"Orphans of the Storm" (1922): Tues. May 25 on TCM

[Eve]

If you've never seen the glorious Gishes, if you've never seen a silent epic, if all you know of D.W. Griffith is Birth of a Nation--and if you've one of the dozen or so Dopers who get TCM, do tune in to the Revolutionary France mellerdrammer Orphans of the Storm this Tues. night from eight to ten (Eastern Time).

[Baker]

Thank's for the heads up. I was really impressed by Lillian Gishes' Broken Blossoms.

[Walloon]

If actress Lucille La Verne as the haggish Mother Frochard looks familiar, it's because she later served as the animators' model for the Witch in Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and provided her voice too.

[Eve]

It's on tonight at eight—do catch it if you can!

[gobear]

So it's Lillian and Dorothy vs. Diana and Fantasia tonight.

I need to get TIVO!

[RealityChuck]

You can always watch Orphans to spot the nude scenes (not the Gishes, tho).

[Eve]

OK, got the tea made, got the cats lined up (they're named Lillian and Dorothy, so they really should watch this), now to turn off this damn computer so's I can pay attentuion to the film!

[Baker]

Whoa! This is one lavish film!

Turns back to the television.

[Eve]

I love a good mellerdrammer. You really have to suspend all disbelief and get caught up in it and cheer the heroes and boo the villains. Goodness, but Griffith could hit you over the head with politics and moralizing: "Danton was France's Lincoln," my eye.

But the Gishes were marvelous (though Dorothy didn't really get to show off her comic skills in this one). And Jos. Schildkraut's profile--hubba hubba!

[Baker]

Eve, I got confused at one point because a phonecall took me away from the TV. Henriette was telling how Louise was not really her sister, but had been left with a locket and a note on the Girard doorstep. Who was that woman with Henriette, the one who recognized the locket and said Louise was "my own child?' At the end Louise appeared to be part of that woman's family and concern. Sorry I missed it.

[gobear]

Great stuff, and Eve is spot on regarding its melodramatic scenes--it's too bad Robespierre didn't have a moustache, or else he'd have been twirling it. But boy howdy, those silent pictures sure had some lavish production values--I wonder if the sets were re-used for Phantom of the Opera three years later?

[Eve]

Originally Posted by Baker

Eve, I got confused at one point because a phonecall took me away from the TV. Henriette was telling how Louise was not really her sister, but had been left with a locket and a note on the Girard doorstep. Who was that woman with Henriette, the one who recognized the locket and said Louise was "my own child?' At the end Louise appeared to be part of that woman's family and concern. Sorry I missed it.

The middle-aged woman was the one who'd given up little Louise as a child, and grew up to marry the uncle of Henriette's cute, noble suitor. Somehow, all the nobles connected with the story evaded the mobs and the guillotine! So everyone ended up happy at the end—except the crippled peasant who saved Louise from his evil hag mother. Can't have Dorothy Gish marry a peasant!

[Ponder Stibbons]

Hey, Eve, thanks for the heads up! I really enjoyed it. I've seen a number of silent movies -- or the start of them anyway -- that I never could sit through because, well, they were just hard to watch. Too primitive, perhaps? Or the humor/setup just doesn't translate well? But this movie was great! It kept my attention throughout, it was well paced, the acting (melodramatic it may be) was very good, and the sets were astounding! The one and only "bad" scene in the whole movie was that dreadful sword fight; but hey, what did Californians in 1921 know about sword fights? However, the knife fight later in the film was very (and disturbingly) realistic.

Well, I could gush on about this film, but I gotta go. Thanks again.

[lissener]

Man, I wish I'd seen this warning in time. Turned on Turner halfway through the dang thing. I subscribed to TCM's program guide, so when it comes in the mail I spend an hour or so reading, circling, and starring, then I toss it aside and forget about everything I'd planned to see.

Someday, TiVo will evolve to where I can just skim through a solid month's worth of TCM anytime I want.

[Eve]

Griffith filmed most of his movies on the East Coast—he had two large studios in upstate New York and on Long Island; don't know offhand where this one was filmed.

The Gish girls were terrific—Lillian only once or twice got "caught acting," as she used to call it, and Dorothy looked appropriately menaced and downtrodden. Lucille LaVerne was a terrific villainess, and Robespierre really got into—as Gobear noted—his Inner Snidely Whiplash.

I thought the Danton was awful, though, and Joseph Schildkraut didn't do much more than pose picturesquely (but what a pro-feel on that schmoe!).

[Walloon]

Oprhans of the Storm (1921) was indeed filmed at the 14-acre studio Griffith built in Mamaroneck, Long Island, New York, as were Way Down East (1920) and America (1924), and his last there, Sally of the Sawdust (1925), with W.C. Fields.

[Eve]

It was based on the wildly successful play The Two Orphans (1874) and had been made into a film already in 1907, 1911 and 1915 (the latter starring Theda Bara in the Lillian Gish role).

It was shot in the summer of 1921 and premiered in New York early in '22; an extra was killed when a musket fired during one of the crowd scenes. It was the Gishes' last film together, though they did TV and stage work with each other into the 1950s.

[Backwater Under_Duck]

Quick question. In which of the Gish movies did Lillian utter the wonderful line: "He ain't heavy mister, he's my brother." This was the inspiration for the Neal Diamond tune, covered by the Hollies.

[Walloon]

Lillian Gish never uttered that line in any movie.
It's from a famous painting and statute at Girls and Boys Town (formerly Boys Town), in Nebraska (see here).
The song He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother is by Bob Russell and Bobby Scott, not Neil Diamond (who did record it).