Scott Lord Silent Film: The Kiss (Vitagraph, 1914)

Thought to be a lost silent film, "The Kiss" was appreantly rediscovered in the modern era. As early within the historiography of film criticism as 1979, John L. Fell, in his volume A History of FIlm, relates that prevalence of a lack of film preservation, "Becuse of general unavailability, materials of Vitagraph, Selig and Lubin, as well as many French, British and Italian titles have so far been less carefully considered thatn Edison and Biograph work."

Silent Film

Scott Lord Silent Film: Broncho Billy and the Greaser (Essanay, 1914)

Authors George N. Fenin and William K. Everson, in their volume The Western: from silents to cinerama chronicle that actor G.M. Anderson had filmed almost five hundred Westerns, beginning with one-reelers and continuing on to two-reelers and can be said to have originated the genre of the Western film, primarily through fulfilling the audience expectation of a recurring star at a time when the star system was just at its earliest incipience. Author Kenneth Macgowan, in his volume Behind the Screen, credits Anderson with filming a one-reeler every week from between 1908 to 1914, audiences recognizing him as a star of the screen much in the same way they had seen actress Mary Pickford as "The Biograph Girl".

Silent Film

Scott Lord Silent Film: Lillian Gish in Home, Sweet Home (D.W. Griffith, 1914)

Now directing for the Reliance Motion Picture and Majestic Motion Picture Corporation, D.W. Griffith had expanded his running length to six reels by 1914 with the film "Home Sweet Home", starring actresses Lillian Gish, Doroth Gish and Mae Marsh.

During 1914 Mutual Film released the seven reel film "The Escape", directed by D.W. Griffith and photographed by G.W. Bitzer. Starring in the film were Edna Foster, Mae Marsh and Blanche Sweet. The film is considered a Lost Silent Film. Silent Film D.W. Griffith

Scott Lord Silent Film: Blanche Sweet in Judith of Bethulia (D.W. Griffith, Biograph, 1914)

Lillian Gish's autobiographical account of "Judith of Bethulia" (D.W. Griffith at Biograph, 1914) included in her volume The Movies, Mr. Griffith and Me can again be placed in the historiography of film criticism by being a combination of reminiscences and digests of media accounts reflecting her perspective. "The advertisements later announced that 'Judith of Bethulia' was the most expensive film that Biograph ever produced . They went on to exaggerate the number of extras and costliness of the sets, ignoring Mr. Griffith's talent for making much out of little. It is true, however, that 'Judith' was more expensive and took longer to make than any Griffith picture up to that." Presaging the epic spectacle of D.W. Griffith, which quickly arrived within a two year period ,in fact still years before Cecil B. DeMille became proficient at the genre, the film stars one of the first all-star casts including Blanche Sweet in the titular role, Lillian and Dorothy Gish, Kate Bruce and Mae Marsh. It was the longer running time that allowed D.W.Griffith to film spectacle in his three reel "The Battle of Elderbush Gulch" and four reel "Judith of Bethulia", author Tom Gunning, in his volume D.W. Griffith and the origins of American narrative film: the early years at Biograph, noting "the control of space and time offered in Griffith's spectacle films from his late Biograph period."

Eric Rhode, in his volume A History of Cinema, outlines a chromology of Griffith's crescendo at Biograph, "From 1908 on Griffith directed over 400 films for Biograph. But he left the company in 1913 when it declined to change its policy and release the four reel'Judith of Bethulia', even though the public had shown an interest in five and six reel feature films."
Iris Barry, in her volume D.W. Griffith American Film Master writes of "Judith of Bethulia" having been Griffith's last film for Biograph. "'Judith of Bethulia', by reason of its legnth, its intricate composition, emotional power, ambitiousness andcistliness, provided a fitting climax to his long connection with biograph, though it is also a film which it is difficult wholly to admire today." By December of 1913, D.W. Griffith had left Biograph to join Mutual and the company had begun cutting the six reel film down to four reels.
The cinematographer to the film was G.W. Bitzer, who left Biograph with D.W. Griffith to accompany him. As quoted by Iris Barry in D.W. Griffith American Film Master, it was at first only reluctantly on Bitzer's oart, Griffith coaxing him with autonomy behind the camera. It is of interest that Griffith would grant Bitzer free reign in that Griffith began as an actor, improvised as a director without detailed shooting scripts when compared to Thomas Ince and was now aquiescing as to becoming primarily a scriptwriter. G.W. Bitzer, in his autobiography Billy Bitzer his story "By the time we were making plans for 'Judith of Bethulia' ,an epic in tour reels, Mr. Griffith told me that he would not sign a new contract at Biograph. 'A film without a message is a waste of time', he declared, as he paced the floor of my workshop trying to convince himself, as well as me, that he needed to leave Biograph if he was to advance.'

Silent Film

Scott Lord Silent Film: By The Sun’s Rays (Browning, 1914)

Silent Film

During 1914, Charles Gibson directed Lon Chaney and actress Agnes Vernon in the film "By the Sun's Rays". That year Lon Chaney and Agnes Vernon also starred together in the film "The Old Cobbler" directed by Murdock MacQuarie. The film is presumed to be lost, with no surviving copies.
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Scott Lord Russian Silent Film: Silent Witnesses (Yevgeni Bauer, 1914)

Silent Film

Scott Lord Silent Film: The Ring and the Rajar (Shaw, 1914)

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