Scott Lord on the Silent Film of Greta Garbo, Mauritz Stiller, Victor Sjostrom as Victor Seastrom, John Brunius, Gustaf Molander - the Golden Age of Swedish Silent Film........Lost Films in Found Magazines: Victor Seastrom directing John Gilbert and Lon Chaney, the printed word offering clues to deteriorated celluloid, extratextual discourse illustrating how novels were adapted to the screen; the photoplay as a literature, a social phenomenon; how it was reviewed, audience reception.
Scott Lord on Silent Film
Gendered spectatorship notwithstanding, in a way, the girl coming down the stairs is symbolic of the lost film itself, the unattainable She, idealized beauty antiquated (albeit it being the beginning of Modernism), with the film detective catching a glimpse of the extratextural discourse of periodicals and publicity stills concerning Lost Films, Found Magazines
During 1919, D.W. Griffith directed Lillian Gish and Kate Bruce in the six reel film "A Romance of Happy Valley", photographed by G.W. Bitzer. Actress Carol Dempster also appears in the film. Carol Dempster during 1918 also appeared with Dorothy Gish in the lost silent film "The Hope Chest" (Elmer Clifton)- eight films, in fact almost all, of the films made by Lillian Gish's sister, Dorothy Gish during 1918 and 1919 are presently considered lost silent films.
One specific use of technique Griffith uses in "A Romane of Happy Valley" to depict narrative is a cut back and forth within the scene to an inserted close shot to reveal the character’s thoughts of another person. Lillian Gish is seen in close up during the flashback soliloquy insert.
In their volume The Films of D. W. Griffith, Edward Wagenkneckt and Anthony Slide summarize the theme of "The Love Flower" as being "the paradox of reprehensible deeds committed by "the fair hand of woman' for the sake of love". Of the cinematography, Wagenkneckt and Slide write, "The lyrical element so characteristic of Griffith is fortunately much better expressed photographically than in the purple prose of some of the captions. The many shots of tropical vegetation are richly atmospheric and the rope bridge is a novel, interesting and slightly terrifying property."
D.W. Griffith directed "The Love Flower" during 1920 from his own adaptation of a story by Ralph Stock, the cinematographers to the film having been G.W. Bitzer and PauH. Allen.
Writer Anthony Slide provides biographical entries on one hundread Silent Film stars without avoiding both ones that he met personally and more prominent choices in a section titled "Legends". About D. W. Griffith's star Carol Dempster, Slide writes "Carol Dempster's hysterical running around in 'The Love Flower' is nothing more than pure melodrama." Also starring in the film is actress Florence Short. Director D.W. Griffith also filmed "The Idol Dancer" with actresses Clarine Seymore and Kate Bruce.
After having starred in the seven reel silent film “The Love Flower”, directed by D.W. Griffith in 1920, actress Carol Dempster went on to star in the 1921 film “Dream Street”, again directed by D. W. Griffith. Author Anthony Slide calls both films "impersonations" of Griffith's better leading ladies.
By then a producer for United Artists, after directing actresses Carol Dempster and Mae Marsh in “The White Rose” (twelve reels) in 1923, D. W. Griffith in 1924 directed the film “America” and “Isn’t Life Wonderful” during 1924.
