The Great Love | |
---|---|
Directed by | D. W. Griffith (as Captain Victor Marier) |
Written by | D. W. Griffith Stanner E.V. Taylor as Captain Victor Marier |
Produced by | D. W. Griffith |
Starring | George Fawcett Lillian Gish |
Cinematography | G. W. Bitzer George Schneiderman |
Edited by | James Smith |
Music by | Louis F. Gottschalk |
Production company | Famous Players–Lasky / Artcraft |
Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 70 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | Silent (English intertitles) |
The Great Love is a 1918 American silent war drama film directed and written by D. W. Griffith who, along with scenario writer Stanner E.V. Taylor, is credited as "Captain Victor Marier". The film stars George Fawcett and Lillian Gish. Set during World War I, exterior scenes were shot on location in England. The Great Love is now considered to be a lost film. [1] [2] [3]
This film had footage of several high society and influential British people helping out with the war effort, including Queen Alexandra, the widow of King Edward VII, and Sir Frederick Treves, the doctor who once knew and tended to Joseph Merrick a.k.a. "The Elephant Man". [4] Footage of a Zeppelin air raid on London taken by G. W. Bitzer was also included the film. [5]
As described in a film magazine, [5] Jim Young (Harron) of Youngstown, Pennsylvania, reads of the German war atrocities and decides to enlist in the British army, thus becoming a forerunner of the American forces that are subsequently to leave for the battlefields of Europe. He begins active training at a camp outside London. While enjoying a few hours of leave, he meets Susie Broadplains (Gish), a young woman from Australia. She is flattered by his attentions and their friendship soon blossoms into love. Susie's one dissipation consists of walking in Pump Lane with her soldier boy. She falls heir to 20,000 pounds and at once becomes the object of much solicitude from Sir Roger Brighton (Walthall), a fortune hunter. When Jim is ordered with his regiment to go to the Front, he has no time to bid her adieu. Sir Rogers seeks to force his marriage before he leaves for Paris on a business trip, and she accepts him. German plotters plan to destroy an arsenal at night and Sir Roger is inveigled into driving an automobile along a London road with its lights turned skyward to guide the Zeppelins. Jim, wounded and home on furlough, detects Sir Roger on the lonely road, follows and traps him in his cottage. Sir Roger turns his pistol on himself rather than be taken alive. Susie finds the "great love" in service for the cause of democracy and her country, with a greater love in sight.
VIPs appearing as themselves
Like many American films of the time, The Great Love was subject to restrictions and cuts by city and state film censorship boards. For example, the Chicago Board of Censors required cuts, in Reel 4, three scenes of mother with illegitimate child with wife of Baron, Reel 5, after the intertitle "You are my wife and I stay here tonight" eliminate all following scenes of man pounding bed, and, Reel 6, the intertitle "Drunk with two wines — champagne and passion". [7]
Robert Emmett Harron was an American motion picture actor of the early silent film era. Although he acted in over 200 films, he is possibly best recalled for his roles in the D.W. Griffith directed films The Birth of a Nation (1915) and Intolerance (1916).
Henry Brazeale Walthall was an American stage and film actor. He appeared as the Little Colonel in D. W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation (1915).
Hearts of the World is a 1918 American silent World War I propaganda film written, produced and directed by D. W. Griffith. In an effort to change the American public's neutral stance regarding the war, the British government contacted Griffith due to his stature and reputation for dramatic filmmaking.
An Unseen Enemy is a 1912 Biograph Company short silent film directed by D. W. Griffith, and was the first film to be made starring the actresses Lillian Gish and Dorothy Gish. A critic of the time stated that "the Gish sisters gave charming performances in this one-reel film". The film was shot in Fort Lee, New Jersey where early film studios in America's first motion picture industry were based at the beginning of the 20th century. Consistent with practice at that time, the actors in the cast and their roles are not listed in the film..
The Slave is a 1917 American silent comedy film starring Billy West and featuring Oliver Hardy. It was unusual for a silent film in that, because it told its story so plainly, subtitles or intertitles were not considered necessary. It is not known whether the film currently survives.
The Stranger is a 1918 American silent comedy film featuring Oliver Hardy. Prints of this film survive in private collections and it has been released on DVD.
The Squaw Man is a 1918 American silent Western film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. It is a remake of DeMille's 1914 film of the same name, which is based upon a 1905 play by Edwin Milton Royle. The film was reportedly made as an experiment to prove DeMille's theory that a good film is based on a good story. It cost $40,000 to make and grossed $350,000. It would be remade again by DeMille in 1931. The 1918 The Squaw Man is a lost film with only the last reel extant.
The Greatest Thing in Life is a 1918 American silent drama film about World War I, directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Lillian Gish, Robert Harron, and David Butler. The film is now considered lost as no prints are known to exist.
A Romance of Happy Valley is a 1919 American drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Lillian Gish. 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.
True Heart Susie is a 1919 American drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Lillian Gish. A print of the film survives in the film archive of the British Film Institute. The film has seen several VHS releases as well as a DVD issue.
You Can't Believe Everything is a 1918 American silent drama film directed by Jack Conway and starring Gloria Swanson. It is not known whether the film currently survives, and it is likely to be a lost film.
Thais is a 1917 American silent drama film produced by Samuel Goldwyn, and based on the 1890 novel Thaïs by Anatole France. This film featured opera prima donna Mary Garden, making her film debut at the then-lavish weekly salary of US$15,000. Other cast members include Lionel Adams, Crauford Kent, and Charles Trowbridge. This film is considered "one of the most colossal flops in movie history, both artistically and financially".
Barbary Sheep is a 1917 American silent drama film produced by Famous Players–Lasky and distributed through Artcraft Pictures, an affiliate of Paramount Pictures. The film was directed by Maurice Tourneur and stars Elsie Ferguson in her motion picture debut. This picture is said to have George M. Cohan in his film debut as well. It is an adaptation of the 1907 novel Barbary Sheep by British writer Robert Hichens. It was thought to be a lost film until an 8-minute clip or fragment was found in the Gosfilmfond archive.
Sporting Life is a lost 1918 American silent drama film directed by Maurice Tourneur. It is the first film for sisters Faire Binney and Constance Binney, from the Broadway stage. Tourneur would re-film this story again in 1925.
Men was a 1918 American silent drama film directed by Perry N. Vekroff based upon a play by Harry Sophus Sheldon. It starred Anna Lehr, Charlotte Walker, and Robert Cain. It is considered to be a lost film.
The Bride's Awakening is a 1918 American silent drama film released by Universal Pictures and produced by their Bluebird production unit. Robert Z. Leonard directed the film and his then-wife Mae Murray was the star. A print of the film is housed at the EYE Institute Nederlands.
The Hell Cat is a 1918 American silent Western film produced and distributed by Goldwyn Pictures. Reginald Barker directed and Geraldine Farrar starred. It is not known whether the film currently survives.
The World for Sale is a 1918 American silent drama film directed by J. Stuart Blackton and starring Conway Tearle, Ann Little, W.W. Bitner, Norbert Wicki, Crazy Thunder, and E.L. Fernandez. It is based on the 1916 novel The World For Sale by Gilbert Parker. The film was released on January 21, 1918, by Paramount Pictures. It is not known whether the film currently survives, and it may be a lost film.
Just a Woman is a lost 1918 American silent drama film directed by Julius Steger based on a Broadway play, Just a Woman, by Eugene Walter. The film starred Charlotte Walker, then wife of playwright Walter.
The Little Tease is a 1913 silent black and white film directed by D. W. Griffith, produced by Biograph Company and starring Henry B. Walthall and Mae Marsh.