''Orphans of the Storm'' is a 1921 American silent

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

D. W. Griffith David Wark Griffith (January 22, 1875 – July 23, 1948) was an American film director. Considered one of the most influential figures in the history of the motion picture, he pioneered many aspects of film editing and expanded the art of the n ...

set in late-18th-century

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, before and during the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

. The last Griffith film to feature both Lillian and

Dorothy Gish Dorothy Elizabeth Gish (March 11, 1898June 4, 1968) was an American actress of the screen and stage, as well as a director and writer. Dorothy and her older sister Lillian Gish were major movie stars of the silent era. Dorothy also had great s ...

, it was a commercial failure, following box-office hits such as ''

The Birth of a Nation ''The Birth of a Nation'', originally called ''The Clansman'', is a 1915 American silent epic drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Lillian Gish. The screenplay is adapted from Thomas Dixon Jr.'s 1905 novel and play ''The Clan ...

'' and ''

Broken Blossoms ''Broken Blossoms or The Yellow Man and the Girl'', often referred to simply as ''Broken Blossoms'', is a 1919 American silent drama film directed by D. W. Griffith. It was distributed by United Artists and premiered on May 13, 1919. It stars ...

''. Like his earlier films, Griffith used historical events to comment on contemporary events, in this case the French Revolution to warn about the rise of

Bolshevism Bolshevism (from Bolshevik) is a revolutionary socialist current of Soviet Marxist–Leninist political thought and political regime associated with the formation of a rigidly centralized, cohesive and disciplined party of social revolution, ...

. The film is about

class conflict Class conflict, also referred to as class struggle and class warfare, is the political tension and economic antagonism that exists in society because of socio-economic competition among the social classes or between rich and poor. The forms ...

and a plea for inter-class understanding and against destructive hatred. At one point, in front of the

Committee of Public Safety The Committee of Public Safety (french: link=no, Comité de salut public) was a committee of the National Convention which formed the provisional government and war cabinet during the Reign of Terror, a violent phase of the French Revolution. S ...

, a main character pleads, "Yes I am an aristocrat, but a friend of the people." The film is based on the 1874 French play ''

Les Deux Orphelines ''The Two Orphans'' (French:''Les Deux orphelines'') is a 1965 historical drama film directed by Riccardo Freda and starring Sophie Darès, Valeria Ciangottini, Mike Marshall. It is based on the novel ''Les deux ophelines'' by Adolphe d'Ennery. ...

'' by Adolphe d'Ennery and Eugène Cormon.

Plot

Just before the French Revolution, Henriette takes her close adopted sister Louise to Paris in the hope of finding a cure for her blindness. She promises Louise that she will not marry until Louise can look upon her husband to approve him. Lustful aristocrat de Praille (whose carriage kills a child, enraging peasant father, Forget-not) meets the two outside Paris. Taken by the virginal Henriette's beauty, he has her abducted and brought to his estate where a lavish party is being held, leaving Louise helpless in the big city. An honorable aristocrat, the Chevalier de Vaudrey helps Henriette to escape de Praille and his guests by successfully fighting a duel with him. The scoundrel Mother Frochard, seeing an opportunity to make money, tricks Louise into her underground house to be kept prisoner. Unable to find Louise with the help of the Chevalier, Henriette rents a room, but before leaving her de Vaudrey comforts and kisses the distressed woman. Later, Henriette gives shelter to admirable politician Danton, who after an attack by Royalist spies following a public speech falls for her. As a result, she runs foul of the radical revolutionary Robespierre, a friend of Danton. Mother Frochard forces Louise into begging. Meanwhile, de Vaudrey proposes to Henriette and she refuses. After expressing love for each other, he promises Henriette that Louise will be found. King Louis XVI orders Henriette to be arrested, due to his disapproval of de Vaudrey's choice of wife, and the Chevalier is also sent away while his aunt visits Henriette. During the meeting, Louise is heard singing outside, where Frochard has told her to walk blindly and sing. Henriette calls out from her upstairs balcony, but the panicked Louise is dragged off by Frochard and Henriette is arrested and sent to a women's prison. Louise and Frochard's begging continues with the other two Frochards, and before long the Revolution begins. A battle between the Royalist soldiers and the people allied with the police, who are successful, results in aristocrats being killed and the prisoners of the "Tyrants" (including Henriette) being freed. A people's 'rag-tag' government is formed, and Forget-not takes his revenge against de Praille. Robespierre and Forget-not send Henriette and her lover, the Chevalier de Vaudrey, to the guillotine, for hiding de Vaudrey, an aristocrat, who returned to Paris to find her. However, Danton manages to obtain a pardon for them. After a race through the streets of Paris he just manages to save Henriette and offers her to the Chevalier, when the two orphans unite. A doctor restores Louise's sight, she approves marriage between Henriette and the Chevalier, and a better-organized Republic forms in France.

Visual effects

The movie uses several visual effects throughout to capture the emotion of its story, using monochromic filters of red, blue, green, yellow and sepia to show feeling with the silent action which is accompanied by music; the movie also uses fade-ins to achieve this effect.

