Reel 1298

B&W Silent Film

B&W Silent Film

B&W Silent Film

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B&W Silent Film

B&W Silent Film

B&W Silent Film

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B&W Silent Film

B&W Silent Film

B&W Silent Film

Three classic Westerns. Running Time: 24:15 min. B&W Silent Film. Two unloved orphans make their way west and arrive at their uncle's cabin with two puppies in tow. The pups escape, and, in a bizarre chain of events, set off a full-scale Indian uprising. Photographed entirely on location in the San Fernando Valley, The Battle At Elderbush Gulch afforded Griffith and photographer, Billy Bitzer, an opportunity to produce a film featuring both extreme realism and sweeping panoramas. Elderbush was applauded by audiences and critics alike, and Griffith himself considered it to be the 3rd best film he ever made, after The Birth Of A Nation and Judith Of Bethulia.

Running Time: 14:40 min. B&W Silent Film. Mary Pickford, as the Indian girl Iola, promises to help a prospector find gold. Ultimately, it costs her life when she allows herself to be killed by her own people to save the life of the prospector's fiancee. Because this film was shot on location in the hills and valleys around Los Angeles, there is an exceptional amount of camera movement. Griffith and photographer Billy Bitzer were able to use a variety of camera angles to heighten the action. This unusual fluidity of movement marks Iola's Promise as a landmark D. W. Griffith film.

Running Time: 11:15 min. B&W Silent Film. Dorothy Bernard arrives at a mining camp to visit her sister, Blanche Sweet, and immediately tries to steal her boyfriend, Charles West. Later, Bernard is tied to the roof support of a cabin that catches on fire. The action culminates with Sweet trying to decide whether to let her sister die or run for help. In the climactic scene, Griffith cuts back and forth from the fire to the vengeful sister, intensifying the suspense to an almost unbearable degree. Will she go for help, or let her sister perish? Goddess is an outstanding example of Griffith's mastery of special effects to enhance the drama.