The House of Darkness

Last updated

The House of Darkness
Play film; runtime 00:14:23.
Directed by D. W. Griffith
Written by Jere F. Looney
Starring Lionel Barrymore
Cinematography G. W. Bitzer
Release date
  • May 10, 1913 (1913-05-10)
Running time
14-15 minutes (original film length 1000 feet)
CountryUnited States
Languages Silent
English intertitles

The House of Darkness is a 1913 American short drama film directed by D. W. Griffith. [1]

Contents

Plot

In the introduction a woman is shown descending into insanity after having lost her baby. As she mourns, she takes a blanket from the baby's cradle and starts rocking it as if it were her deceased child. This serves as an introduction to what kind of individuals that reside at the mental institution. The doctor at the hospital is also introduced as he proposes to a nurse.

The remainder of the film takes place at the aforementioned setting which hosts several unstable individuals. When violence erupts between two patients; one of them (played by Charles Hill Mailes) escapes the scene in an attempt to avoid capture. At the climax of the chase; the patient is ultimately soothed by the music emitting from a piano in the main hospital building (Lillian Gish in a minor role) and lets himself be taken away by the guards. As he is removed from the vicinity of the music; he once again becomes violent and escapes the grasp of his attendants. After having come upon a gun he makes his way towards the house of the doctor's wife (during this sequence, the perhaps most interesting part of the film seen out of a technical perspective takes place as the lunatic sticks his head out in front of the camera from behind a tree). When the woman discovers him; she becomes terrified. During the farce; the wife puts her hands on the piano by accident, creating a sound which appears pleasing to the lunatic. He urges her to continue, using the gun as a tool of persuasion. She proceeds with the playing which ultimately results in him leaving the house and once again welcomes capture.

The film ends informing the viewer on how music becomes an integral part in aiding mentally unstable individuals.

Cast

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>The Musketeers of Pig Alley</i> 1912 film

The Musketeers of Pig Alley is a 1912 American short drama and a gangster film. It is directed by D. W. Griffith and written by Griffith and Anita Loos. It is also credited for its early use of follow focus, a fundamental tool in cinematography.

<i>Judith of Bethulia</i> 1914 film

Judith of Bethulia (1914) is an American film starring Blanche Sweet and Henry B. Walthall, and produced and directed by D. W. Griffith, based on the play "Judith and the Holofernes" (1896) by Thomas Bailey Aldrich, which itself was an adaptation of the Book of Judith. The film was the first feature-length film made by pioneering film company Biograph, although the second that Biograph released.

<i>The New York Hat</i> 1912 film

The New York Hat is a silent short film which was released in 1912, directed by D. W. Griffith from a screenplay by Anita Loos, and starring Mary Pickford, Lionel Barrymore, and Lillian Gish.

<i>Oil and Water</i> (film) 1913 film

Oil and Water is a 1913 film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Blanche Sweet. The supporting cast includes Henry B. Walthall, Lionel Barrymore, and Harry Carey. A stage dancer (Sweet) and a serious-type homebody (Walthall) discover, after marriage, that their individual styles don't mesh. The movie includes elaborate dance sequences.

<i>So Near, yet So Far</i> 1912 film

So Near, Yet So Far is a 1912 American silent drama film directed by D. W. Griffith. Prints of the film survive in the Museum of Modern Art film archive.

The One She Loved is a 1912 American silent drama film directed by D. W. Griffith. The film, by the Biograph Company, was shot in Fort Lee, New Jersey when many early film studios in America's first motion picture industry were based there at the beginning of the 20th century.

<i>The Painted Lady</i> 1912 film

The Painted Lady is a 1912 American short drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Blanche Sweet. A print of the film survives.

<i>Gold and Glitter</i> 1912 film

Gold and Glitter is a 1912 American silent drama film co-directed by D. W. Griffith and Frank Powell. Lillian Gish, in the leading female role, was praised for its variety of emotion, in comparison to her previous roles.

<i>The Informer</i> (1912 film) 1912 film

The Informer is a 1912 American short drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and featuring Mary Pickford, Henry B. Walthall, Harry Carey, Lionel Barrymore, Dorothy Gish, and Lillian Gish. It was filmed in the Pike County town of Milford, Pennsylvania. Prints of the film survive at the film archive of the Library of Congress.

Brutality is a 1912 American drama film directed by D. W. Griffith. Prints and/or fragments were found in the Dawson Film Find in 1978.

<i>The Burglars Dilemma</i> 1912 film

The Burglar's Dilemma is a 1912 American drama film directed by D. W. Griffith. A print of the film survives.

A Cry for Help is a 1912 American drama film directed by D. W. Griffith.

<i>The Unwelcome Guest</i> 1913 film

The Unwelcome Guest is a 1913 American silent drama film directed by D. W. Griffith.

<i>The Battle at Elderbush Gulch</i> 1913 film

The Battle at Elderbush Gulch is a 1913 American silent Western film directed by D. W. Griffith and featuring Mae Marsh, Lillian Gish, and Alfred Paget.

<i>My Baby</i> (film) 1912 film

My Baby is a 1912 American short comedy film directed by D. W. Griffith and Frank Powell. Prints of the film exist in the film archives of the Museum of Modern Art and the Library of Congress.

The Lady and the Mouse is a 1913 American short drama film directed by D. W. Griffith. A print of the film survives. Lillian and Dorothy Gish play sisters in the film. The only other two films where the Gishes play sisters are An Unseen Enemy (1912) and Orphans of the Storm (1922).

Just Gold is a 1913 American short drama film directed by D. W. Griffith.

A Timely Interception is a 1913 American short drama film directed by D. W. Griffith.

<i>The Mothering Heart</i> 1913 film

The Mothering Heart is a 1913 American short drama film directed by D. W. Griffith. A print of the film survives in the film archive of the Museum of Modern Art.

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.

References

  1. "Progressive Silent Film List: The House of Darkness". Silent Era. Retrieved May 29, 2009.