Background

The film is based on the 1874 French play ''

'' by Adolphe d'Ennery and Eugène Cormon, which had been adapted for the American stage by N. Hart Jackson and

Albert Marshman Palmer Albert Marshman Palmer (July 27, 1838–March 7, 1905) was an American theatrical manager. He was universally known in the theatrical world by his initials A. M. Palmer. Biography Albert Marshman Palmer was born in North Stonington, Connec ...

as ''The Two Orphans'', premiering at Marshman Palmer's Union Square Theatre (58 E. 14th St.) in New York City in December 1874 with

Kate Claxton Kate Claxton (August 24, 1848 – May 5, 1924) was an American actress. Biography Kate Elizabeth Cone was born at Somerville, New Jersey to Spencer Wallace Cone and Josephine Martinez.James, Edward T.; James, Janet Wilson; Boyer, Paul S"Not ...

as Louise. It had been filmed in the United States twice before Griffith did his film: in 1911 by Otis Turner and in 1915 by

Herbert Brenon Herbert Brenon (born Alexander Herbert Reginald St. John Brenon; 13 January 1880 – 21 June 1958) was an Irish-born U.S. film director, actor and screenwriter during the era of silent films through the 1930s. Brenon was among the early film ...

(the

lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography * Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland *Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

Theda Bara Theda Bara ( ; born Theodosia Burr Goodman; July 29, 1885 – April 7, 1955) was an American silent film and stage actress. Bara was one of the more popular actresses of the silent era and one of cinema's early sex symbols. Her femme fatal ...

film '' The Two Orphans''). The play had also been filmed twice in France in 1910: by

Albert Capellani Albert Capellani (23 August 1874 – 26 September 1931) was a French film director and screenwriter of the silent era. He directed films between 1905 and 1922. One of his brothers was the actor-sculptor Paul Capellani, and another, film dir ...

and by Georges Monca. ''The Two Orphans'', the English-language version of the play upon which the movie is based, had been a staple of the actress

. After the premiere at the original Union Square Theatre in 1874, she had performed it hundreds of times for various theatrical companies in New York, including the Brooklyn Theater (she was performing it there on the night of the infamous

Brooklyn Theater Fire The Brooklyn Theatre fire was a catastrophic theatre fire that broke out on the evening of December 5, 1876, in the city of Brooklyn (now a borough of New York City). The fire took place at the Brooklyn Theatre, near the corner of Washington an ...

in 1876), and she had eventually acquired the US rights to the play. In securing the film rights, Griffith had to wrangle with Miss Claxton, who for unknown reasons seems to have been reluctant to allow the story to be filmed a third time. When Griffith completed his film for release, a rival German version of the story had been made (Claxton owned foreign film rights as well) and was being prepared for release in the US at the same time as Griffith's version. Griffith bought out the US distribution rights to the German version so that it could not conflict with the earning potential of his own film.

Release

The film was originally released on 14 reels, although a 12-reel abridged version was made available to theaters a few months later. Despite Griffith's reputation at the box office, the film was not a financial success.

Critical reception

''The New York Times'' wrote: "As the vivid scenes of the historically colored melodrama flashed one after another on the screen everyone surely felt that Griffith was himself again" but added "The seasoned spectator, no matter how he may let himself go, knows that every delay is a device to heighten the suspense and every advantage given the rescuers is calculated to evoke his cheers (...) whatever he does, he is not surprised when the girl is saved". In a retrospective review,

Pauline Kael Pauline Kael (; June 19, 1919 – September 3, 2001) was an American film critic who wrote for ''The New Yorker'' magazine from 1968 to 1991. Known for her "witty, biting, highly opinionated and sharply focused" reviews, Kael's opinions oft ...

described it as an epic spectacle, "a marvellous, expensively produced mixture of melodrama and sentimentality, with duels, kidnappings, the storming of the Bastille, and Lillian Gish being saved from the guillotine." She made the assessment that it was "not one of Griffith's greatest", but it nonetheless contains memorable sequences of "theatrical sublimity".

In popular culture

Spike Jones Lindley Armstrong "Spike" Jones (December 14, 1911 – May 1, 1965) was an American musician and bandleader specializing in spoof arrangements of popular songs and classical music. Ballads receiving the Jones treatment were punctuated with gun ...

' skit "The Late Late Late Movies" ( Mercury F-55191), "Billy

Playtex Playtex is an American brand name for undergarments, baby products, gloves, feminine hygiene products, and sunscreen. The brand began in 1947 when International Latex Corporation (ILC) created a division named Playtex to produce and sell latex p ...

" announces that night's feature as "'Orphans of the Storm'", starring the Gish Sisters! And introducing, Elmo Lincoln!" (Actually, Lincoln did not appear in this film.) This is a parody of the fact many stations would air very old movies (even forty-year-old silent pictures), as the movie studios forbade TV from playing first-run features at the time the record was made in 1960.

