The Sealed Room (1909 film)

The Sealed Room
Directed by	D. W. Griffith
Written by	Honoré de Balzac Edgar Allan Poe Frank E. Woods
Starring	Arthur V. Johnson Marion Leonard Henry B. Walthall Mary Pickford Mack Sennett
Cinematography	G. W. Bitzer
Music by	Robert Israel
Distributed by	Biograph Company
Release date	September 2, 1909 (1909-09-02)
Running time	11 minutes (original release length 779 feet)
Country	United States
Languages	Silent film English intertitles

Play film; runtime 00:11:19.

The Sealed Room (also known as The Sealed Door) ^[1] is an eleven-minute film released in September 1909. Produced by the Biograph Company and directed by D. W. Griffith, the drama's cast includes Arthur V. Johnson, Marion Leonard, Henry B. Walthall, Mary Pickford, and Mack Sennett. It was distributed to theaters on a split-reel with another film, the three-minute comedy short The Little Darling .

Plot

The film's theme of immurement draws inspiration from Balzac's "La Grande Bretêche", ^[2] and Edgar Allan Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado". The king constructs a cozy, windowless love-nest for himself and his concubine. However, she is not faithful to her sovereign, but consorts with the court troubadour. In fact, they use the king's new play chamber for their trysts. When the king discovers this, he sends for his masons. With the faithless duo still inside, the masons use stone and mortar to quietly seal the only door to the vault. The two lovers suffocate and the film ends.

Cast

• Arthur V. Johnson as The Count
• Marion Leonard as The Countess
• Henry B. Walthall as The Minstrel

others

• Linda Arvidson as A Lady-in-Waiting
• William J. Butler as Nobleman at Court
• Vernon Clarges as Nobleman at Court
• Owen Moore as Nobleman at Court
• George Nichols as Workman
• Anthony O'Sullivan as Workman
• Mary Pickford as A Lady-in-Waiting
• Gertrude Robinson as A Lady-in-Waiting
• Mack Sennett as A Soldier
• George Siegmann as Nobleman at Court

Notes

1. Langman, 1998, p. 34
2. Gunning, 1994, pp. 177-178

References

• Gunning, Tom (1994). D.W. Griffith and the origins of American narrative film: the early years at Biograph. University of Illinois Press. ISBN   0-252-06366-X.
• Langman, Larry (1998). American Film Cycles: The Silent Era. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN   0-313-30657-5.
• The Sealed Room at silentera.com

External links

• The Sealed Room at IMDb
• The Sealed Room is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive
• The Sealed Room on YouTube