 [2] |
Box office | $950,000 [2] |
Dream Street is a 1921 American silent romantic drama film directed by D. W. Griffith, and starring Carol Dempster, Charles Emmett Mack, and Ralph Graves in a story about a love triangle set in London, and based on two short stories by Thomas Burke, "Gina of Chinatown" and "Song of the Lamp". The cast also features Tyrone Power, Sr.
The film, released by United Artists, was poorly received in its day, and critics still consider it one of Griffith's worst films.
As described in a film magazine review, [3] Gypsy Fair, a young dancer, is forced through circumstances to live in the London Limehouse district and associate with the other residents there. Through her courage and loyalty, she is forced into numerous hazardous situations from all of which she emerges unharmed. Finally, she marries the man she has reformed and finds true happiness with him.
The original 1921 version of Dream Street is notable for a brief sequence when D. W. Griffith steps out in front of a curtain at the beginning of the movie, and talks to the audience about the film, using Photokinema, an early sound-on-disc process developed by Orlando Kellum. Some films made in the Photokinema process, including Griffith's Dream Street introduction at the beginning, are preserved at the UCLA Film and Television Archive.
The silent version premiered on April 12, 1921, at the Central Theatre in New York City. On April 27, Griffith and Ralph Graves recorded their respective sound segments at Orlando Kellum's Photokinema office at 203 West 40th Street. [4] [5]
The premiere engagement of the sound version of Dream Street took place on May 2, 1921, at Town Hall in New York City, with Griffith's introduction. The film reopened on May 15, now also with two other short sound sequences — Ralph Graves singing a love song, and background noise in a scene showing a craps game. No other theaters could show the sound version of the film, for no other theaters had the Photokinema sound system installed. [6]
On Sunday, May 29, Dream Street opened at the Shubert Crescent Theater in Brooklyn with a program of short films made in Phonokinema. However, business was poor, and the program soon closed.
Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide describes the film as "disappointing", owing to Dempster and her performance. [7]
Frederick Tyrone Edmond Power Sr. was an English-born American stage and screen actor, known professionally as Tyrone Power. He is now usually referred to as Tyrone Power Sr. to differentiate him from his son, actor Tyrone Power. He was thrice widowed.
Carol Dempster was an American film actress of the silent film era. She appeared in films from 1916 to 1926, working with D. W. Griffith extensively.
Bad Company is a 1925 American silent romantic drama film directed by Edward H. Griffith, based on a story by John C. Brownell. It stars Madge Kennedy, Conway Tearle, and Bigelow Cooper.
Photo-Kinema was a sound-on-disc system for motion pictures invented by Orlando Kellum.
The Daring Years is 1923 American silent melodrama film directed by Kenneth Webb and produced by Daniel Carson Goodman. The film starred Mildred Harris, Clara Bow, Charles Emmett Mack, and Tyrone Power, Sr.
One Exciting Night is a 1922 American Gothic silent mystery film directed by D. W. Griffith.
The Day of Faith is a 1923 American silent drama film directed by Tod Browning starring Eleanor Boardman, Tyrone Power, Sr., and Raymond Griffith.
Charles Emmett Mack, was an American film actor during the silent film era. He appeared in seventeen films between 1916 and 1927.
That Royle Girl is a 1925 American silent comedy film directed by D. W. Griffith and released by Paramount Pictures. The film was based on the novel of the same name by Edwin Balmer, and starred Carol Dempster, W. C. Fields and Harrison Ford. It is now considered lost.
America, also called Love and Sacrifice, is a 1924 American silent historical war romance film. It describes the heroic story of the events during the American Revolutionary War, in which filmmaker David Griffith created a film adaptation of Robert W. Chambers' 1905 novel The Reckoning. The plot mainly centers itself on the Northern theatre of the war in New York, with romance spliced into the individual movie scenes.
The White Rose is a 1923 American silent drama film directed by D. W. Griffith. The film was written, produced, and directed by Griffith, and stars Mae Marsh, Ivor Novello, Carol Dempster, and Neil Hamilton. Though this film is extant, it is one of Griffith's rarely seen films.
Main Street is a 1923 American silent drama film based on the 1920 novel of the same name by Sinclair Lewis. It was produced and distributed by Warner Bros. and directed by Harry Beaumont. A Broadway play version of the novel was produced in 1921. It was the first film to be released after the foundation of Warner Bros. Pictures on April 4, 1923.
Scarlet Days is a 1919 American silent Western film produced and directed by D. W. Griffith and released through Paramount/Artcraft Pictures, Artcraft being an affiliate of Paramount. Richard Barthelmess stars in a role for which Griffith had screentested Rudolph Valentino. In today's time, this film is considered by many to be one of Griffith's worst films though it might have worked better as a short film. This film was unlike others created by D.W. Griffith. According to an article written for The Cincinnati Enquirer, written on the 16 of November 1919: "Unlike other recent Griffith production, Scarlet Days is a story of the old West, of the gold rush days of 49- Bret Harte transferred to the screen!" The Western film genre was expanding at this time and Scarlet Days fits into this category. Western films were popular for this time.
The Girl Who Stayed at Home is a 1919 American silent drama film produced and directed by D. W. Griffith and released by Paramount Pictures. Prints of the film exist.
Lilies of the Field is a 1924 American silent drama film directed by John Francis Dillon, produced by and starring actress Corinne Griffith, and distributed by Associated First National Pictures. It is based on a 1921 play, Lilies of the Field, by William J. Hurlbut. The film was remade by Griffith again as an early sound film in 1930.
Pied Piper Malone is a 1924 American silent comedy drama film directed by Alfred E. Green and starring Thomas Meighan. The Famous Players–Lasky produced the film and Paramount Pictures distributed.
The Unknown Soldier is a 1926 American silent drama film directed by Renaud Hoffman, written by Richard Schayer and James J. Tynan, and starring Charles Emmett Mack, Marguerite De La Motte, Henry B. Walthall, Claire McDowell, and George Cooper. It was released on May 30, 1926, by Producers Distributing Corporation.
I'll Get Him Yet is a lost 1919 American silent comedy film starring Dorothy Gish and directed by Elmer Clifton. It was produced by D. W. Griffith under his production unit New Art Film. Paramount Pictures distributed the film.
A Regular Fellow is a 1925 American silent comedy film directed by A. Edward Sutherland and written by Joseph A. Mitchell, Reggie Morris and Keene Thompson. The film stars Raymond Griffith, Mary Brian, Tyrone Power, Sr., Edgar Norton, Nigel De Brulier, Gustav von Seyffertitz, and Kathleen Kirkham. The film was released on October 5, 1925, by Paramount Pictures.
Mary of the Movies is a 1923 American silent semi-autobiographical comedy film based on the career of Marion Mack. It was written by Mack and her husband Louis Lewyn, and stars Mack and Creighton Hale. Hale and director John McDermott play fictionalized versions of themselves in the film, which was also directed by McDermott.