Main cast

Lillian Gish Lillian Diana Gish (October 14, 1893February 27, 1993) was an American actress, director, and screenwriter. Her film-acting career spanned 75 years, from 1912, in silent film shorts, to 1987. Gish was called the "First Lady of American Cinema", ...

as Henriette Girard *

as Louise *

Joseph Schildkraut Joseph Schildkraut (22 March 1896 – 21 January 1964) was an Austrian-American actor. He won an Oscar for his performance as Captain Alfred Dreyfus in the film ''The Life of Emile Zola'' (1937); later, he was nominated for a Golden Globe for ...

as Chevalier de Vaudrey *

Frank Losee Frank Losee (June 12, 1856 – November 14, 1937) was an American stage and screen actor. A veteran of the Broadway stage he began in silent films in 1915. Often he played the father of Mary Pickford, Pauline Frederick and Marguerite Clark. Ca ...

as Count de Linières * Catherine Emmet as Countess de Linières *

Morgan Wallace Morgan Wallace (born Maier Weill, July 26, 1881 – December 12, 1953) was an American actor. He appeared in more than 120 films between 1914 and 1946, including W.C. Fields' '' It's a Gift'' (1934) Introduction by Arthur Knight where he p ...

as Marquis de Praille *

Lucille La Verne Lucille La Verne (November 7, 1872 – March 4, 1945) was an American actress known for her appearances in early sound films, as well as for her triumphs on the American stage. She is most widely remembered as the voices of the Old Witch in the 19 ...

as Mother Frochard *

Frank Puglia Francesco Giuseppe "Frank" Puglia (9 March 1892 – 25 October 1975) was an Italian-American film actor. He had small, but memorable roles in films including ''Casablanca'' (a Moroccan rug merchant), ''Now, Voyager'' and ''The Jungle Book''. ...

as Pierre Frochard *

Sheldon Lewis Sheldon Lewis (April 20, 1868 – May 7, 1958) was an American actor of the silent era best known for his antagonistic roles. He appeared in more than 90 films between 1914 and 1936. Lewis was married to actress Virginia Pearson, and they were ...

as Jacques Frochard *

Creighton Hale Creighton Hale (born Patrick Fitzgerald; May 24, 1882 – August 9, 1965) was an Irish-American theatre, film, and television actor whose career extended more than a half-century, from the early 1900s to the end of the 1950s. Career Born in Cou ...

as Picard * Leslie King as Jacques-Forget-Not *

Monte Blue Gerard Montgomery Blue (January 11, 1887 – February 18, 1963) was an American film actor who began his career as a romantic lead in the silent era; and for decades after the advent of sound, he continued to perform as a supporting player ...

Danton Georges Jacques Danton (; 26 October 1759 – 5 April 1794) was a French lawyer and a leading figure in the French Revolution. He became a deputy to the Paris Commune, presided in the Cordeliers district, and visited the Jacobin club. In August ...

* Sidney Herbert as

Robespierre Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (; 6 May 1758 – 28 July 1794) was a French lawyer and statesman who became one of the best-known, influential and controversial figures of the French Revolution. As a member of the Esta ...

Lee Kohlmar Lee Kohlmar (27 February 1873 – 14 May 1946) was a German film actor and director. He appeared in more than 50 films between 1916 and 1941. He also directed nine films between 1916 and 1921. He was born in Forth and died in Hollywood, Cali ...

Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...

Marcia Harris Marcia Harris (born Lena Hill, February 14, 1868 – June 18, 1947) was an American actress. She appeared in 48 films between 1915 and 1932. She was born in Providence, Rhode Island, and as an amateur acted primarily in male lead roles w ...

as Henriette's Landlady * Adolph Lestina as Doctor *

Kate Bruce Kate Bruce (February 17, 1860 – April 2, 1946) was an American actress of the silent era. She appeared in more than 280 films between 1908 and 1931. She was born in Columbus, Indiana and died in New York City. In 1885, Bruce left Boone, I ...

as Sister Genevieve *

Flora Finch Flora Finch (17 June 1867 – 4 January 1940) was an English-born vaudevillian, stage and film actress who starred in over 300 silent films, including over 200 for the Vitagraph Studios film company. The vast majority of her films from the sile ...

as Starving Peasant *

Louis Wolheim Louis Robert Wolheim (March 28, 1880 – February 18, 1931) was an American actor, of both stage and screen, whose rough physical appearance relegated him to roles mostly of thugs or villains in the movies, but whose talent allowed him to fl ...

as Executioner *

Kenny Delmar Kenneth Howard Delmar (born Kenneth Frederick Fay Howard,
''

as The Chevalier, as a boy * Fay Marbe as Dancer

References

* Stanley Appelbaum, ''Great Actors and Actresses of the American Stage in Historic Photographs: 332 Portraits From 1850-1950'' (1983)

External links

* * * *
''Orphans of the Storm''
at Virtual History {{DEFAULTSORT:Orphans Of The Storm 1921 films 1920s historical drama films American historical drama films American silent feature films American black-and-white films American films based on plays Remakes of American films American remakes of French films French Revolution films Films about capital punishment Films about orphans Films set in Paris United Artists films Films directed by D. W. Griffith Articles containing video clips Cultural depictions of Maximilien Robespierre Cultural depictions of Louis XVI Cultural depictions of Georges Danton 1921 drama films 1920s American films Silent American drama films Films about disability 1920s English-language films